“All the World is a Stage” Shakespeare said and “all the men and women merely players, with entrances and exits”. Born some seventy seven years ago, Moses Oben TATAW grew up, like his other brothers, under the Shadow of his father, Chief John Ayuk TATAW, a Customary Court President who ruled Ossing as Chief for more than three decades. As one of the sons of a reigning Ejagham monarch, Moses Oben TATAW enjoyed rare priviledges and had many choices of social advancement open to him. At the village level, in his childhood, he was in the limelight, playing music of a popular genre pegged on the flute. The “Son of the Chief” as he and his brothers were popularly called, had to tear himself away from the entertainment industry and the attendant social advantages, in favour of the golden fleece. He passed entrance exams into St Joseph’s College Sasse and Hope Wadel College in Nigeria but opted to become a teacher, going through Batibo and the Government Teacher Training College in Kumba. For decades, the “Social Prince” of Ossing, earned the Sobriquet of “Headmaster”, until his retirement.
As a first Child, I saw two phases of my father. The first phase was when his father Chief John Ayuk TATAW was in Command in Ossing and the second phase was after the death of the Chief, my grand father. In his life time my grand father virtually took all the decisions and I did not see my father as man enough, with the overwhelming presence of his father who called all the shots. After the death of the Chief, my vision of my father changed dramatically. My grand father who was always there on my side to pamper me and explain to me the family tree of the TATAWS and the history of Ossing, was no more. I now had to face a new life, learn to know my father and cope with the vagaries of life and the hostility of his sisters. As a father, he strove to inculcate into his children the cult of effort, merit and honesty. We were always reminded to “seek firstly the kingdom of academics” and all the rest will be added unto it. He stood up for the truth without bothering whose ox was gored in the process. He strove to be his own man, independent to the core after the death of his father. He will never mince his words, even at the risk of being the lone voice of reason in a wilderness of emotions. As his children, we were very proud of his independent mind set and his intrinsic capacity to stand up for the truth at all times. We love and admire you. In your absence, the challenges will be many but donot forget that you prepared us for these hurdles.

Emmanuel TATAW

It was January 3, 1954. The place was the Basel Mission Church; and the village was Bachuo-Ntai. The preacher stood up and delivered the long-awaited news: Finally, the teacher to re-open the Basel Mission School, Bachuo-Ntai, had arrived and was in fact sitting among fellow worshipers. There was applause before the long-awaited teacher was even asked to stand up. A medium height, chubby, and princely-looking gentleman stood up. He was introduced as Mr. Oben Tataw, Mmoh Mfor Tataw (son of Chief Tataw). There was continued applause. Re-opening day of the school was billed for January 11, 1954.
It can be recalled that Basel Mission School Bachuo-Ntai was closed down in 1948 by the Basel Mission authorities in Cameroon, due to a serious conflict between the school’s teachers and Bachuo-Ntai villagers. Bachuo-Ntai was therefore without a school for six years. This was right in the middle of what has gone down in history as the period of Manyu education revolution; and Bachuo-Ntai, one of the most important Manyu villages, was without a school. Some Bachuo-Ntai historians have called the period 1948 – 1954 the Dark Age of Bachuo-Ntai. It should therefore not be surprising for Bachuo-Ntai villagers to be so excited at the announcement of the arrival of the man who would bring back enlightenment. That man was viewed as the ultimate saviour of the village. Yes, that was how Bachuo-Ntai people looked at Moses Oben Tataw, the son of Chief Tataw.

