ISSUE 2120

N° 2120 Yaounde, Thursday April 15, 2021 First Published in 2001 Price: 400 FCFA Tel: 222 314 061/ 675 505 247, Bamenda Bureau 675 460 750, Douala Bureau: 679 280 302

Islamic Trade injects 64 billion

FCFA into SODECOTON

DAILY

Cherished by many, haunted by some, read by them all

By Cyprian Obi Ntui

The International

IslamicTrade Finance

Corporation, ITFC has

injected a whooping 64 billion

FCFA to boost cotton

production at the Cameroon

Cotton Corporation, SODE-

COTON.

Reports say that on April

12, the ITFC signed the

agreement with Cameroon

with the Minister of

Economy, Planning and

Regional Development,

Alamine Ousmane Mey representing

the government.

Cont’d on page 10

Nigerian Consul General for NW, SW tells compatriots:

It’s in your interest to live

in peace in your host nation

By Giyo Ndzi

The Nigerian Consul General

to the North West and South

West Regions, His Excellency

Ibrahim Mohammed Bashir, has

urged his compatriots living in

Cameroon to remain law-abiding

and ascribe to the values of peace

and diplomacy.

Doing so, he told them, will be in

their best interest as well as that of

their host nation, Cameroon.

This, to the official, will continue

to foster relations between

Cameroon and Nigeria as well as

seal the diplomatic bond that has

been existing for several decades

between them.

H.E Ibrahim Mohammed Bashir

was speaking at the weekend in

Yaounde where he was honoured

with The Guardian Post 2020 Peace

& Diplomacy Award for his sustained

efforts in addressing the

plight of Nigerian nationals in

Cameroon and for ensuring that they

respect the laws of their host country.

Cont’d on page 3

French MP urges AU to

discuss Anglophone crisis

By Maxcel Fokwen

Vocal French

Member of

P a r l i a m e n t ,

Sebastine Nadot, has urged

the African Union, AU, to

discuss the Anglophone crisis.

This, the lawmaker

beliefs, is what is needed to

trigger fresh international

attention in the crisis lingering

in the North West and

South West regions.

Nadot, who has repeatedly

slammed the lukewarm

attitude of the international

community in seeking for a

path to peace, said there is

need to change the narrative

of relying on colonial powers

to take the lead.

He slammed empty declarations

and condemnation

of the crisis, insisting that

there is urgent need to call

for restrain on both sides.

To him, such is needed as

the first step towards peace.

Cont’d on page 3

Enterprises Upgrading Office hands

int’l certification to Multiprint

From Brenda Kiven in Douala

The

Enterprises

Upgrading Office

known by its French

acronym, BMN, has congratulated

Multilprint

Serigraphie S.A for succeeding

in getting an international

recognition which will

increase the company’s visibility

on the international

scene.

The General Manager of

BMN, Chantal Elombat

Mbedey, during a solemn ceremony

at the headquarters of

Multiprint in Bekoko

Bonaberi, in the company of

GICAM’s second vice

President and Director of

Brasseries, Emmanuel De

Tailly, handed over the ISO

9001:2015 certificate to

Multiprint’s director.

Cont’d on page 7

H.E Ibrahim Bashir: Nigerian Consul General for NW, SW

Biya says Nfon Mukete’s legacy

inspiration for nation-building

By Maxcel Fokwen

The Head of State, Paul

Biya has said the heritage

of revered statesman

Nfon Victor Esimisongo

Mukete III is an inspiration for

those alive to contribute in

nation-building.

Nfon Mukete died Saturday

April 10 at the age of aged 103.

Biya’s assessment of the late

respected politician, industrial

farmer and traditional ruler of

exceptional class is the content

of a condolence message issued

Monday.

Cont’d on page 8

BMN boss (M) handing certification to Multiprint officials as GICAM rep. looks on

COLUMN/HEALTH/SOCIETY

The Guardian Post No 2120 Thursday April 15, 2021 Page 2

Issues of the

moment

By Cyprian Ntiamba Obi Ntui

in Yaounde

Microfinance:

Way to capital

acumulation?

Microfinace institutions are in the news.

This time, not news of foldups or officials

running away with people’s savings.

Rather they’re in the news for the good they

have been doing and for the strides they have been

covering in the effort to alleviate poverty among

Cameroonians, and therefore help the nation build

its own capital base.

He who goes aborrowing, goes asorrowing, they

say. Reason why patriotic Cameroonians need to

be weary of the spade with wich their government

borrows money only to put in the hands of people

who cannot invest wisely but thrive in squandering

the resources in frivilous living dooming

future generations into a life of agony.

First it is Ntarikon Credit Union that won the

best macrofinace institution award in the whole

central African sub region. Added to this distinction,

the Canadian High Commissioner to

Cameroon who officiated at the handing over of

the awrad ceremony, endorsed the microfinace

house as standing at the fore front in the fight to

alleviate poverty among Cameroonians. With a

capital base of 3.4 billion FCFA, Ntarikon is certainly

Cameroon’s most viable microfinace institutionat

the moment.

Just as Ntarikon was celebrating its exploits at

sub regional level, Una Familia Finace Ltd, was

inaugurated in Yaounde by the Archbishop of the

Bamenda Metropolitan Archdiocese, His Grace

Andrew Fuanya Nkea. Archbishop Nkea who is

also the Apostolic Administrator of the Mamfe

Diocese and Chairperson of UNAFF Ltd, said the

banking institution has been of great relevance to

the microfinance sector of Cameroon since its creation.

Like Ntarikon, the Prelate said UNAFF has contributed

immensely in the poverty alleviation

effort and the growth of Cameroon’seconomy

both at the micro and macro lervels.

