bakwerirama

Dr. William Nganje: Community Leader and Academic Role Model in the United States

By Dibussi Tande (originally published in Summit Magazine)

One of the highlights of the Fako America 15th annual convention in Chicago, USA, was the award of plaques of excellence to a number of individuals for their contribution towards the advancement of Fako division and its inhabitants.
 
Dr. William Nganje receiving the 2009 Best Journal Article Award from the Food Distribution Research Society in Broomfield, Colorado
 
One of the recipients was Dr. William Nganje, an Associate Professor at the MSMA – W.P. Carey School of Business, at Arizona State University (ASU), who was recognized for his role in assisting Fako and Cameroonian students in the United States throughout his teaching and research career.

Becky Ndive Passes On

Nkeze Mbonwoh (Cameroon Tribune)

      Another Radio icon has died leaving Buea in shock, her fans in grief and tears.

Njome Becky Ndive, the famous matriarch of "The Debate" on CRTV national television, has quit the scene. Becky Ndive, as she was popularly known, gave up the ghost at about 11 pm on July 12, 2009 in the Buea Regional Hospital Annex after a protracted ailment.

She retired from the CRTV in 2005, had since then been living in Buea shuttling between her Great Soppo home and her mother's house in neighbouring Ekona. Becky leaves behind many offsprings amongst whom Oscar (eldest son and military officer), Miriam (in the USA ) and Suzan in Buea. These three, she had in her first marriage with the then Prime Minister of West Cameroon, Dr Emmanuel Endeley.

Go and Rest Auntie, Becky Ndive We Will Miss You!

By Mabi Azefor Fominyen (Originally published on Mabi's World)

I barely dried my tears following Michael Jackson's death only to learn about Becky Ndive's passing on!

Devastated!

So I thought: what a cruel world we live in ! Is it so cruel that some "STARS "can no longer bear but pass on to a world beyond? Otherwise, how can Auntie Becky ( like she was fondly called) die when she was always so full of life?

She would weep for others and sympathise with many!
She would visit you if you were sick!
She would cheer you up if you were feeling low!
She would joke even when no one expected her to.

She would tell you to 'keep up the good work and be there for listeners and viewers'
She would make you feel proud of yourself in a 'house' where others hardly did same!

University Don Hails Tata Kinge

By Moki S. Mokondo (Originally published on Fako News Centre) 

 

The former pioneer editor-in-chief, MINAJ Broadcast International, Nigeria ,now senior lecturer, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Buea, Cameroon, Funge Diffang has called on Fako elites in the Diaspora to throw their weight behind a Fako based cultural artist Tata-Kinge. The university don explained that the artist has exceptional talents that can be exploited to sell the Bakweri culture beyond Cameroon. According to the acting Head of Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Tata-Kinge is endowed with talents that enabled him to transform a typical traditional dance chacha of the Bakweris into a hot piece that has taken over the stage of most night clubs and parties organised in Cameroon. 

Aunty Kate: The Cook, the Book, the Educator and Homemaker

By Gladys Ejomi Martin (Culled from Success Story Magazine # 011, July 2008)

Mrs. Kate Ebenye Idowu née Steane is known by family, friends, colleagues, pupils and in fact, everybody, as Aunty Kate.

 

She is one of the daughters of Charles Nako and Djara Steane, both of blessed memory,and is resident in Clerks Quarters, Buea, Fako Division. She was born in September 1919 in Victoria (now Limbe) and is still going strong at the ripe age of 89 years.

Dr. Namanga Ngongi Announced as President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Alongside Kofi A. Annan, A. Namanga Ngongi to Lead AGRA’s Work To End Poverty and Hunger of Africa’s Small-Scale Farmers

Accra, Ghana (14 November 2007) — The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) today announced the naming of Dr. A. Namanga Ngongi as its first president. Ngongi is in Accra meeting with Ghanaian government officials, after which he will return to AGRA headquarters in Nairobi.

Ngongi began his career in the fields alongside farmers in his native Cameroon, where he worked as an agricultural officer helping farmers improve yield and diversify and market their crops. His career has spanned involvement in international organisations, and has included serving as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and leading the peace-keeping mission in war-torn Congo for the United Nations.