The school’s physical plant had collapsed during six years of neglect. The villagers were asked to report to the school site the following day to start re-building. Within one week, Mr. Tataw was able to direct the villagers to put up two thatch houses, one for himself, and the other, for two classrooms. At exactly 8:00am, January 11, 1954, Basel Mission School Bachuo-Ntai re-opened, and the curtain of darkness that had shrouded the village for eight years was lifted. Re-opening started with prayers, followed by registration of pupils’ names in the admission register. This writer was a pioneer pupil whose name is number 5 on the school’s admission register.
One day after registration, school activities started earnestly, with Mr. Tataw as the only teacher. He was Head Master, Games Master, Music Master, Agriculture Master, and the all and all. The curriculum included English language, Duala language, Arithmetic, Religious Knowledge, Nature Study, Hygiene, and Agriculture. All the pupils were simple villagers who understood no English. Mr. Tataw was however, innovative enough to use Kenyang as the language of instruction. Thus English and Duala were taught as second and third languages, respectively. Ossing, the village from which Mr. Oben Tataw hails is reputed as the only bilingual village in Manyu. Our teacher, Oben Tataw, proved this to be true. His mastery of the Kenyang language was amazing. He used Kenyang to teach two foreign languages, English and Duala, to village ignorant village kids. Some among us are fluent today in Kenyang, English, and Duala because of his teaching skills and ability to master many languages. Such is skill that is still rare.

Mr. Tataw was a strict disciplinarian of the old school of thought, who believed in the biblical verse, “spare the rod and spoil the child”. This did not make him a monster. It rather endeared him to the pupils because all of us could see the fatherly love in the way he corrected us. If a pupil continued to be incorrigible, Mr. Tataw went to the child’s parents to report. That was how he cared about his kids. He even admitted into his household children who had nobody to care for them. He could not tolerate dirt. Everybody had to bathe before coming to school. Our uniforms had to be clean. He taught us that cleanliness is next to godliness. Mr. Tataw was a very religious, but lively man. He was famous in all Manyu villages for his abilities in conducting “band” (as Emcee) and playing the side drum. Band, also known as “belleh sumbu”, was his past time. Mr. Tataw was an exemplary father and husband. His wife was popularly called “Nyango”. A lot of us wished he was not only our teacher, but also our father. Mr. Tataw was a man of great honesty and high integrity. He often quoted to us the bible verse that says “the truth shall set you free”. Sometimes he simply said, “speak the truth and shame the devil”. He was soft-spoken but firm and unassuming. His yes was yes and no was no. As they say, you can carry Mr. Oben Tataw’s word to the bank.
He taught us the parable of the mustard seed several times. At the time, I did not understand why. Now, I understand. Yes, Mr. Oben Tataw saw himself as the sower. Before coming to Bachuo-Ntai, Mr. Tataw had already taught in other schools. He was in Bachuo-Ntain only for two years and continued his teaching career for over forty years in other Manyu villages. However, the school he built from scratch was the mustard seed he sowed. He expected the school, like the mustard seed, to grow. Boy! And did it grow? All buildings of the school are now modern, no longer thatch huts; and it has been taken over by the government, but it is still the mustard seed that Mr. Oben Tataw sowed. Fifty-six years after its creation, the school has produced thousands of educated men and women in all fields of human endeavour. These include medical doctors, teachers, lawyers, policemen, scientists, engineers, politicians. Name it, you have it. The most prominent of these products is Prof. Peter Agbor-Tabi, Minister-Assistant Secretary General in the Presidency of the Republic. Mr. Tataw lifted the curtain of darkness that shrouded Bachu-Ntai and ushered the village to the new age of enlightenment. Thanks to Oben Tataw, Bachuo-Ntain can now boast of being among Manyu villages with a highly literate population.
Over the years, those of us who passed through Mr. Tataw’s mold have come to call him Pa Moses. The last time Pa Moses was here, visiting with David in California, I spoke with him several times over the phone. I wish I had gone to see him in stead. Now, it is too late. We miss Pa Moses. It is my believe that the multitude of children who passed through his classes are grateful to him for a job well done. I wish, on behalf of us all, to extend our heart-felt condolences to Pa Moses’ Family. He was our father also. Family, your loss is our loss. We pray that the good God who sent him on this mission of enlightenment should receive him in His arms. The mission is accomplished. Pa Moses, rest well and farewell. We shall all meet again.