The Father:
Pa Baiye loved his children unconditionally. I cannot count the number of times he cried because a child was ill or had an issue. The same emotion was shared when each child attended a milestone. If you doubted his love for his children, you should assess how much his children drooled about him. I know he definitely loved all of them unreservedly because I was blessed that his love radiated to me.
The Police:
a. Traffic – After he retired, all transport drivers still continued to like him. He was absolutely considerate and worked well with all of them because to him, all of them were his children. Being loved by drivers who fondly called him “Pa For All Man” is a rare honor given the turbulent relationship between law enforcement officers and drivers in Cameroon.
b. Immigration – My first actual encounter with Pa Baiye was during my maiden trip to Nigeria in 1991. I walked up to him and said, “I am going to Nigeria for my first time what should I do?” He said I should follow a specific drive and told the driver that “help this young man cross.” That was all he did; help anyone who came his way during his service as a frontier police.
The Friend:
I am really in awe with the number of friends he has. Kids, the very young, the young and the old alike. His principle was to be friends with everyone regardless. For instance, he took 15 minutes to bond with my closest friend and joined me almost instantly to start calling him “Ngia” just like I call my friend. If the world develops only 10% of his friendship attitude, we will have no hatred in the world.
The In-law:
Several years after this man helped me cross into Nigeria, I met a girl traveling to Bamenda on my way back from school. As God would have it, the girl turned out to be the daughter to that same policeman. To return in goodness, I married his daughter. Over the years, his acceptance of me was more than just that of an in law. “You know you are in your in law’s good book when instead of demanding things from you, he lets you manage his estate when you visit him.” He literary took me as his own and treated me as he would any of his children. This acceptance and love had no boundaries and spread to all my siblings who have unquestionably expressed their admiration of Pa Baiye. I know for sure he would expect this relationship to grow from strength to strength; I hope so too.
The Grandfather:
There was no day that he did not count the number of grand children he had. He would call them by name and dance every time he heard that any of his kids has had an offspring. There is no way to capture his love for not only his children but his grand children as well.
The Man:
Pa Baiye was a Builder not only of houses but of people and relationships. There is no way he would leave you without a kind and good word of encouragement. The way he valued an opportunity to transform an idea into a building, is the same way he wanted to see people grow exponentially. Success, growth, and development of the human being irrespective of blood meant the world to him. As one of his sons aptly put it, “he was not just a good man; he was a very good man.”
Sunny Teboh