“It is with the same spirit of growth and human

empowerrment that UNAFF Ltd has extended its

arm to this respected population of Yaounde, Obili

and its environs so that we can together walk on

this successful path,” the Archbishop told guests

and dignatories at the sumptuous launching.

What a consolation after the bitter experience of

mass failure of similar institutions some two

decades ago? That freightening experience sent

many Cameroonians into believing that forming

associations where savings are kept by people

who know one another face to face could be the

only way to arrest the phenomenon of bankruptcies

plaguing finacial houses; a situation that has,

in the past, dampened the spirit of Cameroonians

who want to accumulate savings for investment.

That thinking fostered the emergence of an era

where homegrown microfinance institutions now

dominate local ‘banking’, not only in Cameroon,

but in the entire central African sub region.

What kills the spirit most is when such embezzlement

occurs in a church-based institution.

When people agree to suffer salary cuts in order to

keep money that could help them in times of

emergency, after retirement or even on a rainy

day, it bleeds the heart to hear that some accounting

officer or cashier played games with the

money and such workers (savers) can no longer

get back their hard earned money.

Experience shows that even in church-based

institutions, supposedly role models are increasingly

becoming a disappointment to those they

owe confidence. But this cannot be the case with

Una Familia Finance Ltd, we hope.

BEAC to construct new

branch office in Limbe


The oil city of Limbe, in Fako

Division, of the South West

region, has been slated to host a

branch of the Central Bank of the Bank

of Central African States, BEAC.

Business in Cameroon reports that

the opening of a branch in Limbe is

within the framework of the Central

Bank’s programme to renew its facilities

and extend its network in

Cameroon.

In that regard, the central bank

recently published a tender notice to

recruit a contractor that will carry out

"geotechnical and topographic surveys

on the site where the new BEAC

branch will be built in Limbe."

This is the third real estate project

the BEAC is launching in Cameroon

within just 12 months. On September

29, 2020, the central bank had laid the

foundation stone of the Ebolowa

branch, in the South region. Before

that, in June 2020, it recruited Bureau

Veritas to monitor the construction of

its national directorate for Cameroon.

According to internal sources at the

central bank, the recent investments,

both in Cameroon and in other

CEMAC countries, are aimed at bringing

the BEAC services closer to economic

operators but also improving the

central bank’s employees’ working

environment. A move that looks belated

in coming, according to many

observers.

They recall that BEAC was established

in 1972 under the official name

Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale,

BEAC. The bank's head office is in

Cameroon; while its role is to manage

the region's monetary policy, issue currency,

drive the exchange rate of the

region, manage the foreign reserves of

the member states and facilitate payments

and settlement systems.

The BEAC has also implemented

macroeconomic convergence, which

means it is attempting economic catchup

and monitoring mechanisms; just as

it has also adopted a customs union and

common external tariff, combined indirect

taxation regulations, and initiated

structural and sector policies.

BEACS's Currency Evolution

The Central Bank’s official currency

is the Central African CFA franc; which

had an exchange rate that was formerly

fixed to the French franc but is now

fixed to the European Common

Currency, the Euro.

In December 2019, the heads of the

eight countries that comprise the West

African Economic and Monetary

Union (WAEMU), and the larger 15-

member Economic Community of

West African States (ECOWAS)

announced the CFA Franc would soon

be renamed the Eco and have fewer ties

to France going forward. The currency

would still be pegged to the Euro but

the African countries won't have to

keep 50% of their reserves in the

French Treasury and won't have to keep

a French representative on the currency

union's board.

However, the new currency, which

was intended to go into circulation at

the end of 2020, has been delayed for

as many as five years as a result of the

COVID-19 impact.

BEAC's Strategic Plan

According to the World Bank, the

BEAC’s Strategic Plan was confirmed

by the BEAC’s Board of Directors on

December 21, 2017.

The plan outlined reforms including

implementing the monetary policy that

was laid out in the operational framework

adopted in 2015 by the Monetary

Policy Committee; continuing information

system acquisition research to

obtain accurate and timely data; updating

the legal framework for payment

systems and infrastructure with a focus

on electronic payments and e-money

(monetary value stored on a digital

device); improving financial analysis;

stabilizing and increasing foreign

reserve levels by controlling outgoing

transactions and launching a gold monetization

programme and installing and

integrating foreign exchange IT systems

for better tracking.

Observers say the opening of more

baranches like the ones proposed for

Limbe and Ebolowa will enable the

Central Bank meet its underlying

objectives.

Foreign academic certificates

evaluation commission meets today

By Giyo Ndzi

The National Evaluation

Commission for Training

Domains offered abroad, NEC,

meets today in the nation’s capital,

Yaounde.

Announcing the session in a release

yesterday April 14, the Minister of

State, Minister of Higher Education,

Chancellor of Academic Orders, and

Chairman of the commission, Prof

Jacque Fame Ndongo, said it takes

place at the Higher Teacher Training

College of the University of Yaounde I.

Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, who

presides over today’s session, reminded

the commission’s stakeholders meant

to attend that it shall be held “… in

strict compliance with the barrier measures

prescribed by the Head of State”.

“This commission for which the

Vice Chair is the Minister of Public

Service and Administrative Reforms,”

Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo explained,

“is an international forum that makes

proposals on equivalences for foreign

Prototype of proposed BEAC branch, Limbe

certificates, academic

entitlements and

grades, as well as in

the recognition of

foreign institutions…”.

Their certificates,

he added, “… can

lead to the integration,

reclassification

or advancement of

civil servants of the

various corps of the

Cameroonian civil

service in keeping

with the rules and

regulations that

apply”.

