To family members, he was Tabe Paul Menge; but to close friends and colleagues, especially in the media, he was known simply as Blondo. A man whose reputation preceded him, Blondo meant different things to different people, but everybody agrees that he was an epitome of candor, self-confidence, and contentment. Blondo took a sad but glorious exit from material existence following a tragic accident in Yaoundé on Monday, August 12, 2013. At age 47, his unexpected demise came in the wake of a tough battle with illness, which he survived thanks to his resilient spirit. His exit is a great loss to his family, friends and colleagues who will miss his characteristic cheerfulness and caustic humor.
An unapologetic iconoclast, Blondo by natural inclination, was a man of many worlds; a universe of hearty socialization and friendship; accommodating to both young and old who came his way, status notwithstanding. In a society where a craze for titles is the order of the day, Blondo remained simply Blondo until his death. That was a mark of his modesty and simplicity. In a country bedeviled by selfishness and grandiose display of ill-gotten wealth, Blondo lived life to the fullest; his personal philosophy guided by the time-tested ethos; that one man is as good as another; and no condition in life is permanent.
Blondo was one of a kind; a walking contradiction who could infuriate his friends one moment and earn their admiration the next. He exhibited urbane and civil dispositions and loathed dishonesty. Blunt to a fault, Blondo took exception to the rising crescendo of anti-graffi rhetoric that dominated political discourse in the heydays of SWELA; arguing that as a native of Numba, he is on the frontlines of the irredentism that characterized Northwest/Southwest divide. But the same Blondo will tell you without any malice that with no words, just war-like sounds like ho-ya-ho-ya-ho and heeee-yaaaaaah heeee-yaaaaaah”, it is not a song.
Blondo comes from a family renowned for academic achievement in Manyu Division. He had privileged education; attended Sasse College and proceeded to the University of Calabar where he studied local government with a Concentration in Urban and Regional Development. He returned to Cameroon at a time when the relevance of formal education was perceived as mainly a provider of manpower for the public service. Blondo ventured into where his heart directed him: he had a passion for journalism and started out as a reporter for The Weekly Post. Relatively unknown to the Yaoundé Anglophone public beyond the pages of newspapers, it was just a matter of time for Blondo to become a household name in the emerging media landscape that saw him eventually leave The Weekly Post to The Herald.
A typical Manyu man, Blondo was dignified and stubborn; not in the arrogant sense. He was forthright, candid and unpredictable in his eccentricities, unafraid to speak his mind no matter whose ox is gored. He could die for his friends. Once, he turned down an offer of a beer preferring to take the money and pay his taxi fare to Messasi where he hoped to get some money. Asked what would happen if he did not succeed in Messasi, Blondo smiled and said: “since I don’t live in Messasi, I will find my way back home to Obili.” That was vintage Blondo; affable and always positive.
An avid aficionado of books, Blondo relished adventure. It was a breath-taking endeavor when he decided to enroll at the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC); even while he had taken the bold step to study Law at the University of Yaoundé II, Soa. What is striking is that he was one of the few of his generation with technical expertise in local council management. An opportunity to exercise this expertise came with a job offer from the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM). He joined as a cadre and rose to become Northwest Regional Delegate in Bamenda.
Going forward, Blondo was a community man, engaging in acts of service without the extravagant publicity many in his position are known for. An undisputed expert in his own right, Blondo sought to make sure that Anglophone councils had their fair share of FEICOM funding for council projects, helping the Mayors navigate the red tape of the Francophone-dominated FEICOM bureaucracy. This put him on a collision course with his bosses. It therefore came as no surprise when Blondo eventually left FEICOM by mutual consent.
Blondo was no stranger to controversy. In the precarious dynamics of peer rivalry and egos, the first place to bear the brunt of mudslinging was his personality. He loved his Muso SsangYong and told anybody who cared to listen, especially his detractors that he had a beautiful car and a beautiful wife, Celine! Blondo remained true to his values and affinity with his friends; with whom he missed no opportunity to share a beer. He was endowed with a fertile mind; an uncanny sense of humor and great wit; always poking fun, and taking problems in a lighter mood. Chided why he did not know his deceased neighbor’s name, Blondo explained that they had always greeted each other as “Uuuh-wooh or Pa”, and that it was the greeting that mattered more.
Even in ill health, Blondo remained the jolly good fellow he had always been: a light-hearted man of fulsome humor, who taunted himself even as he did everyone who came around him. Asked once how he got home after a boozing spree, he said he was “supported home by gravity.” It was also thanks to Blondo’s ingenuity, that “Mii-yaa-kah Iyeh” became a standard form of greeting amongst his friends. At a thesis presentation at ASMAC, the candidate’s father who came all the way from the village, and in Blondo’s words, “did not speak French”, stood at the door to greet guests. As he shook everyone’s hand he said “Mii-yaa-kah Iyeh.” Henceforth, Blondo greeted everybody with “Mii-yaa-kah” and the refrain stuck.
Blondo is a perfect example that anyone, no matter their circumstance, can live a fulfilled and happy life to the best of their ability and satisfaction of their true conscience without being tainted by the material flamboyance associated with his society. His integrity and how he handled his effusive personal struggles remain exemplary. His family and friends can only take consolation in Blondo’s sterling qualities; and the fact that he lived a most eventful and fulfilled life, cut short by tragedy. Good Nite Blondo; you will be sorely missed!
