September 13, 2024
Follow your heart, maintain an optimistic outlook—and, most of all, never fear failure.
That was the message delivered to St. John’s University students on September 10 by Sultan Mfon Mforifoum Mbombo Njoya Mouhammad Nabil ’15CPS, King of the Bamum people of Cameroon and proud graduate of the College of Professional Studies (now called The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies).
No matter where life’s journey takes you, no matter what you seek to accomplish, there is always something to learn from the challenges faced along the way.
“Failure is the opportunity to move forward and to bring people together,” the king said. “Those who do not experience difficult times are not learning. Believe in what you are doing and trust in God.”
Twentieth in a line of succession that dates back to the 14th century, the leader addressed informally as King Njoya reminded St. John’s students that he too once played soccer on the Great Lawn. In between classes toward earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Networking and Telecommunications (now called Networking Systems), he took advantage of all the educational, cultural, and social resources the University had to offer.
Six years after graduating from the University, he ascended to the Bamum throne upon the death of his father. King Njoya, 31, quickly earned a reputation as a reformer, doing away with some longstanding traditions and focusing his people firmly on the future. He was joined at St. John’s by an entourage of Bamum dignitaries, his wife, and his mother. The St. John’s visit was one stop in a tour of North America that also included stops in Boston, MA; Washington, DC; and Montreal, Canada.
The king was clearly comfortable in his return to his alma mater. He joked with students gathered in the Moot Courtroom of the School of Law about his time at the University, noting his ceremonial wardrobe “is not how he used to dress while on campus,” and told them how the values he learned at St. John’s animate his kingship today.
He also told them of how he arrived on the Queens, NY, campus unable to speak or read English, and learned the language while attending classes. French is the dominant language in Bamum, a precolonial state of 1.25 million people in northwestern Cameroon about the size of Delaware.
“I always say St. John’s gave me the ability to speak,” King Njoya said. “Research says the more languages you speak, the more developed your brain is. That, and more, is what St. John’s gave me.”
“Going to St. John’s was a path God set for me,” King Njoya continued. “There is no school in the world where you learn how to be a king, but St. John’s knows how to teach a king.”
The king’s visit was facilitated by the Institute for Vincentian Impact. Konrad Tuchscherer, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of History, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Director of External Scholarships and Fellowships, served as host in a fireside, chat-style discussion that featured questions submitted in advance from the St. John’s audience.
“The king prioritized the trip to St. John’s, and we are grateful to have one of our alumni return home,” Dr. Tuchscherer said. “He made returning here a centerpiece of his North American trip.”
Among the St. John’s students in attendance was a group of Ozanam Scholars, fitting since the king himself is an alumnus of the social-justice program. The king credits St. John’s with helping to establish in him an atmosphere of religious tolerance that he has brought to his people.
“The lessons King Njoya shared were admirable and inspirational,” said Isabel Cuffari, a first-year Sociology student and an Ozanam Scholar. “He has lived through both good and difficult times and manages to find the light in it all. I appreciate how his experience in the Ozanam Program impacts his perspective on life and the treatment of others, especially those in most need.”
The Bamum people are largely Muslim, but the kingdom also has a sizable Christian presence, and many other citizens practice traditional Indigenous religions. As sultan and king, King Njoya, himself Muslim, is responsible for the spiritual and secular development of his people.
“God is neither Muslim nor Christian,” the king said. “God is God, and religion is the light through which God sees us.”
While at St. John’s, King Njoya minored in Social Justice: Theory and Practice in the Vincentian Tradition, traveling to Ecuador, France, and Puerto Rico in community development missions with his fellow Ozanam Scholars. Social justice, as he experienced it at St. John’s, is “simply caring for others,” the king explained. “It is thinking about the well-being of people—and that is what I try to do as a leader.”
Watch a video of the king’s visit to St. John’s.