The commission, in its 91st session

in 2019, it should be recalled, detected

some 63 fake certificates; 62 baccalaureates

from the Central African

Republic and one engineering degree

from Russia. Chairing the session on

behalf of Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo,

the Secretary General of the Ministry

of Higher Education, Prof Wilfred

Prof Fame Ndongo: Commission chairman

Gabsa, had urged members to demonstrate

their objectivity, rigour and transparency

in examining the 426 files that

were submitted for review by some 146

institutions in 43 countries.

In the commission’s 74th session,

similar action was replicated, with four

of 214 submitted certificates pointed

out as fakes, leading to their rejection.

www.theguardianpostcameroon.com

The Guardian Post No 2120 SOCIETY

Thursday April 15, 2021 Page 3

It is in your best interest to live in peace in your host nation

Cont’d from page 1

Shortly after receiving the award, the

celebrated diplomat said he was grateful

to among others, Nigerians living in

Cameroon.

“I thank them more sincerely because

if they don’t support me, I will not have

any achievements. I also want to thank

each and every staff and diplomat at the

Nigerian consulate in Buea and the staff

because they created the enabling environment

for me to operate,” he stated.

Expressing his joy for the award being

about peace, H.E Ibrahim Mohammed

Bashir, who is also Goodwill

Ambassador for the Centre for Human

Rights and Democracy in Africa,

CHRDA, said it was timely, given the

current dispensation.

“I am glad my award tonight is peace

… without peace in our homes, our

working place and day to day we will not

be able to perform. I thank you very

much for creating this enabling environment,”

he noted.

“… I also want to thank all officers

and men from Nigeria. In Cameroon here

we have our diplomatic mission in

Yaounde and two consular missions in

Douala and Buea, so I thank them for

taking their time to come and support me

today and also wish to thank the Nigerian

community, the Nigerian union leaders

H.E Ibrahim Bashir: Nigerian

Consul General for NW, SW

that took their time and travelled from

Bamenda, Buea, Tiko, Limbe to come

here to grace this occasion,” the visibly

overjoyed Consul General told those

present.

H.E Ibrahim Mohammed Bashir dedicated

the recognition to his mother and

wife. His mother, he said, was the source

of his strength and wisdom.

“… Every good thing I learnt on the

surface of this earth, she taught me how

to do it. She taught me to be humble,

respectful … and she taught us to be selfless

and that is what I exhibited …,” he

disclosed.

The Nigerian Consul General to

Cameroon’s North West and South West

Regions is credited for, among others,

encouraging fruitful and cordial relationships

among members of the Nigerian

Unions, including the women and youth

wings since taking over in 2018.

The CHRDA Goodwill Ambassador, it

should be recalled, played a vital part in

assisting Cameroonian authorities contain

the cholera epidemic among

Nigerian communities in the Bakassi

peninsula, and has donated items and

vocational skill materials to assist internally

displaced victims of the ongoing

crisis in the North West and South West

regions. He has also visited prisons

across his regions of Consular jurisdictions

where he paid fines for some

Nigerian inmates, donated relief items

for Nigerian prisoners and orphanages

and helped in the repatriation of some

Nigerian detainees.

An estimated four million Nigerians

reside in Cameroon, with a majority living

in the predominantly English-speaking

North West and South West regions.

Ibrahim Bashir addressing compatriots in Bakasssi peninsula

French MP urges African Union to discuss Anglophone crisis


Known for sometimes indicting even his

country’s engagement to end the crisis,

Nadot warned that the world may be taken

off guard by the happenings in the Englishspeaking

region of Cameroon regions if

things are not put under check.

In a recent interview granted

MuntuNews, the man who has also turned

the heat on his country’s government over

the same crisis, warned that time may be

running out unnoticed to address the situation.

Nadat argued that instead of waiting for

a magic wand from the unknown, key

actors must know that given the historic

complexities of the situation, arriving at a

point of peace requires facing the challenges

of the crisis as they are.

African Union should act now

To trigger fresh concerted international

action to arrest the situation, Nadot called

on the AU to put the issue on its agenda.

This, he enthused, is one of the ways

needed to re-energise international interest

in seeking for an end to the crisis.

“The African Union must put this drama

unfolding relatively behind closed doors in

Cameroon on its agenda. This is how voices

can be raised and then mobilised

throughout the international community,”

Nadot told MuntuNews.

AU’s top role to redynamise the search

for an end to the crisis is needed to break

from the narrative of pushing the blame to

the doorsteps of colonial masters,” he said.

“The African Union really needs to play

its role in this story, because otherwise, it is

still referring to the chorus of the colonial

heritage, where ultimately, if the

Americans or other countries do not interfere,

no solution can be found,” the lawmaker

stated, reiterating that, “the African

Union must intervene now before it is truly

too late".

Sebastien Nadot: French Member of Parliament

Risk of genocide

Recalling from his background as a historian,

Nadot decried what he said are

signs he is seeing in relation to the

Anglophone crisis. These signs, he noted,

could burst into another Rwanda-type

genocide as the world looks on.

“The fact is that having worked as a historian,

with a historical look at the genocide

in Rwanda, the fact is that the warning

signs of the situation we find in Cameroon

today are quite similar to what happened in

Rwanda,” the member of President

Macron’s La Republique en March movement

underscored.

Risk of pitting ethnic groups

To Nadot, “by instrumentalising ethnic

groups against other ethnic groups, we

have a situation that can completely get out

of hand now”.

Further warning of danger, he said: “It’s

really my concern when I look a little bit

outside the situation in Cameroon. This is

why I am really indignant that France has

not had a more historical look at the situation

to say to itself: ‘given past experiences,

there is certainly something

extremely strong’, highlighting, calls for

restraint,” he disclosed.

