Editorial Commentary: Mfoome Ndzerem Stephen Njodzeka, the man who wore service like a crown, Profile

When a giant tree falls in a forest, it does not merely crash to the ground; it echoes through the hills, ripples through the roots, and leaves behind a clearing where once there was shade, fruit, and strength.

The passing of Mfoome Ndzerem Stephen Njodzeka on Saturday 18 January 2025 is no ordinary departure: it is the silencing of an impactful life that reverberates far beyond the borders of his native Kumbo and city Bamenda. 

This week, as funeral rites continue in Bamenda, following a diaspora wake in Maryland, USA, the air is thick not only with grief but with admiration for a man whose every breath seemed to be spent in service to others. In him, we witnessed not merely a humanitarian, but a visionary equal parts dreamer and doer who transformed hardship into hope for countless souls.

Born on 20 July 1970 to Ndzerem Daniel (late) and Helena Ngo, Stephen’s early life in Bui Division mirrored the tenacity that would come to define his path. From Roh Kimbo Primary School to Bui College of General Education, and eventually the University of Yaoundé, his academic journey was not paved in comfort but carved through self-reliance. He farmed rice during school breaks in Ber, Ndop, and Mboh, and wielded a camera as a student photographer not for art or luxury, but to keep the flame of education burning. He shared these stories with me during his unguided moments as a motivation. 

Yet, it was in the muddy trenches of Cameroon’s neglected communities, not in the echoing halls of academia, that Ndzerem's light shone brightest. After founding Hillman Company in the early 1990s, he redirected a portion of its proceeds to children living in precarity which was a gesture of conscience that eventually matured into Strategic Humanitarian Services (SHUMAS) in 1997.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify the breadth of Stephen’s humanitarian footprint. Over ten million lives touched, hundreds of schools and health centres constructed, clean water delivered to forgotten villages, renewable energy brought to off-grid communities, and farmers empowered to reclaim their dignity. And he did not stop there. He studied further earning certificates from Berkeley, Colorado, and Illinois refining his approach, not for self-promotion, but for deeper impact.

For many, titles are worn like ornaments. For Stephen, they were bestowed like garlands acknowledgements of a life poured out for people. He was named Mformi Kibari, Elolobe, Ntum-nfoo, and other honours from grateful communities across the country. Notably, he never clung to prestige; he used it as leverage to elevate others.

He carried these values into his role as President of the Nso Development and Cultural Association (NSODA), serving for seven years with characteristic humility and clarity of purpose. Even in national dialogue, particularly within the Reconstruction Committee for the North West Region, he lent his voice as a Civil Society representative not with fanfare, but with conviction.

Current North West Governor Adolph Lele Lafrique Adolphe Tchoffo Deben calls him the number one developer. 

Perhaps his most enduring legacy lies in the intimacy of the lives he uplifted. Stephen was not a distant benefactor. He was present at graduations, in remote villages, beside boreholes, in health centres. He gave his time, his knowledge, his resources, and most of all, his heart.

Those he helped did not just receive aid, they received dignity.

He has never stopped showing gratitude to his benefactors like Building Schools for Africa UK, UNICEF, etc. He was a man of gratitude. He said 'thank you' at all times. 

Now, as his loved ones prepare for the final farewell, the weight of his absence is palpable. From the daily Masses at his Bamenda residence, to the wake at the Bamenda Metropolitan Cathedral on Friday 11 April, to the burial on Saturday 12 April and thanksgiving on Sunday 13 April in Bayelle, thousands will gather not just to mourn a man, but to celebrate a movement he started, one whose engine was love and whose fuel was justice.

His wife, Yaa Billian Nyuykighan, and their children now carry the torch of his memory. The team at SHUMAS faces the enormous task of upholding his ideals without his physical presence. But if the spirit of a man lives in his deeds, then Mfoome Ndzerem Stephen Njodzeka walks with us still in every classroom where a child sits because of him, in every community that now has clean water, and in every person who dares to believe that one life can make a difference.

In the words of an old proverb: “When a good man dies, a library burns.” And yet, in Mfoome Ndzerem’s case, it is not the silence of ashes we hear, it is the call to continue his work, the echo of his generosity, and the roar of a legacy that refuses to be buried.

May the seeds he planted continue to grow.

Rest well, Mfoome. Your journey was not in vain.

By Bakah Derick (Mfoome called me small Bà Buri because you were Senior Bà Buri) 

Administrator, Lead strategies and Editor at Hilltopvoices Communications Group Ltd