about ba david
THE BIOGRAPHY OF ENGINEER DAVID YEBILA NJAFUH
In life, many great achievers seem to avoid the limelight, as if being known by the public and receiving accolades could be mesmerizingly embarrassing even to them. This is the biography of one such laid-back, brilliant legend, who very few outside his immediate family and circle of friends know.
Ba David Yebila Njafuh, whom we honor and celebrate today, is one such achiever. Born to peasant farmers in Bali Nyonga, Cameroon, he went on to acquire academic excellence in engineering and has decades of engineering background work in the USA, which have influenced his outstanding accomplishments in the real estate industry.
This is a man who lost his father at the tender age of ten in 1969. Being the third of five children, he was sent by his mother to go live with his eldest sibling in Buea town, Cameroon, while he continued his elementary school education. After his father’s demise, young David dedicated himself to fostering his education and focusing on technical education.
His hard work paid off when he gained admission to the Ombe Government Technical and Industrial College from 1975 to 1980, graduating with first- class honors. After a brief stint with the BICEC bank from 1980 to 1981 as a technician, David was offered a job as a technician with Guinness Cameroon Brewery Company in Douala before being accepted into the University of Texas at El Paso, USA, in 1982.
As fate would have it, young David arrived in El Paso into the arms of an unknown white lady who would become his visible guardian angel and his north star. This lady, Ms. Philomina, who has since transitioned from this world, took David under her wings, housed him, and eventually transferred her only house to him before passing on to glory. David was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for this uncommon goodwill that he later gave the house to the church that had been Ms. Philomina's place of worship. Ms. Philomina was childless and found satisfaction in adopting young David as her only child, a new arrival from Africa she had never known prior to his landing in El Paso. His gesture of gifting his mentor/adopted mother’s house, then his by all accounts, to the church left an indelible mark on the church congregants.
Following the passing on to glory of his adopted American mother, young David continued his academic pursuits and trained at West Virginia Tech University, graduating with distinction in a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Thereafter, he attended Indiana State University, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Electronics and Computer Science.
Engr. David Y. Njafuh’s educational breakthrough as a young man from Africa leaves a legacy of hard work and untiring ambition. Throughout his educational journey in his native Cameroon to American institutions of higher learning, Engr. David Y. Njafuh, though a partial orphan, never took fourth position in class; he was always first or second. Coming out third in his class wasn’t good enough.
His professional trajectory has equally been clothed with excellence. Engr. David Y.
Njafuh was happily employed by Dynatram Company, which the District of Columbia Government had put in charge of traffic light flow until 1990. Shortly thereafter, he landed a more lucrative job with the City of Alexandria Government from 1990 to 1996. His stellar records, unblemished image, and accomplishments attracted the Government of the District of Columbia, who happily hired Engr. David Y. Njafuh as a technical official in charge of the Government’s Department of Buildings in the United States Federal Capital, from 1996 until his well-deserved retirement in 2023. His last position enriched him with plenty of experience and insights that have served him well in being a shrewd and successful real estate investor and businessman to this date.
A major decision in his life was in May 1988 when he returned to his native Cameroon, where he got married to his sweetheart—the one and only wife, life partner, and industrious woman, Na Jalla Justine Njafuh. Engr. David Y. Njafuh is a humble and soft- spoken gentleman, a family man, and a community man who, with his beautiful and faithful wife, has raised three successful daughters: Diane, Cynthia, and Frida, and a host of other children who today fondly call him Ba David.
Ba Njafuh has not only excelled in his academic, professional, and family life but his spiritual life and generosity in symbiosis with his beloved wife are legendary. The singular act of gifting the only house he had been given by his adopted American mother to the church, their support of ministries to several churches in the USA, Cameroon, Ghana, and Tanzania, and their philanthropic acts of empowerment to vulnerable women in diverse local communities in Africa are outstanding. These seeds have undoubtedly not only nourished the success of his real estate endeavors today but also provide understanding as to why God intervened to save the life of this faithful servant, Engr. David Y. Njafuh, who at the age of 62, survived a major stroke, when many at his age are rare survivors.
A celebration of this legend is a testimony to the fulfilling grace God grants to hardworking and faithful servants like Ba David Y. Njafuh.