Family Leadership

7/27/2019 Family Leadership

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RESPONSIBLE FAMILY LEADERSHIP.TRADITIONAL AND CHRISTIAN

APPROACHES IN CAMEROON

Richard Ondjii Toung, Cameroon

Introduction

This paper will examine family leadership in our cultural setting,identifying its limitations and offering solutions in the light of Chris-tian ethics. Why reflect on the subject of responsible leadership infamilies today? It is clear that we are experiencing a kind of socialcrisis, a crisis that has affected the family and resulted in the disloca-tion of the family unit in our villages and in our cities. For us, thisraises the question of who exactly carries responsibility in the socio-political units which these families represent. Specifically, to use ourown language, we want to know what it means to be the Nya mbr

in our families and in our villages today, and who fulfils that role.Taking Southern Cameroon as the cultural context for our study, and

bearing in mind the task assigned to us as part of the Globethics.netstudy programme, the question is: What is the family leader respon-sible for, and what is he not responsible for, in the traditions of South-ern Cameroon, and from the perspective of Christian ethics? This isthe question that makes this study relevant and of interest. Our inten-tion is to contribute to resolving and healing the crisis mentioned above.

1. Definitions

First I would like to give a working definition of the content ofwhat seem to me to be essential concepts: family; clan; tribe;Cameroonian tradition; leader and leadership; responsibility; respon-sible leadership; Christian ethics.

Family : in a broad sense, the family may be considered as a groupof people linked together by marriage and filiation, or, exceptionally,

by adoption. It can therefore be understood as a succession of indi-viduals descended from one another, from one generation to the next.

In the Fang setting, the family is described by the term Nda bt,which literally translated means: the mens house. This definitionpoints to two things: first, the people dwell in a place, the house,

ONDJI'I TOUNG, Richard, Responsible Family Leadership. Traditional and Christian Approaches in Cameroon,

in: Ch. Stckelberger and J. N.K. Mugambi (ed.), Responsible Leadership. Global and Contextual Ethical Perspectives,

Geneva: WCC Publications, 2007, 34-44.


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which refers to a geographical and cultural criterion; second, itemphasises the dynamic nature of family through the people thatcomprise it and who represent life. So, there can be no family with-out a house, that is, a place to live and hence a cultural context, justas there can be no family without human life. This makes the familya social institution in constant evolution.1

Clan and tribe: for the purposes of this study the clan may beunderstood as a group of families with a common ancestor. The tribeis defined as a social and political group based on real or supposedethnic kinship among peoples with a primitive organisation. Thenotion of kinship is central to the three concepts defined above andforms their common denominator. In this study the family will be

raised to the status of clan, for two reasons. First, in theoretical andpractical terms it is a social and political unit, and second, the tribesin Southern Cameroon do in fact live and conceive of themselves asfamilies. TheEsakoran, for instance, can be spoken of as a tribe andas a family because marriages are prohibited within them and theirmembers are known by the same name.

Cameroonian tradition: is there such a thing as a Cameroonian tra-dition? Given the many ethnic groups that make up our country, onewould have to say that there are numerous Cameroonian traditions.However, these micro-traditions are moving towards one macro-tra-

dition for Cameroon, even though there is still a long way to go. Forthe purposes of this study we shall draw on traditional elements inthe south of Cameroon. Southern Cameroon belongs to the large Fanggroup, of which the Ntumu are a sub-group, to which I belong. Tra-dition will be used in its meaning as a way of thinking, acting or

behaving which is inherited from the past of a particular human group.Leader and leadership :by leader is meant the head, the spokesper-

son of a political movement, the person who takes the lead in a move-ment or a group, and to whom others refer. Leadership thereforerefers to the function and position of leader, taking command and set-

ting direction, the ability to direct.Responsibility and the person responsible : responsibility here isunderstood as an intellectual obligation or moral necessity to makegood an error, fulfil a duty, meet a commitment and bear the strain.The person responsible is then the one who is charged with leadingand taking the decisions in any human group. Responsible as anadjective indicates someone who is accountable for his/her actions,someone who is thoughtful, reasonable and serious and who consid-ers the consequences of his actions. Responsible leadership thenmeans fulfilling the function of leadership in a considered, reasonable,accountable way. It is the capacity to lead a human group, taking intoaccount individual and collective worries, and with a concern for

humanity, organisation, equity and discipline.