But Nadot weighed what he said is the

need for “real calls for restraint, not insipid

statements, in relation to a situation that

can get out of hand at any time now”.

Scandalous no UN findings

on Ngarbuh massacre

The French historian regretted that the

United Nations, UN, has not sent a team of

experts to further shed light on the

Ngarbuh massacre of February 14, 2020.

“The special thing to add is that there

was no UN panel of experts dispatched at

the time of the Ngarbuh massacre. It is

deeply scandalous,” Nadot lamented.

Peace possible but not easy

He further makes of a reading of perceiving

parties in the Anglophone crisis

interested in seeing peace return but opined

it is not going to be an easy task.

“And it seems to me that the current situation

absolutely requires that everybody

wants to move towards pacification and

conflict resolution,” he quipped, stating

that “that will take time”

Going by Nadot, “it will be something

difficult whatever the paths taken; we must

not think that it is with the wave of a magic

wand that we solve a situation which dates

from a very long time ago”.

Need for int’l investigations

Besides foreseeing a possible but difficult

path to peace, Nadot maintained that

there must be an international investigations

into excesses committed.

This, the historian told MuntuNews, is

needed to establish responsibility for all

crimes committed within the current crisis.

“There must be an international investigation

so that those responsible for excesses

are identified because without that, we

will never be able to move forward," he

declared

Other warning calls

On Tuesday, April 6, the Centre for

Human Rights and Democracy in Africa,

CHRDA, challenged the international

community to act to end the occurrence of

war crimes in the conflict.

The Buea-based group made the call as

it joined the world to commemorate the

genocide awareness month.

In its statement, the group said, “the

thoughts of the CHRDA are with Rwanda

and all the countries witnessing mass

atrocities including Cameroon, and we are

putting this question to the United Nations

Human Rights Council; are we waiting for

another Rwanda to occur in Cameroon

before we fulfill our responsibility to protect?”

The bad example in Nwa

In a fresh report Monday, CHRDA cited

the rising killings in Nwa, Donga Mantung

division, North West region as not being

unconnected to the Anglophone crisis and

a history of farmer-grazier conflict.

The rights group charged separatists,

government and Fulanis to put an end to

the situation, warning that it risks spilling

out of control.

The group indicted government of arming

Funalis to fight natives whom it accuses

of hiding their children considered to be

separatist fighters.

Fulanis, on their part, are pictured in the

same report of having been looking for an

opportunity to fight back owing to repeated

separatist attack on their cattle and livestock.

CHRDA in Monday’s report warned that

the situation could witness “a turn for the

worst if the Fulani crisis is not resolved in

time by the government of Cameroon”.

The same organisation underscored that,

the situation “may appear simple but has

presented some intriguing elements which

if not well handled may cause a spillover

into serious armed conflict”


The Guardian Post No 2120 OPINION/ECONOMY


The call to glory of Prof. Mendo

Ze, former CRTV General

Manager for 17 years and later

pioneer Minister Delegate in the

Ministry of Communication, has raised

some pertinent lessons, reprehensible

as they are, swirling on double standards,

longevity in office and the rule

of law.

A President Biya loyalist to the core,

Mendo Ze was arrested in November

2014 and duly charged with embezzlement

of public money while he served

for almost two decades. The Special

Criminal Court, in 2019, found him guilty as charged.

He was given a 20-year sentence and ordered to pay 15

billion FCFA to the state treasurer. It is not clear if he

paid before his demise.

Mendo Ze is not the first top government official to

have had such sanctions. Others senior than him in terms

of protocol have been entangled in identical webs.

Zacchaeus Forjindam, who was the first to start the

campaign that the constitution be tinkered to give

President Biya unlimited mandate, is languishing in

New Bell prison in Douala. He is serving a life jail for

pilfering less than one billion FCFA which the court confirmed

he took from Chantal Naval when he was

General Manager, often receiving kudos from President

Biya.

Haman Adama, former Minister of Basic Education,

was detained in January 2010 for embezzlement. After

returning 212.5 million FCFA to the state, she was

released. She died later and her death was said to have

been related to the shocks and life-threatening conditions

in Kondengui prison.

Another convict, Catherine Abena, former Secretary

of State for Secondary Education, was arrested and

incarcerated at the Kondengui prison for alleged embezzlement

of public funds amounting to tune of 250 million

FCFA. She embarked on a hunger strike, protesting

poor prison conditions. A week later, she went unconscious

and was taken to the Yaounde Central Hospital

for medical care. She left the hospital on February 7,

2011, almost a living corpse like was the

case of Mendo Ze. She did not go back to prison and

died on the eve of her 60th birthday.

Editorial

Shameful lessons to take

from Mendo Ze's passing on

What is special about the Mendo Ze's case in comparison

to those of Catherine Abena, Haman Adama, to

mention just two among many other top government

officials who took retirement in prison?

The amount of money Abena and Adama stole and

paid back pale into insignificant the 15 billion FCFA the

court confirmed Mendo Ze embezzled.

While the two ladies reportedly paid all they were

accused of having pinched, there is no proof in the public

domain that Mendo Ze paid the 15 billion FCFA.

When the two female members of government passed

on, there wasn't the fuss being sounded like in the case

of the Mendo Ze. The General Manager of CRTV,

Charles Ndongo, has described his former boss as a formidable

loyalist to President Biya, divulging that the

Head of State ordered for the best healthcare to be given

Mendo Ze. He further revealed that a presidential ambulance

was put at the dispersal of Mendo Ze in his last

days.

