Mama Ruth Yowe Ntuba - child of God, renaissance woman, entrepreneur, mother, aunt, sister, friend, member of Presbyterian Church, Kumba town and illustrious daughter of Ikiliwindi, Kumba, Cameroon, was born on sept 14, 1943 and called home to rest in the Lord on March 17, 2013. Mama Ruth was deeply loved by her family and friends and will be forever missed.
Mama Ruth was the fourth child of the prominent Cocoa Farmer, Papa Wilfred Mukwelle Ntuba (the 1st) and Ma Dibande Ntuba, both of blessed memories. Her siblings include: the late Mama Charlotte Ntuba, late [Minstrel] George Ntuba, late Governor Walson Mboe Ntuba and the following surviving siblings - Mama Sarah Ntuba, Mrs. Mispa Ntuba Itoe,Mr Oscar Ntuba, Mrs. Yohngema Ntuba Sona and Mrs. Kidi Ntuba Makia. Mama Ruth is also survived by her three children including; Mrs. Elizabeth Gwanulla Nelson (Florida, USA), Mrs. Dorothy Nkoh Abba Taboko (Cameroon) and Mr. Bello Mboe Abba (Maryland, USA), and ten grandchildren, including the eldest grand daughter – Ms. Henrietta Gwanulla (California, USA) , a great grand child - as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Mama Ruth attended Basel missionary primary school Kumba . She was industrious and her passion for artistic work gave her a pride of place as a woman .
Mama Ruth loved life, family, people and the city of Kumba. Her face always lit up with this broad smile when a family member showed up, especially the children. She never failed to tell the children how proud she was of them and going back to school, ‘rentrée scolaire,’ was never complete without a stop at her home for extra pocket money. Although she gave birth to three children, Mama Ruth raised many other children including some of her grand children, nieces and nephews, and was fondly called ‘Mommy’ by many.
Looking back at her life, the earliest traces of Mama Ruth’s entrepreneurial skills and her passion to empower other women probably began when she became a seamstress. Mama Ruth Ntuba always knew how to reinvent herself. She carried her imposing statue with style, keeping up to date with the latest fashion, especially in her younger and mid-adult life. As an avid seamstress, Mama Ruth trained numerous women who also made their livelihood as seamstresses. Although not formally trained, Mama Ruth spoke several languages including English, French, Bafaw and Douala, which enabled her to communicate in a variety of business settings. Mama Ruth often engaged in domestic and international import and export, which took her across Cameroon and into neighboring countries such as Benin, Ghana and Nigeria, where she met Dr A B Ngwan-Nulla and Alhaji Thompson Abba the latter whom she married .
She attended the presbyterian church kumba town where she actively participated in the pastor,s group.
As her children matured, Mama Ruth created another business that could give her the flexibility to spend more time at home and put her hidden talent at the public’s disposition. She was arguably one of the best cooks (chefs) in Kumba and set up a restaurant in her neighborhood, in the early eighties. Initially, she started off with slow grilled chicken hence the name “Chicken Parlor.” As business boomed Mama Ruth, eventually outgrew her initial restaurant site so she constructed a bigger and more accommodating restaurant which she named “Cossala Inn.” Cossala Inn did not only expand its menu but grossed seven figures biweekly and employed about forty people, most of whom were women.
Mama Ruth, as one of the prominent Bafaw business women in Kumba, supported many youth groups and municipal cultural endeavors, such as the Local Youth Soccer teams and the Bafaw Mentoring and Leadership Youth Group – Eyong[DIUNGU]. She was called the “Nya” Eyong (matriarch) . She was a great supporter of PWD Kumba soccer club; and provided significant financial contributions, sometimes only second to the then president Fayez Olabi. Mama Ruth knew how to connect with people; she had friends all over Africa including adopted children from Namibia. She enjoyed singing and dancing, especially the Makossa songs of Grace and Ben Decca, whose parents were very close friends of hers. We believe that in her final days, if you were to ask her what her greatest achievement was – she would have simply said…’I took care of my family and educated my children.’ To this end, we are extremely grateful to God for her life, impact and legacy! Mama Ruth, will be greatly missed and will never be forgotten. “Mommy” rest in peace.
DR NSEKE EPIE NTUBA
MR ABBA BELLO MBOE
DR [REV] THOMPSON AKWO NTUBA