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Christianity and Christian ethics: generally speaking, Christianityis considered as the religion that is founded on the teaching, personand life of Jesus Christ. The ethic deriving from it is to be found inthe moral teaching of the Old and New Testaments. It is a moralitywhich sees itself as a faithful response to Gods summons, in terms of

human behaviour. The norms and rules of behaviour here have theirbasis and legitimation in the holiness, will, love and omnipotence ofGod. The ultimate purpose of life is the blessed participation of

human beings in the salvation which is God himself and which Godalone can effect. Consequently, the Christian ethic is an ethic ofresponsibility, because human beings must account for themselves

before God who summons them, and before the community into

which they are sent. This central value of responsibility is accompa-nied by others such as love of God and of our neighbour, justice, free-dom, solidarity, to name only those.

Theoretical ethical interest: confrontation or encounter betweentwo cultures in relation to the concept of responsible leadership:debate, exchange of ideas, enrichment, production, broadening ordevelopment of concepts and methodologies (ways of becoming, beingand experiencing a responsible leader).

Practical interest : provide the public with a tool to help themunderstand intercultural relations (tradition and Christianity,

Africanity and westernity) on the basis of universal values. Con-tribute to building a universal culture.

2. Leadership Among the Fang of Cameroon

a) In the Family

The Mm nda (the owner of the house) is the head of the family(family =Nda bt), the father of the family whose duty is to protect

his wife and children and watch over what becomes of them. The

latter in turn recognise his rights, which include the right to give aname to every new-born child in order to preserve the memory of anancestor or some other living member of the paternal or maternalclan, and the right to educate, judge, congratulate or censure hispeople. For Mbala Owono, the head of the family is conscious of hisvocation to ensure that the members of his family live in respect forcustoms and habits, for their best possible future. In other words, theauthority of the head of the family coexists with the full participationof all the members of the family. This is how power is structured. 2

At this level, the author tells us, there are three conditions for

exercising power. The person must: be male (principle)

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be a legitimate son born of a proper marriage. Illegitimate sons andthe children of slaves are thus excluded.

be able to marry (have at least one wife) and to procreate. This isessential.

One might say that here leadership is expressed in terms of biology,matrimonial status and property.

b) In the Village Community

The organisation of the village community corresponds to that oftheNda bt, so that the family and the villages have the same ethicaland, above all, political concerns.

For theNya mbr (true man) both biological and ethical consid-erations count: a man is aNya mbr according to age, theNya mbrbeing the oldest of the group (Nto mbt, Mvngm). From the ethi-cal point of view, a man is a Nya mbr if he is wise, mature, uprightand responsible. This ethical criterion is the most important because,in our society, younger men are sometimes classed among theBe nyabr while older people who are immature or irresponsible are placedamong thezeze bt(useless men). 3 It is this ethical consideration thatconcerns us here. By virtue of his wisdom, the Nya mbr is thejudge, the mediator, the one who finds a solution to individual and

collective problems. In this capacity he is calledNyaamemvi. Havingmoral authority, he may also assume the duties of village chief(Mbintum, Evet), which are purely political, but alongside him there mayalso be a village chief who today is not chosen on account of his moralauthority but because it is the will of the sub-prefect representingthe modern political authorities, themselves a product of the colo-nial regime. 4

The duty of the village head or Ndzo (the verb dzomeans toorder or command) is to direct, inform and mobilise the members ofthe village community for a specific purpose or goal, as decided by the

village council, which is a deliberative gathering. In agreement withMbala Owono, it should also be noted that the notion of giving ordersstrikes a false note in the ears of the Fang, who abhor subordinationand any word that seems to refer to it. They prefer the art of persua-sion and negotiation demonstrated by the Nya mbr, whom theyrecognise as having moral authority. This is why the political sectorneeds to use the ethical language if its authority is to become morefamiliar, more natural and more acceptable. Our study will examinethe ethical aspect of the traditional leader. On the traditional level, aman is aNya mbr if he can meet the following criteria:

moral integrity sense of responsibility






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credibility

sensitivity towards his people and his country wisdom

tolerance

generosity

strictness and concern for propriety

justice

humanity

matrimonial status (married to at least one wife) and procreation

competence

balanced material situation

mental maturity.