“Dr. Ngongi’s leadership will strengthen AGRA’s efforts to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families end poverty,” said Kofi A. Annan, Chairman of the Board of AGRA and former Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Dr. Jem Spectar Inaugurated as President of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

By Lloney Monono (Originally published in The Sun)

"I am confident that students from this institution under the guidance of Dr. Jem Spectar will make a substantial and positive difference to the world" - Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu (click here for video message)

Dr. Jem Spectar who hails from Buea at the foot of Mt. Fako, South West Cameroon, was on Friday 28th September  installed as the 5th President of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in the United States.

Friday's inauguration at the Pasquerilla Centre highlighted a week of festivities to welcome the new president and to mark the university's 80th birthday.

Growing Black in Nazi Germany: The Story of Mola Martin Ngeka Luma

On April 13, 2003, Mola Martin Ngeka Luma, one of the most prominent and most venerated sons of Fako of our times, died in Douala after a protracted illness. His death brought to a close one of the most fascinating lives of our time; that of a little Bakweri kid who grew up in Nazi Germany with a Jewish family and later became a minister in the Government of Ahmadou Ahidjo in Cameroon.

According to Mola's biography as presented by his son Peter Luma at his funeral:

The Late Hon. Dr. M.N.LUMA was born on 10th September 1927 at Tongo. His father Nako LUMA died three months before he was born while his mother Sarah Ngombe died six months after his birth. Hon. Dr. Martin Ngeka LUMA was adopted later in his life by a childless German Family ,the Reinholds. In 1929 he was taken to Germany by his adopted parents.

JK: John Kale and the Lost Generation

By Moki Monono (Chiefs Palace - Great Soppo, Buea)

When JK first returned to Cameroon from the US, all of his brothers were abroad. Some people blamed him for returning. They felt that having arrived in the paradise of America he should have continued to live there. JK’s love for Cameroon was very strong. He kept on coming back to a country which did not merit his love.

he came, the only one who returned, to save
   the old family and its old house, to continue
the ancient line, a quite life
   a life of modest soups with a quiet woman

Dr. Herbert Endeley, University of Buea's Pioneer Registrar Laid to Rest

By Harry McYemti and Ben Nakomo in Buea (Originally published in The Entrepreneur)

The mortal remains of late Dr Hebert Nganjo Endeley, the pioneer Registrar of the University of Buea has been buried in his native Mokunda village in Buea Town, Cameroon.

Herbert Endeley who until his death was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) in charge of Research and Cooperation at the University of Buea (UB) died after a brief illness at the Reference Hospital in Douala on Tuesday, November 28, 2006.

Introducing Max Sako Lyonga: The Man with the Golden Brush

By Dibussi Tande

In October 2004, Cameroonian painter Max Sako Lyonga captured the imagination of the country and made headline news with a breathtaking and grandiose exhibition at the Blaise Cendrars French Cultural Center in Douala. The exhibition, which was titled “Letter to anyboby”, drew thousands of visitors and again confirmed, if need be, that Max Lyonga was without doubt one of the greatest Cameroonian painters of his generation, if not of all times.

According to a World Bank portrait of the artist, “[Max Lyonga’s] native Bakweri culture, the environment, social aspects of life, and intimate scenes and feelings dominate his artistic works which he expresses through abstraction and figurative works.”

Max Sako Lyonga in Images

Click the thumbnails below for a sample of Max Lyonga's paintings

Click here to visit the ARNET website to purchase paintings by Max Lyonga

Simon Efange: "Brain Gain" Pioneer

Professor of Chemistry at the University of Buea, Cameroon

In the past two decades, the socio-economic and political development of most African countries has been severely hampered by the massive exodus of its highly skilled human resources to developed countries -- the infamous brain drain phenomenon. Recently, however, there have been coordinated attempts by international institutions, NGOs, and some African Governments at stemming or simply reversing the tide by creating enabling conditions that would facilitate the return Africa's intellectual capital to Africa - the much touted "Brain Gain" movement or the "reverse brain drain".

While this movement has gained steam in many Southern, Eastern and West African countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, it is an idea that has yet to be embraced at state level Cameroon. In spite of the absence of institutional incentives, some skilled Cameroonians are nonetheless taking the plunge and making that generally uncertain and risky return to the motherland

In Memoriam: Mola Ndeley Mokoso is No More

It is with deep sadness that the Bakwerirama team announces the death of prominent Bakweri novelist, poet, painter, journalist and politician, Mola Stephen Ndeley Mokoso, on June 9 in London, England.

