Tabenken Loses The Teacher
The Lessons Remain: Remembering a Teacher from Tangmbo
Holy Communion Communicant Failed Once Again! – a person who receives Holy Communion has made another mistake or fallen short again.
Holy Communion Communicant Failed Once Again – blessed, forgiven and immediately back in trouble.
Today, my thoughts wandered home to Bamenda, Bambui, Bambili and Tangmbo, and with them came the memory of my elder kinsman, Mr. Kwison Wendi George. Even now, I can see him writing his name. I do not know whether it was proper English, but he always wrote “Kwison,” followed by a comma before the rest of his name. The image of his hand, his pen, and that distinctive comma remains imprinted in my mind as if it were yesterday.
May his soul rest in perfect peace.
I learned much from him, not from books, but from the lived philosophies of the Mbum people. He shared wisdom shaped by experience, cautioning me to secure the plot in Bambui by building on it before others laid claim to it. Sadly, events unfolded much as he had warned, just as similar circumstances befell his property in Ntabesi – Nkwen
Like the Queen’s Code, I have preserved the telephone codes he left behind, hoping that one day I may fully understand the meaning and purpose they carried.
I regret that I failed to implement some of his advice. Yet, in life’s irony, he too taught me many profound philosophies about Mbum marriage and others that he himself was unable to fully implement. Such is the human journey: we often teach truths greater than our own capacity to live them.
As I reflect on his life, I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Though imperfect, as all human beings are, he ran his course and left lessons that continue to guide those who listened.
Go well, Teacher. Nwerr Yehni!
You once told me that if T. T. Ngwang had pursued further education, he would have helped shape the future Tangmbo. When you greet him on the other side, tell him that I have chosen a different path. I have committed myself to helping shape the future of humanity through ethical technology, health innovation, and medical diagnostics that promote human wellbeing, dignity, and sustainable progress, guided by the spirit, wisdom, and enduring legacy of our ancestors
And as I continue that journey, I hold close another promise from Scripture: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
The seeds planted by elders and teachers often bear fruit long after they are gone.
Rest well, Elder. Your lessons remain alive in those of us who still remember, for as the Scriptures teach, “their works follow them” (Revelation 14:13).
Cornelius Tawong
Tabenken Loses The Teacher