This list of criteria is not exhaustive; it is the outcome of ourinvestigations through conversations and talks in churches, andamong friends and families. Apart from the general considerationsoutlined above, theNya mbr is to be found in certain specific fields.

TheNya mbr, or true man, who is a reality in the community, canemerge or assert himself in different domains, such as:

speaking

knowledge (Nnem)

practical achievements (his actions)

war (when he is calledAsuzoo)

games

health (Ngengan) the arts

religion (Zingui)

the political/legal/social sphere (Mbi ntum, Ntyik-Ntol)

3. Responsibility of the Traditional Leader

In what concerns us here, the notion of the responsibility of thetraditional leader refers on the one hand to the duties incumbent on

him (this is the theoretical aspect, i.e. what theNya mbr should do






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and what he should be) and, on the other hand, his capacity to assumethose duties (theNya mbrs experience of life today). The latter may

be rendered by the German word Verantwortlichkeit.Generally speaking and according to Father Jean-Samuel Zoie

Obianga theNya mbr fulfils the role of repository and transmitterof a founding figure (the original ancestor). He is the leader whoactivates the original forces, contributing to perpetuate certain valuesand enduring powers that guarantee the integrity of the ideal of the

human being, humanity and society, of which the archetype is to befound at the time of the creation.

Above all, the Nya mbr is the man who guarantees the equilib-rium of the village and of the family. As the referee in differences

among the members of the community, he personifies justice andimpartiality. He is the one they can turn to for the right advice, a solu-tion to their problems, peace of mind. Another distinguishing featureis his capacity to sacrifice his own interests to those of the group andto forego certain privileges on account of his reputation as a Nyambr. He is surrounded by an element of mystery and it is all thesethings together that give him the status of patriarch.

In practice, experience with those who are called to be, or are con-sidered as the Be Nya br today has been mixed. Here and there we

have noted some confusion in identifying who is aNya mbr, as well

as an inability on the part of the latter to assume their responsibili-ties, whether because of the material pressures around them, or delu-sions of grandeur or simply a misunderstanding of the times. So we

have some Nya br who are out of step with the times and whocannot understand and cope with their world today. Many of themcomplain of a lack of respect and understanding among the young,which gives rise to a generation conflict. Moreover, in the midst oframpant individualism, todays Nya mbr finds it difficult to fulfil

his tasks in the community and, above all, in the family.The answers to the question of who is a Nya mbr in our soci-

eties, in our villages and families today will be varied, contradictory,partial and biased. Some will say the Nya br are the elite of the vil-lage or the family because they enjoy a degree of material prosperitythat allows them to maintain a group of individuals in their pay or

because they act like griots in maintaining a personality cult. Otherswill consider the oldest member of the family as theNya mbr, eventhough he does not assume that role. Yet others will say it is the richman of the village, or the village chief appointed by the sub-prefect, orthe chairman of the local committee of the party in power. Someinformed people will have the courage to say who are notNya mbr,and be bold enough to say who, in the light of the traditional criteria

listed above, can be considered as aNya mbr according to that scaleof values. In other words, the conceptual limitations to the notion of






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Nya mbr can be seen as deriving from difficulties of definition, andthe complexity and extreme rarity of the personality in question. Thisexplains the empirical limitations.

Because such a personality is rare and because the definition of theNya mbr is so broad and diverse, people will experience only cer-tain aspects of the person and will therefore have a partial or distantview of him: experiences of this personality are often contradictory,depending on whether the contact is close to or from a distance. So itis difficult to find unanimity on the subject of the Nya mbr. How-ever, when such a person does exist in a community, he dominates by

his natural authority and his legitimacy is seldom called in question.In the last analysis, the Nya mbr is a human being with all his

capabilities and limitations. He is a rare species which has existed inthe past and still does exist, for the history of our families and villagesrecords a number of figures who have been outstanding in their timeand place. In our reflection we have sought to theologise the concept,assuming that the Nya mbr is basically a product of God himself.His formation continues in the training school of the family, popularwisdom, educational institutions and religious confessions. Butdespite this basic hypothesis about the concept and the life of theNyambr, the latter remains a creature exposed to the fall and subject tofailure: this is what makes him human. Some propositions of Christian

ethics may help to overcome these human limitations of the Nyambr.

