About Us
Mrs Odilia Nwana
The end of life for me has come in God's own time. There is no reason for you to weep and mourn for one who has, to a greater extent completed her life's mission.
Mama Odilia Mantan Nwana nee Domatob aka Nah Manyi was born on November 7th, 1942 as the first surviving child of Mama Pauline Kahkiti Domatob nee Njimontam Gwanfogbe and Papa Vincent Phillip Domatob (Njifongod) in Bali Nyonga, Cameroon. She became the firstborn of the Njifongod dynasty to devout Catholic parents who lost an elder daughter, Mama Theresia Nvigueh (of blessed memory). Mama was raised with utmost structure and discipline, a trait that became her trademark and built her as the most responsible big sister to her loving siblings and the larger Njifongod family.
Education and Professional Life
Catholicism laced with meticulous parenting was at the core of Mama Nwana's upbringing, education and professional life. She was blessed with a keenly devoted mother, Mami Paulina Kahkiti, an avid educator, Papa Vincent Phillip, who encircled Mama and her siblings with Patriarchal role models. Despite the status quo then, where girls were mostly groomed as spouses, Papa and Mama Domatob espoused different values. They emphasized and provided equal opportunity education to all the Domatob siblings that comprised of six girls and a boy. With the support of her dear uncle, late, Pa J Gana Fomban, the headmaster of the Catholic school in Soppo, Buea, Mama Nwana lived with and attended the all girl’s Catholic school in Soppo (1954/1955). Thereafter, she got accepted into the prestigious all girls Catholic Secondary School Okoyong. Pa Vincent Domatob declined Mama’s space in Okoyong because he wanted his first daughter to be a Professional teacher and persuaded her to pursue teacher training at St. Francis Fiango in Kumba. She followed through and completed the Grade 3 Teacher elementary course followed by a higher elementary teacher course. After completing her training in St. Francis Teacher Training College Fiango, she enrolled in the Higher Teacher Training Institution (Ecole Normale Superieure Annexe Bambili, University of Yaounde, Cameroon) where she qualified as a bonafide Educator in Cameroon. With these qualifications, Mama served in various Academic institutions (as a prolific Economics teacher and a rigorous administrator at Govt. Bilingual high school in Molyko and Bamenda consecutively. As the "chief examiner" for Economics for almost a decade, she was integral in setting, moderating, marking and assuring the integrity of GCE exams in Economics. As "Surveillant Général" she was known for her no-nonsense approach to structure and discipline, molding students in the process to be responsible citizens. In 1984 she was honored with the Order of Merit for her higher services to the state by the Cameroon government. She served as a seasoned Educationist for 40 + years until her retirement in 2002. Mama was also an industrious entrepreneur who made and supplied plantain chips for various supermarkets in Bamenda. Her structured approach to life tasks, prowess in practical teaching, masterful time planning and discipline was reflected and applied to all who visited and lived with Mama Nwana. The impact of Mama's life lessons and exceptional parenting is engraved in our minds and has secured a well-rounded progeny.
Marriage and Family
From 1954 to 1958 as Mama pursued her professional training, Papa Elias Nwana expressed interest and pursued Mama through every intervention possible (exchanged letters, telegraphs, etc.) including negotiations with the Domatob stakeholders, most notably, Pa Hans Mbuhnu. Mama responded once to one of Papa's letters with one-liners merely stating that 'Whatever will be, will be. The future is not ours to say'. Papa Elias took these as words of encouragement and again wrote to his father, Pa Davidson Nwana (of late), informing him that Odilia had replied in the affirmative.
They both stepped up their correspondence while pursuing their professional careers until 1963 when Papa Elias graduated and returned to Cameroon. They got married on Boxing Day, 26th December 1963 at the Cathedral in Soppo and moved to Kumba as husband and wife. They were happily married for 57 years until April 1st, 2021 when Papa Nwana left us. Ba Tanyi and Nah Manyi were blessed with three sets of twins and two singles named: (Protus Samgwa'a and Hyacinth Samjella); (Augustina Genla and Augustine Bambot); Gerald Feh; (Stella Nagwa and Benedicta Nagella) and Vincent Lebga, nineteen grandchildren and 2 great grandsons. Protus Samgwa'a, their first son, passed onto his Maker on the 26th of June 1994, and is our Saint in Heaven. Ba Tanyi will always credit "Mama" as the mainstay of the upbringing of these many children and spoke glowingly and proudly about how Mama had "trained them to be good and moral citizens of the world". Mama and Papa were also parents to multiple siblings, nieces and nephews with the same level of structural discipline instilled on all who lived in their humble abodes. Together, they were the epitome of a good Christian marriage and in this regard, were role models for a generation of younger couples exemplified by the devotion of their children and grandchildren’s spouses, Ma Andin Nwana, Ba Nkom Gwanganua, Mamun Yvonne Nwana, Mamun Judith Nwana, Ba Nji Fonjoe, Ni Lang Nukuna, Mamun Mambap Nwana, Mamun Manuela Fongod and Mamun Kadija Fongod.
Social and Community Life
Family solidarity, career fulfillment and community support, served with humility and honesty, were the hallmarks of Papa (Ba Tanyi) and Mama (Nah Manyi). Mama pioneered and served in multiple leadership and organizational roles notably in Nkumu Fed Fed, Mother is Gold, Catholic Women’s Association, Fiango Ex Students Association, Capella Musica, St. Cecilia’s choir as well as in PTA’s across the kid’s schools. In the process, they instilled the sense of belonging and community engagement to their offspring. Their profound humility was a lesson to the many lives touched, stamped in their legacy and imprinted for posterity.
Brief Widowhood
After Papa's passing on that fateful Holy Thursday earlier this year, Mama continued to suffer from a neurological condition with symptoms of Parkinsonism. She struggled with postural instability and gait difficulty which sometimes resulted in debilitating falls. Losing independence was Mama’s biggest hurdle and burden. Despite these challenges, she remained poised, till the very end, relying on her intense faith in God and formidable support by family and friends. We shower great gratitude to, Ba Nkom Gwanganua and Ma Woteba Augustina Genla Fongod who provided the utmost loving care to Mama this last year of her life. As she battled her final ailment in the hospitals in Yaoundé, surrounded by her loved ones, she called on Papa Elias as she took her last breath at 5:30 am on their 58th Wedding anniversary. Their love for each other was incomparable. Mama is certainly resting with the angels next to her dear husband, Papa Elias Nwana.
Nah Manyi Odilia Mantan Nwana nee Domatob remains in our hearts and minds as a formidable and indefatigable mother, wife, aunt, grand and great grandmother, sister, friend, consultant, entrepreneur, structured organizer, and a constant in the lives of many. We will miss her physical presence, but our fond memories will last multiple lifetimes.
Rest in Perfect Peace Mama O.
