Baháʼí Faith in Cameroon

[6] In Limbe (then called Victoria), through the efforts of Olinga, Jacob Tabot Awo converted to the religion becoming the first Cameroonian Baháʼí.

[7] Meherangiz Munsiff, a young Indian woman, arrived in French Cameroon in April 1954 in Douala after helping to found the Baháʼí Faith in Madagascar.

[2][8] A letter from Olinga describes the advancement of the religion into 6 towns and translation work into the Duala language had begun of a pamphlet.

[10] On April 21, 1954 a Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly was formed and five young Cameroonians left during the Ridván period,[11] each becoming a Knight of Baháʼu'lláh; the various protectorates they arrived in merged into the modern countries of Cameroon, Ghana, and Togo.

[11] Enoch Olinga is specifically mentioned as an example of this process unfolding as he arose out of Uganda and repeated the quick growth of the religion.

Because of the successive waves of people becoming Knights of Baháʼu'lláh, Enoch Olinga was entitled "Abd'l-Futuh", a Persian name meaning "the father of victories" by Shoghi Effendi.

[2] In very early 1955, Valerie Wilson, an Auxiliary Board member for Africa stationed in Monrovia, Liberia, embarked on what was considered a bold trip for a woman alone by car to travel on a trip across some 3,000 kilometres (2,000 mi) to visit the Baháʼí groups functioning in the Gold Coast, Togoland and the British Cameroons.

[16] In 1958 the Baháʼís of Cameroon sent another pioneer, Willie Enang, to Ghana[17] while multiple communities held local conferences on the progress of the religion in their area.

[20] Limbe, (then called Victoria), British Cameroon, hosted the convention for the election of the regional national assembly for north west Africa in 1960 and there were 45 delegates, including local chiefs and women, as well as Enoch Olinga.

[21] Enoch Olinga could not attend the dedication of the Baháʼí House of Worship in his native Uganda because of political turmoil in Cameroon after independence.

Book exhibits were held in 1974 in the University in Yaounde and a classroom in the Pan-African Institute of the Buea which also attracted radio coverage.

[33] Though he had recently toured Cameroonian in 1975[34] in December 1979 a full account of the circumstances under which Knight of Baháʼu'lláh for Cameroon, Hand of the Cause, Enoch Olinga had been murdered September 16, 1977 in Uganda during political and social turmoil.

The first woman to become a Baháʼí in Cameroon did so from his impact on her life though she had been an active Christian before - both she and her husband converted and were among the first to move to Togo and then Ghana.

Informational packets and interviews were granted to major print and radio news outlets and coverage of events continued.

A conference on the progress of the religion at which it was announced there was an estimated 166 assemblies, 27 of which and established permanent centers, and beyond that some 832 towns and places Baháʼís lived in Cameroon.

[47] Meanwhile, two individuals toured Cameroon in January; Hand of the Cause Rahmatu'llah Muhajir and Frenchman Armir Farhang-Imani each of whom who spoke to Baháʼí and public audiences.

[53] In 1982 a Baháʼí reached a remote region with pygmies and in three months was able convince 24 people to join the religion and another pioneer was moving to help him.

[55] From January to March 1970 Rúhíyyih Khanum crossed Africa from east to west visiting many country's communities including Cameroon, meeting with individuals and institutions both Baháʼí and civic.

[60] Reaching Buea she met with the Prime Minister and mentioned her wide travels in relative safety with kind assistance of villagers and truck drivers.

From there she continued her travels through Douala and Yaounde and in each case also neighboring villages while also making time for radio interviews and at the University of Cameroon before moving on to Zaire.

[1] Mr. and Mrs. Nakhjavani and other guests of honour, went to Limbe to visit the Baháʼí s of the southwest province, and Buea where they were received by the paramount chief, and travelled to Douala.

[73] The Cameroonian Baháʼí community has initiated and cooperated with a number of projects attempting to equalize the position of women, a primary principle of the religion.

According to Tiati Zock, the national coordinator of the project in Cameroon, a survey done in early 1992 among some 45 families in each of the seven villages reported that the men made virtually all of the financial decisions alone.

The key research paper, "Cameroonian Tribal and Family Meetings and the Baháʼí Teachings," was presented by Chongwain Nkuo, a teacher at the Post and Telecommunication School.

After his presentation there was an evaluation of his work by the members of a jury including David Nkwenti, Head of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Yaoundé.

[80] Also in 2002, for United Nations Day on October 24, members of the Buea religious community gathered for an interfaith panel discussion led by the Secretary General of the South West Province; the group included members or spokesmen of the Baháʼí Faith, the Muslim Imam, a representative of the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese, and a representative of the Hindu community.

[81] A January 20, 2007 service in Buea at the Baháʼí Centre of Learning commemorated World Religion Day among a similar breadth of representation.