Despite that compassion showed by the Head of State,

a privilege not given to other VIP detainees of the ruling

party, he was criticised by his MRC challenger, Prof.

Maurice Kamto. The opposition leader said the circumstances

under which Mendo Ze died smacked of ingratitude

from the regime under which the deceased served.

The MRC leader blamed the government for a show

of what he said was indifference in the face of Mendo

Ze’s health in his last days.

“The university lecturer, Gervais Mendo Ze, died in

detention (hospital after presidential pardon) while the

regime which he served with zeal remained indifferent,”

Kamto tweeted adding ... “The conditions of Prof

Mendo Ze’s death shows the vanity of

things, the cynicism and ingratitude of

the Biya regime."

There have been other comments

from members of the public ranging

from the solemn to the sublime,

indicting the government for failing to

ensure Mendo Ze got adequate healthcare.

Others have criticised the CPDM

regime sycophants for sending out

messages of sympathy to the family of

the deceased by people in the corridors

of power given his painful end as

merely shedding crocodile tears.

The Guardian Post continues to send condolences to

the family of a man who, as Minister Delegate for

Communication and CRTV General Manager, was related

to the journalism profession and wish him a peaceful

repose.

His passage and comments that follow, however, have

some inflexible lessons the government and CPDM

lackeys on the corridors of power should take even with

a pinch of salt.

Is the offer of a presidential ambulance and pardon

not a mark of the Head of State's empathy to an ally who

was subservient to his service? If all are equal to the law

as it should be in a country ruled by the rule of law, not

double standards, should all prisoners not be subject to

equal treatment? If Mendo Ze did not serve for so long,

17 years, as General Manager, would he have been

tempted to embezzle so much?

Should his call to glory not be a reminder that those

still serving for more than nine years in state corporations

are in violation of a presidential decree and should

be replaced? If people have stolen so much from the

state, should money be removed from the national treasury

to give them proper healthcare? Is there even good

medical facilities in the country given that some convicts

like former Prime Minister, Ephraim Inoni, and ex-

CAMAIR General Manager, Yves Michel Fotso, were

evacuated abroad for effective medical care?

In fairness to the Biya regime, Mendo Ze has been

given better treatment than former minister, Catherine

Abena, Haman Adama etc. But the guiding principle

ought to be equal treatment for all prisoners which is the

first commandment of the rule of law and equity.

Nigerian firm in Cameroon to help gov’t combat circulation of poor quality drugs

By Mua Patrick Mughe in Yaounde

Leading Nigerian think tank, Bloom

Public Health, is establishing a base

in Cameroon as part of the group’s

effort in fighting the circulation of substandard

medicines.

The group’s Chief Executive Officer,

CEO, Professor Chimezie Anyakora, who is

currently in Cameroon, has been meeting

relevant authorities for consultation.

Speaking to a small group of newsmen

Wednesday at a presser, which also saw the

group sealing a partnership agreement with

the National Drug Quality Control and

Vaccination Laboratory, LANACOME,

Prof Chimezie Anyakora said Bloom Public

Health was born out of the need to create

African-driven solutions to solve African

public health issues, especially in the pharmaceutical

sector.

“…with my experience of over a decade

in this sector in Africa, I am thinking that it

is time for us to wake up and solve it in a

sustainable way,” he said.

To do that, the health expert continued:

“We need to mobilise African talents to

solve this problem. We cannot continue to

rely on foreign help. Africans should wake

up and see the importance of having their

own solution. That is why Bloom public

health was born-to mobilise African talents

to support African problems. It is a new

organisation, just a year old and we have

done a lot in West and East Africa”.

“We are trying to see how we can make

Cameroon a hub for our intervention.

Cameroon as you know, is one of the

biggest countries in Central Africa sub

region that is why Bloom Public Health has

come to establish in Cameroon, and from

here, we can reach other countries across

the sub region,” he explained.

Professor Anyakora: CEO Bloom Public Health

Medicine quality, Prof Chimezie

Anyakora was blunt, is “so important”.

He said “no matter the investment you

make in health, if you don’t have medicines

of good quality, when the patients need

them, you are wasting resources”.

“So that is why we are bringing this to

the fore, mobilizing political leaders, scientists,

pharmacists and medical doctors to do

that. Medicine quality is underestimated

and this is the new story we are bringing to

the table-that is the essence of bloom,” he

explained.

He said for the past days, he has been

working with the ministry of public health.

“…right now, we are training inspectors

at the ministry of Health on how to ensure

that medicines in Cameroon are of good

quality” he told reporters before insisting

that “the stringency of the regulation is

what determines the good quality of medicines

you have in circulation,” the health

expert noted.

“We are here to mobilise Cameroonians

Bloom CEO exchanging agreement document with LANACOME DG

to pull on

together to solve these problems. Medicine

quality is an issue,” he added.

Prof Chimezie in a nutshell

Professor Chimezie Anyakora holds a

PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and

taught at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the

University of Lagos for over a decade.

He has also been involved in Public

Health and Medicine Quality research.

He has supervised various PhD students

and published scores of papers in the field.

He was named the University of Lagos

researcher of the year in 2009 among many

other awards.

He was part of the international transition

team for the African University of

Science and Technology Abuja.

He is in the editorial board of many international

journals across the world.

He had a stint at the Lagos Business

School and during the period authored and

co-authored several case studies.

He founded the Centre for Advanced

Research on Separation Science.

He is a board member of African

Membrane Society and also a member of

the governing council of the Institute for

Industrial Technology.

Prof Chimezie Anyakora was the Nigeria

Country Lead for the United States

Pharmacopeia.

