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Cameroon: Remembering a Friend, Colleague And Brother
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The Post (Buea)
COLUMN
12 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Barrister Nkongho F. Agbor-Balla
Death strikes, and reminiscent of Elechi Amadi's The Concubine, "Death is a bad reaper always harvesting the unripe fruits".
The death of Barrister Gorden Ngu fondly called Joe Ngu, took me by ambush. I am still to recover from the shock and loss of a true friend, colleague and big brother.Not only do I recall that I spent a memorable fortnight with Joe Ngu in Buea during the Easter vacation, but the fact that I had a lengthy conversation with him on the phone just a few days before his sudden death. I vividly remember our conversation and all the plans we had for the future. But, alas!
Barrister Ngu was a very ambitious man who rose from grass to grace, a classic case of a self-made man whose burning ambition saw him become a household name in Cameroon in spite of his modest background and upbringing.
Joe Ngu, you were really at the apogee of your legal practice when the hands of death snatched you away from us. Death too, was not kind to your political ambition, for it snatched you just on the threshold of elections in which you wanted to run as AFP parliamentary candidate.
Multi-talented; be it the law, football, politics, dancing and so on, Ngu, you were a real fighter. Your 41 years on earth are memorable and like the famous saying by Mussolini you lived those years like a lion and never as a lamb. You were an epicurean per excellence. You were never shy of controversy and was always prepared to speak your mind.
You were to me the antithesis of Soyinka's the Man Died; one who fears to tell the truth in the face of adversity. For no matter under what circumstances, you always spoke your mind.
Barrister Ngu was a man of the people; one who would dine and wine with the "Funge boys", park boys, car washers etc, etc, and also with the cream of the society. Ngu was multi-faceted as he had the street in him and also had class; he was one who in the words of a colleague "easily combined eating "achu" and salad".
I was always amazed by your ability to interact with the underprivileged and the downtrodden; those who Frantz Fanon describes in his famous book: Pedagogy of the Oppressed as the 'scourge of the earth'. I will always recall to my friends in the Diaspora how at the Mile 16 car wash your arrival was always greeted with a lot of excitement by the car washers who Lapiro would aptly describe as "people for chuk-head, reme no de, repe no de". I truly learned a lot on human relationship during those encounters.
Professionally, Ngu was indeed an inspiration to some junior colleagues at the Bar. You were a legal pacesetter and a luminary. You showed the light to the younger generation of lawyers and by your success, you were a role model to all those underprivileged young men and women who aspired to become lawyers.
You gave belief to those whose parents were neither wealthy nor famous but who were willing to venture into the legal profession. Your success to them was a sign that with hard work, commitment and dedication each and everyone could be a successful lawyer irrespective of their background.
On a personal level, Ngu was very supportive. It was due to your constant encouragement and motivation by buying me a form for the law school in Lagos that I realised my dream of becoming a lawyer. You were a true friend; you were always there for me. It was due to your ability to network that I was finally called to the Bar without going through the bureaucratic bottlenecks.
And grace to you I became a member of the famous Buea Mountain Club. I remember that even in bad health, you still made it to Besongabang for my mother's memorial service. You were a real gem, Ngu.
Like the literary iconoclast and guru, Bate Besong of blessed memory, you were a legal iconoclast as you did break the old stereotype that in order for one to succeed in law, he/she must have been fed in the words of Charles Dickens in Hard Times "with turtle soup and golden spoon".
Your law firm was always full with young pupil advocates thirsty to drink not only from the fountain of your knowledge of the law, but also to learn from the master himself the act of being an aggressive, versatile and a 21st century lawyer. Ngu, you were a human rights crusader and a lawyer of the masses following in the footsteps of your mentor and role model Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the Nigerian legal icon.
As a friend, Joe Ngu was always there to assist his friends in whatever circumstances. He was a genuine friend who would always encourage one to aspire to higher heights. He was never jealous of the successes of his friends and he always had a smile on his face. Even his detractors will agree to the fact that he had a nice heart. We shall miss your love, care, affection and also your sense of humour.
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We will really miss you but your memory and legacy will never be forgotten.
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