4. Implications for Christian Ethics

a) Leadership from a Christian Perspective

The principle or criterion of responsibility may be understood interms of Christian ethics as the duty of each individual to conduct his

or her life in a way that takes into account the wellbeing and life pos-sibilities of others. 5 The notion of responsibility here may be seen assummarising the reality of Christian ethics applied in the life of soci-ety.6 Professor Christoph Stckelberger, a Swiss theologian and ethi-cist, links the concept of responsibility to that of power (Macht Ver-antwortung) 7 showing the correlation between these two values. In

his view, responsibility should correspond to the power an individualor an institution effectively has. Likewise, if a person or a group ofpeople has responsibilities, then that person or group should also havethe power necessary to assume the corresponding responsibilities.Here responsibility is expressed before God and before the commu-nity served by the individual (or the group), the people who areaffected by the action in question. Thus, from the Christian point of






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view, we may say that the power/responsibility/service correlationdescribes the chain of human relations in society.

On closer analysis, this relation is set on three levels: the personresponsible, the area of responsibility (individuals, duties, actions,attitudes, character) and the authority before which one is account-able (e.g. a tribunal, the people concerned by a decision, ones con-science, God). In short, responsibility will be understood here as thecapacity to answer for and assume ones actions and their conse-quences vis--vis others and society, on the one hand, and this aware-ness of being at the service of others, the wider community and God,on the other. This is a requirement of community life which is part ofthe I-me, I-you, I-we, I-it relationship. 8 Consequently, the responsible

person or the responsible leader from the Christian point of view, isthe one who is concerned for the balance of the community. He iscalled to serve and to which he must answer, just as he is accountable

before God, on whose will all his decisions and actions are based.What is central for the responsible Christian leader (in theory) is

the sense of service and of accountability to the community and toGod. Such a leader is motivated by:

fear of God

Gods will

faith

love

solidarity

service

justice

humility

For the Christian leader, the model is Jesus Christ crucified, obey-

ing the will of his Father, the humble servant, sacrificed for the sakeof humankind and for others. In some respects, the responsible leaderfrom the Christian point of view, resembles the responsible traditional

leader, theoretically at least, for both are meant to render service tosociety and, to do that, they have to abide by certain principles suchas moral integrity, credibility, justice, solidarity.

The theoretical difference appears when it comes to the authori-ties to which each is accountable. While the conception of the tradi-tional leader sees him as accountable only to society, when possible,9

the conception of the Christian leader makes it clear that he must giveaccount of himself both to God, to whom he is answerable as Godsenvoy, and to the society into which he is sent. At the purely concep-tual level one might say that the difference is that, on the one hand,






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we have the leader as seen in sociological terms and on the other, theleader as seen in the christological approach applied to society, forwhich Christ is the model.

b) Christ as the Model of the Responsible Leader

Son of God, Lamb that takes away the sins of the world, Rabbi,Master, Messiah, Christ or Saviour, Son of Man these basic namesattributed to Jesus Christ personify the responsible leader accordingto the New Testament. And although other examples are quoted inthe Old Testament, Jesus remains the paradigm of the responsible

leader for the whole of the Bible. This can be understood with the

help of the dogmatic principle of the trinity which sees Christ as thesecond person of the Triune God. He is the Fathers equal, he is God,and so is responsible for creation.

From the historical and practical point of view, the life of Jesus asit is recounted in the Gospels, is a responsible life. He was there for

his disciples and the crowds who flocked to meet him and follow him,and he was sensitive to the problems brought to him by others. We can

list a number of attitudes, characteristics and behaviours that markedhim out:

he did nothing wrong

obedient and humble unto death

the servant of his disciples and the crowds

love, loyalty courage

tolerance, solidarity

human and humane

honest, sincere, just, truthful

strict and with a strong sense of what is right open to criticism and discussion

Conceptually speaking, Jesus makes service the basis of responsi-ble leadership.10 Speaking of this, he says to his disciples, And who-ever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Sonof Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life asransom for many (Matt 20:27-28). This concept of responsible lead-ership is fundamental for Christian political ethics, because it placesthe emphasis on the leaders duty, humility (the slave of others), senseof sacrifice expressed in the idea of giving his life as ransom formany. Here the leader is thus present for and attentive to thosearound him who are his main concern in all he does.