Prior to that, he consulted for the Global

Health Impact Program where he worked

on Public Health projects across various

African countries including Nigeria,

Cameroon, Congo, Malawi, Ghana,

Tanzania, Uganda, Congo Brazzaville and

many more.

He is very active at various public health

regional initiatives on the continent.

As the country lead of the United States

Pharmacopeia and the Chief of Party of the

Promoting the Quality of Medicines program

in Nigeria, Professor Anyakora led the

development and execution of the overall

project strategy in Nigeria.

www.theguardianpost.info

The Guardian Post No 2120 HEALTH


5,700 persons to receive initial COVID-19 vaccine in NW

By Biami Bleezie

Some 5,700 persons are expected to

take the initial jab of the COVID-19

vaccine. This follows the launching of

the vaccination campaign for the region

yesterday April 14 in Bamenda.

The vaccination campaign was launched

at the Bamenda Regional Hospital will see

distributed to 5,700 persons throughout the

20 district hospitals in the region receiving

the jabs.

Received at the Regional Delegation of

health by the Secretary General of the governor’s

office, the SINOPHARM vaccine

is said to be safe and 79% effective against

the symptomatic form of the virus and

100% effective against the severe form of

COVID-19.

The launch of the vaccine came at a time

when the region has a record of 4,580 confirmed

cases of COVID-19 as of April 10,

2021 with 3,774 recoveries and a total of

435 health personnel having been infected.

According to the North West Regional

Delegate of Health, Kingsley Che Soh, "it

is a key intervention in our response to

COVID-19 in the North West Region. The

vaccine is the most effective method of

limiting the spread of COVID-19. The

exercise will involve all the 20 health districts

and seven divisions in the Region.

The exercise shall be done in phases with

priority given to health personnel in the

first phase of one week"

A total of 11,400 of SINOPHARM vaccines

shall be distributed to 5,700 persons

as each individual is entitled to two doses

within an interval of three weeks.

Representing the Governor of the North

West Region, Vieng Mekala, Secretary

General of the Governor’s office, after

receiving a dose of the vaccine, encouraged

the population of the Region to be

receptive to the vaccine.

"I am very happy after receiving the first

dose of the vaccine. The population should

ignore comments on social media and

receive the vaccine. I want to urge them to

continue respecting barrier measures and

wear their facemasks while waiting for the

government to send the remaining consignment".

The vaccine will not be administered to

persons with allergy, below 18 years,

severe febrile illness, pregnant women and

newly diagnosed patients would wait for

six months before administration.

The vaccination campaign targets frontline

health workers, people with diabetes

and hypertension, people aged 50 and

above and other exposed professional categories

such as security officers, teachers

amongst others.

"The after effects of the vaccine include

injection side pain, headache, fatigue like

every other normal vaccine which disappear

five to seven days after injection.

Severe after effects will be treated freely

by the hospital," Kingsley Che Soh added.

North West health delegate handing vaccine to collaborators

Vian Mekala: SG North West Governor’s office receiving COVID-19 vaccine

12,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrive South West

By Shing Timothy

400,000 jabs of another COVID-

19 vaccine expected Saturday

The South West Region has

received a consignment of

12,000 COVID-19-vaccines.

The reception was at the South

West Governor’s office where

the Regional Delegate of Health,

Dr Ebongo Zacks, promised that

all hospital staff and other health

personnel in the region will have

the vaccines in the days ahead.

“12,000 vaccines have come

from the Ministry of Public

Health. We have already started

the vaccination campaign for

health personnel in the region. I

started with myself and the entire

staff of the delegation. In the

days ahead, we will scale down

the vaccines to the various health

districts in the region,” Dr

Ebongo explained.

The vaccines were received on

Tuesday April 13. The public

health delegate took the opportunity

to explain to the public that

COVID-19 was still a reality

given that the region keeps

recording more cases.

“We are in the 14th epidemiologic

week and we have hit the

2,000 mark of COVID-19 positive

cases in the region. There

have been 2,047 positive cases so

far in the region, with 40 deaths.

In the preceding week, we had

148 cases,” Dr Ebongo said.

The 12,000 vaccines received

by the South West Region are

part of the 200,000 doses of the

Sinopharm vaccine from the

Dr Ebongo Zacks speaking to the press after receiving the vaccines

Doses of Sinopharm vaccine donated by China

Chinese government as a contribution

for the fight against the

virus. The vaccines arrived at the

Yaoundé Nsimalen International

Airport on Sunday.

The Chinese Ambassador to

Cameroon, Wang Yingwu, and

Cameroon's Health Minister, Dr

Manaouda Malachie, signed the

handover and reception documents

for the donation. The

Prime Minister, Chief Dr Joseph

Dion Ngute, said he was ready to

take his dose of the vaccine as

soon as possible as the most

appropriate means of protection

against the virus.

The Minister of Public Health,

Manaouda Malachie, has urged

Cameroonians to get the jab,

especially those in priority

groups.

Cameroon has already recorded

over 61,731 coronavirus

cases, with 56,926 recoveries

and 919 deaths, according to the

Africa Centres for Disease

Control and Prevention.

By Macwalter Njapteh

Some 400,000 doses of the

AstraZeneca COVID-19

vaccine are expected to

arrive the country on Saturday

April 17.

According to the Ministry of

Public Health, the vaccines will be

added to the 200,000 doses of

Sinopharm offered by China to

extend vaccination against the

COVID-19 virus to all social strata.

The announcement was made

by an official from the Ministry of

Public Health. Speaking on the

1:00 p.m. newscast on national

radio, CRTV, the official indicated

that the doses of the British vaccine

will be added to the first

batch of the Chinese vaccines to

broaden the vaccination reach to

all those who have already been

shortlisted and beyond.