According to news reports, Mola Ndeley:

... came to the UK a few years ago to pursue treatment for a long ailment, but his life here was full of activity. He continued his work of art and writing, seeking to perfect all the time. He won many friends among the retired who took after his inspirational talents. On the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee, he was hailed by the local press as the man who had on official duties brushed the Royal family in three different decades. Queen Elizabeth on her visit to Nigeria, Prince Philip on his visit to Cameroon and Prince Charles to whom he offered his famous painting of the Victoria Botanical Gardens.

In Memoriam: Poetry By Ndeley Mokoso

A SALUTE TO MOUNT FAKO

I stand at the salute
my right hand aloft and my head salaamed
to the great Olympus of West Africa
the colossus, citadel and sanctuary of the Bakweri-men of old
from the daring exploits of early despots in the name of
explorers and patriarchs
substituting native despotism for white civilization
and bringing Christendom into heathendom
from the traffickers of black gold
from the ruthless Hun with his sticks spitting out fire and death
the pogrom of a hostile and stubborn race
the rape of a people by a people
But KUVA LIKENYE stood his ground in complete defiance of the carnage
the hero of his emasculated people
and you roared, shook and fumed in wrath
belched out smoke, fire and brimstone
The terrestrial brotherhood scampered in panic and pitched
their bastion in Douala
but that was a long, long time ago
before my father's father
But there you are ! Moli mo FAKO! LAIR OF IFASA MOTO!
bulwark of ages
still dominating the scene
indomitable, majestically dormant
the Giant Pyramid of West Africa
I salute! I salute you!

Winner of the 1995 Cameroon National Poetry Award

Meet Bakwerirama Authors/Editors: Iya Mojoko Ewusi

A born teacher, Iya Mojoko is passionate and knowledgeable in Bakweri culture and is one of the foremost in a unique crop of individuals determined to ensure that the culture not only survives, but adapts and remains dynamic and vital well into the future. Born and raised in Mokunda (Buea), she taught kindergarten and elementary school for 10 years both in Cameroon and the USA, where she worked in inner city schools where she was an advocate for women and children of low income families.

She currently works as a pediatric nurse in the Minneapolis/St Paul metropolis, so her focus continues to be children. She is a busy mother with a family of her own. As if her hands were not already full, she holds a diploma in computer networking.

Meet Bakwerirama Authors/ Editors: Iya Rosemary Ekosso

Iya Rosemary Ekosso was born in Buea. She holds a B.A. in English and French, as well as postgraduate certificates in Translation and Interpreting. She has worked as translator/interpreter since 1995, first with public and semi-public bodies of the Cameroon government, in addition to extensive freelance work, and is currently employed in the same capacity by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania.

Decribed by contemporaries as "one of the brightest of our generation", her contributions in Bakwerirama attest to the truth of that assertion.

Contact:

Sister Elizabeth Elive

Saint Ethelwold's House, Abingdon

Sister Elizabeth Elive, a highly regarded Bakweri nun is the coordinator of Saint Ethelwold's, a Dominican house in Abingdon, England. Many observers have predicted that Africans would restore and sustain Christianity to Europe where it has been suffering a decline. Bakwerirama is proud of Sister Elive.

Christine Njeuma: Cameroon's Pioneer Female Pilot

In January 2002, 29-year old Christine Bonbankal Njeuma made history by becoming the first ever Bakweri and Cameroonian female pilot, when she got recruited by Cameroon's national carrier, Cameroon Airlines (CAMAIR). This was a groundbreaking achievement that challenged deeply ingrained beliefs about gender roles for Cameroonian and African women.

By venturing into a career totally dominated by males, Christine was sending a message that the Cameroonian woman of the 21st century refused to be held back by outdated sexist standards.

Sarah Etonge

Google Search: Sarah Etonge

Perhaps one of the greatest athletes of all time is a Bakweri Woman, Sarah Etonge. The 'Mount Cameroon' race may not be as famous at the New York marathon, but it is much more grueling, and Mrs Etonge is the undisputed queen of that race.