First ever Manyu ekpe extraordinary session holds in London, Sesekou Ralph Tanyi vindicated ⁰

Large differences among ekpe members from Manyu Division based in the United Kingdom which led to sharp debates and cultural schisms, and the famous Pa Tanyi’s public denunciation of Sesekou Ralph Tanyi shows how extensive the feuding in UK ekpe lodge has become and how remote the prospects of unity are among the Manyu ekpe citizens.
It were for these reasons that the first ever ekpe extraordinary session in Great Britain held on Saturday the 17th of June 2017 at the residence of His Royal Highness Chief Sampson Abangma who also moonlights as the supreme leader of the Bache kingdom.

Opening the session, Chief Abangma observed that Manyu ekpe members must return to the hallowed values lay down by the ancestors that for decade after decade, sought to bring about really meaningful peace and decorum in the Manyu nation. The singing was amazing and led by Nfor Ngbe Nelson Agbortoko of Besongabang.

The Manyu title holders reportedly examined the main issues confronting the ekpe community in the UK including an investigation opened in Cameroon by Pa Sampson Tanyi against the award of a Sesekou title to a senior Manyu elite in the UK, Ralph Tanyi. Cameroon Concord News understands the so-called Manyu Ekpe Supreme Council wrote a letter to Pa Tanyi in which the body noted that Ralph Tanyi had breached ekpe rules and should not be recognized as a Sesekou.

By some strange happenstance, the document was forwarded to various Manyu groups and other Cameroonian cultural associations in the UK and Northern Ireland. The UK ekpe lodge after a thorough examination of the letter and backed by the fact that the Manyu Chiefs Conference had distanced itself from the said document, resolved that Ralph Tanyi of Kembong village was a recognized Manyu title holder and a Sesekou.
The UK ekpe lodge also advised Sessekou Pa Sampson Tanyi to stop posing as a traditional ruler mindful of the fact that he is a quarter-head in his native Tayor village. The Manyu elders further pointed out that there is no organization known as Manyu Mgbe Britain and that the Mamfe ekpe lodge should be made to understand the structure of ekpe in the UK.

In a soul-searching speech, Sesekou Ralph Tanyi informed the forum that Pa Tanyi had conducted a 15 years inquiry on his person ever since he raised an alarm on the corruption practices in the Manyu Elements Cultural Association, MECA UK. Consequently, the house reached a unanimous decision that the obscure document was a fabrication aimed at tarnishing the hard earned reputation of Sesekou Ralph Tanyi. The Manyu traditionalists also stated that the Pa Tanyi letter was extremely lacking in ekpe finesse.

The UK ekpe lodge meeting was attended by HRH Sessekou Chief Sampson Abangma, Sesekou Augustine Tambekong of Bachou Ntai, Sessekou Thomas Tambe of Eyang Atem Ako, Sessekou Sampson Tanyi of Tayor, Sessekou Ralph Tanyi of Kembong, Osongoribo Samuel Akoegbe of Besongabang and Osongoribo Pius Mbi of Etoko.

By Eyong Peter