The announcement is a materialisation

of the government's

desire to finally resort to the

British vaccine after earlier reservations

made by the authorities

about it. Weeks back, several

European and African countries

suspended and others withdrew

the AstraZeneca vaccine from

their vaccination programme.

Their suspicion was based on

cases of patients having blood

clots after being administered the

vaccine. After his revelations, the

Minister of Health, Dr Manaouda

Malachie, who had consulted the

Scientific Council and the

National Immunisation Technical

Advisory Groups, NITAG, said he

had been advised to postpone the

importation of this vaccine. The

experts, he added, had urged him

to maintain the suspension till the

European health agency proved

that the AstraZeneca vaccine was

safe and its rate of protection

against Covid-19 is higher than

the rate of deaths it can cause.

Regarding the 200,000 doses of

Sinopharm, their nationwide distribution

kicked off Monday after

Minister of Public Health, Dr

Manaouda Malachie, launched the

national vaccination campaign at

the Specialised Centre for the care

of COVID-19 patients in

Yaounde.

“I will continue to wear my

mask and observe barrier measures.

The message I have for

Cameroonians is that of encouragement

and I call on them all to

get vaccinated like I just did …

beating coronavirus in Cameroon

is possible - we should get vaccinated.

It is very important,” Dr

Manaouda told the press shortly

after taking the first jab.

The vaccine availability marks

the start of vaccination, with

health personnel and people over

50 years of age who do not present

with comorbidities being primary

targets.

Cameroon received 200,000 COVID-19 vaccines over the weekend


The Guardian Post No 2120 ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT


Women empowerment ministry seals

deal with BUCREP, Institute of Statistics

By Mua Patrick Mughe

AMemorandum of

Understanding, MoU,

has been reached

between the Ministry of Women

Empowerment and the Family

and institutions in charge of the

production of official statistics

including the National Bureau

for Censuses and Population

Studies, BUCREP, and the

National Institute of Statistics,

NIS.

The engagement was sealed on

the sidelines of the 2021 Interministerial

Committee on

Gender Statistics in Cameroon

held in Yaounde.

Beside the presence of all the

members of the Committee, the

session was chaired by the

Minister of Women

Empowerment and the Family.

The session was marked by the

official donation of computer

equipment by UN Women

Cameroon as part of efforts to

strengthen the Statistical System

of the Ministry of Women

Empowerment.

In her opening remarks, Hind

Jalal, UN Women Cameroon

Representative, recalled that

data does more than setting

benchmarks and measuring

progress

She said “it can be an engine

for change”.

The UN Women official advocated

that the Committee should

be placed at a core position within

the National coordination

bodies of statistics and that of

gender equality and women

empowerment as well.

She had meanwhile challenged

the Director General of the

National Institute of Statistics to

build bridges between the

National Council of Statistics

and the said committee as well

as to welcome it as a member to

ensure the gender dimension is

mainstreamed in the National

Statistic System.

This will ensure the sustainability

of the committee after the

closure of Women Count Project

to ensure lasting impacts, she

said.

For her part, the Minister of

Women Empowerment and

Family, Professor Abena Ondoa

née Obama Marie Thérèse, had

commended the partnership with

UN Women and stressed the

importance of the newly signed

partnership between her

Ministry and institutions in

charge of data production.

“This partnership will surely

help our Ministry to have more

relevant and credible data to

report on the advancement of the

Agenda on Gender Equality and

Women Empowerment” she said

and promised to make good use

of received equipment.

The working session proper

was chaired by the Secretary

General of the Ministry of

Women Empowerment together

with the Director General of the

National Institute of Statistics.

It consisted of the presentation

of the 2020 activities report of

the implementation of the

Woman Count Project.

Mengata Pierre Debret, Sub

Director in charge of Statistics in

the Ministry of Women

Empowerment and the Family

and rapporteur of the

Committee, presented the report

of activity for the year 2020 and

the state of implementation of

recommendations of the last session.

He highlighted the results

achieved despite the context of

COVID-19 as well as different

constraints and difficulties

encountered.

He also presented the next steps

and strategies to overcome the

bottlenecks.

After fruitful discussions the

Committee congratulated different

stakeholders in charge of the

implementation of the project for

the valuable achievement during

the year and congratulated UN

Women for its consistent support

for the advancement of gender

statistics in Cameroon

Eliminating persistent organic pollutants:

ICENECDEV fronts local expertise campaign

By Giyo Ndzi

Buea-based environmental

o r g a n i s a t i o n ,

International Centre for

Environmental Education and

Community

Development,

ICENECDEV, has launched a

campaign for the reduction and

elimination of polychlorinated

biphenyls, PCBs.

Polychlorinated

biphenyls

ICENECDEV and partners during campaign

(PCBs) are a group of manmade

chemicals. They are oily liquids

or solids, clear to yellow in

color, with no smell or taste.

PCBs are very stable mixtures

that are resistant to extreme temperature

and pressure. PCBs

were used widely in electrical

equipment like capacitors and

transformers.

The project carried out with the

supervision of the Ministry of

Environment, Nature Protection

and Sustainable Development is

being implemented on PCB

Reduction in Cameroon through

the use of local expertise and the

development of national capacities

in the South West and North

West Regions in realising the

Stockholm convention on persistent

organic pollutants.

Other partners of the project

include the United Nations

Environment Programme,

UNEP, Global Environment

Facility, GEF, and Stockholm

Convention Secretariat.

