When Cameroon introduced Regional Councils in 2019, expectations were high. For the North West, the novelty was even sharper because the institution came with two chambers, including the House of Chiefs, a body meant to give traditional authority a structured role in modern regional governance. Five years on, as campaigns open for the second mandate and Fons begin canvassing for the November 30 vote, the region is now able to assess what worked, what fell short, and what must evolve.
The first mandate of the House of Chiefs was largely a period of discovery. As its current president, HRH Fon Yakum Kevin Teuvih, has admitted, the early years were spent navigating a new legal framework and understanding the real extent of the institution’s power. The Council tried to respond to the needs of a region in crisis, and its members attempted to balance tradition with the demands of local governance. But the gaps were evident. Many communities felt distant from the debates in Bamenda. Some chiefs struggled to explain their role. Others faced the pressures of operating in conflict-stricken areas where visibility alone carried risks.
As the second election approaches, the renewed level of interest is notable. Thirty-eight traditional rulers grouped in thirteen lists are seeking seats, a sign that custodians of culture are now more willing to shape regional development. But if this next mandate is to matter, the chiefs’ campaigns must speak differently and speak to the right places.
This is where Ghana’s experience offers a useful contrast. The National House of Chiefs there is not merely ceremonial. Its authority is grounded in an organised, respected structure reaching from regional houses down to the paramount stools. It advises government, adjudicates disputes, reviews customary law and retains moral weight because its legitimacy flows from the communities themselves. Although the contexts differ, the lesson is simple: a House of Chiefs draws its strength from the people it represents, and it cannot be effective if that connection weakens.
In the North West, therefore, Fons who seek election must return to the villages not only physically but symbolically. Their campaign should not mirror the partisan rallies that dominate municipal and parliamentary cycles. Traditional authority thrives on a different register. Its power is rooted in sacred trust, the quiet legitimacy of lineage, and the daily realities of rural communities. Chiefs cannot afford to campaign as politicians. They must campaign as custodians.
This means grounding their message in the concerns of farmers, cooperatives, women’s groups, and youth whose lives are shaped by land, water, security and tradition. It means assuring communities that the House of Chiefs is not a distant appendage but an institution capable of influencing development decisions and safeguarding cultural continuity. A rural-centred, tradition-conscious approach will also help the House maintain moral distance from the heated party politics already defining the House of Divisional Representatives, where the ruling CPDM enters the race unchallenged.
The political climate is already charged. CPDM leaders, led by former Prime Minister Philemon Yang, have launched a campaign driven by performance statistics from the last mandate of the Regional Assembly indicating that 244 PIB projects, more than 300 Peace and Development Initiative interventions, new medical centres, and an ambitious administrative complex under construction. With the party firmly in control of the larger chamber, the House of Chiefs becomes the only space where diversity of voice can still emerge.
That diversity matters. It is here that debates on land conflicts, cultural identity, inter-chiefdom cooperation, and the region’s long-term cohesion should be shaped. The chiefs’ ongoing involvement in initiatives such as the North West Cultural Festival planned for December demonstrates their potential to unite the region around shared heritage. But unity in ceremony is not enough; unity must appear in the daily work of governance.
This is why the coming elections carry such weight. The region does not need chiefs who simply occupy seats. It needs chiefs who animate them. Chiefs who remember that their authority begins where tarred roads end. Chiefs who understand that the House they seek to enter is not a replica of Ghana’s, but can learn from its discipline, structure and rootedness.
As campaigns unfold over the next two weeks, the most meaningful voices will not be the loudest. They will be the ones that speak in tune with the land, with the compounds, and with the quiet aspirations of villages that expect their leaders to rise above politics while still shaping policy.
If the House of Chiefs is to command respect in the next five years, the campaign must start as it intends to continue close to the people, mindful of its sacred duty, and anchored in the rural heart of the North West.
By Bakah Derick
Save the Crown campaign promoter
Tel: +237 6 94 71 85 77