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Conclusion

Responsible family leadership between tradition and Christianity:there is a need for dialogue and complementarity, moving towards aculture of responsible leadership centred on Christ and rooted in posi-tive and universal traditional values. In short, we would urge that weset about developing a practical concept of responsible family leader-ship of a general and integral type, i.e. a leadership model that incor-porates both positive traditional values and Christian principles. Amodel of this type would enjoy a wide measure of legitimacy in dif-ferent cultural settings because it would be the outcome of encounter,dialogue and complementarity among cultures. It would also be useful

in our families today and could be used by them in their search forauthority, reference points and a model to follow.

The approach based on inter cultural dialogue would form thebasis of family political ethics worldwide and would thus contributeto the world ethic proposed by Hans Kng in his Projekt Weltethos.This is challenging from the practical point of view, but it is notimpossible.

REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING

FTPY, Eglise et ducation, Yaound: Collection Semaine Interdisciplinaire, 1987. Handbuch derChristlichen Ethic, Band 3: Wege Ethischer Praxis, Basel: Herder, 1982.

IPAM,Histoire: le monde, des premiers hommes au 6 me sicle aprs J. C., Tours: Mame, 1977.

Kesteloot, Lilyan,Anthologie ngro-africaine, Verviers: Marabout universit, 1976.

Matateyou, Emmanuel,Les nouveaux dfis de la littrature orale africaine, Yaound: PUY, 1999.

Mbala Owono, Rigobert, Education traditionnelle et dveloppement endogne en Afrique Centrale,Yaound: Ceper, 1990.

Mv Bekale, Marc,Piere Claver Zeng et lart potique fang: esquisse dune hermneutique, Paris: lHar-mattan, 2001.

Ondjii Toung, Richard, Contribution de lthique conomique lexamen de lendettementextrieur et de la pauvret dans les pays de la C.E.M.A.C., thse, Universit de Ble, 2003.

Qur, France,LEthique et la vie, Paris: Odile Jacob, 1991.

Rich, Arthur,Ethique conomique, Genve: Labor et Fides, 1994.

Stckelberger, Christoph, Global Trade Ethics, Geneva: WCC publications, 2002.

Tsira Ndong Ndoutoume, Le Mvett, pope fang, Paris: Prsence Africaine, 1983.

NOTES1 On the family as an evolving social institution, cf. Rigobert Mbala Owono, ducation tradi-

tionnelle et dveloppement endogne en Afrique Centrale, Yaound: Ceper, 1990, p. 24.2 For what follows, cf.Ibidem, p. 463 For further information on the Nya mbr, especially with regard to procreation, cf. Mbala

Owono, op. cit., p. 45, where having male children is a criterion in identifying the true man. We

shall come back to this.4 It is rare for the populations choice to take precedence over the will of the administrative

authorities.






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5 For more on the different areas in which responsibility is expressed, cf. Richard Ondjii Toung,Contribution de lthique conomique lexamen de lendettement extrieur et de la pauvret dans

les pays de la C.E.M.A.C, doctoral thesis, University of Basel, 2003, p. 277 ff.6 cf.Handbuch der Christlichen Ethik, vol.3: Wege ethischer Praxis, Basel: Herder, 1982, p. 117 ff.7 Stckelberger, Christoph, Global Trade Ethics, Geneva: WCC publications, 2002, pp. 66-67.8 Rich, A.,thique conomique, Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1994, p. 61 ff.9 Our limited knowledge of our tradition precludes us from saying categorically that account did

not also have to be given to the relevant authority in the domain of the sacred, i.e. the universeof God or the gods.

10 As mentioned above, service was also a constitutive element in the traditional model of theresponsible leader and so is the common denominator in the two approaches.





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