According to Fongoh Eric,

ICENECDEV Executive

Director, “the overall objective

is to raise awareness among populations

exposed to PCBs on the

environmentally sound management

of polychlorinated

biphenyls in the North West and

South West Regions, including

the areas around the PCB temporary

storage facility at New

Bonako”.

Fongoh Eric also appreciated

the National Coordinator of the

project, Aoudou Joswa, for the

technical capacity and roadmap

of the project to Eliminate PCB

by 2025.

In a bid to raise awareness,

ICENECDEV has organised

awareness-raising and sensitisation

workshops with communities

at risk, in particular those

located near facilities containing

PCBs and residing near sites

contaminated by PCBs. The

goal-oriented and reputable

environmental organisation has

also distributed information

leaflets to target populations,

raised awareness among

exposed populations to the dangers

of PCBs, raised awareness

among exposed populations on

the measures to be taken in the

event of accidents and raised

awareness among exposed populations

of their roles in the environmentally

sound management

of PCBs.

ICENECDEV also notes that it

has “… carried out sensitisation

campaigns and roundtable discussions

on the environmental

and health impacts of PCBs in

the number of institutions and

among the local population

reaching more than 5,000 people”.

These institutions include

SONARA,

Limbe;

Metropolitan, Ombe; Electricity

transformer station, Limbe; Sic

Site, Buea; General Hospital,

Buea; CRTV Radio, Buea;

Prison Station Buea; New

Bonako, Tiko; Medimo, and

Congress Hall, Bamenda in the

ICENECDEV educates public on dangers of PCBs

North West Region.

Being persistent organic pollutants,

PCBs, among other characteristics,

are toxic, persistent,

bio-accumulating acute and

chronic contaminations can

cause serious illnesses in human

beings, and have the ability to be

transported on long distances,

due to their volatility, making it

easy for them to contaminate

ecosystems which are very distant

from pollution sources.

Owing to their physiochemical

characteristics, PCBs are used in

strictly closed systems such as

electric transformers, Electric

capacitors (lamps ballast, in particular),

switches, relays and

other electrical equipment,

power cables and electric

engines.

The negative effects of PCBs

on human health and the environment

include liver and kidney

damage, influence on thyroid

hormones and possible effects

on brain development, influence

on the reproductive system and

especially unborn children (congenital

mal formation) deformities

in unborn children as well as

possible carcinogenic effects.

Experts note that PCBs have

also been shown to cause cancer

in animals as well as a number of

serious non-cancer health effects

in animals, including: effects on

the immune system, reproductive

system, nervous system,

endocrine system and other

health effects.

As part of measures to reduce

and if possibly eliminate the

negative effects of PCBs,

ICENECDEV is through its

campaign proposing sustainable

and less harmful measures.

These include using Ester based

mineral oils to replace oils containing

PCB in some transformers,

cast-resin transformers and

gas transformers as alternatives

to PCB where the need arises.


The Guardian Post No 2120 ECONOMY


Enterprises Upgrading Office hands

international certification to Multiprint


She highlighted that the ISO 9001:

2015 certification is based on a number

of quality management principles,

including strong customer focus, motivation

and leadership, process approach,

and continuous improvement. The international

standard, she said, helps to

ensure that customers get consistent,

high-quality products or services, with

great business benefits in turn.

“Certification makes it possible to act

on at least three levers of a company's

performance, both internally and vis-àvis

customers and prospects. It gives

confidence to its customers, prospects

and other interested parties; improve

your internal performance; to involve,

promote and develop the skills of your

employees and other interested parties,”

Elombat said.

She said the occasion was imperative

as the Continental Free Trade Area is a

tremendous opportunity for

Cameroonian businesses as it constitutes

an important market. She also noted the

stiff competition that comes from the circle.

BMN has been playing the role of

preparing companies as well as possible

to make the most of all-round opening of

the markets.

“The Government created the BMN

with the main mission of upgrading and

restructuring industrial companies,” the

Chantal Elombat Mbedey, BMN General

Manager, talking to the press

BMN General Manager said

Chantal Elombat called on all

Cameroonian companies to seize the

opportunity and come to them so they

can assist in their development.

Multiprint Sérigraphie SA signed its

agreement on November 3, 2018 with

BMN. The printing company, thanks to

its links with BMN, has mobilised more

than 20 million FCFA within the framework

of this certification support. This is

why the company has been urged to

maintain its certificate because the

issuance of the document is not the end

of the process.

“As is the rule in the upgrade process,

you are committed to continuous

improvement. You will have to earn this

BMN GM, Multiprint Director, GICAM representative pose with certificate

certificate on a daily basis by complying

with all its requirements,” Elombat urged

Multiprint.

Meanwhile, the Director of Multiprint,

Ousmanou Ibrahima, said his company

was going to dedicate itself more to satisfy

customers. He highlighted the

process they went through to get the certification,

thanking BMN for its contribution.

“We have to take all exigencies of our

customers, personnel, administration.

Now we are ready to perform and follow

the key performance indicator of every

process we have. Now we are ready to

deliver the good products which respects

the clause of our clients,” Ibrahima said.

This certification also meets up with

stiff competition from neighbouring

Nigeria, which the representative of

GICAM and Managing Director of

Brasseries, Emmanuel De Tailly, advised

that companies need to work in harmony

to succeed.

“It’s the obligation for all industries to

prepare themselves for change of the

Africa Free Trade Agreement and for that

we have to identify the national champion,

identify as well what we think is the

strategic sectors for the economy,” he

said.

“I encourage all companies to work

together, uphold the same vision of the

customer satisfaction and for that, you

need to be certified. This is why we are

here,” he added.

Stakeholders strategise to boost air transport safety in central Africa

By Solomon Tembang

Members of the council of

ministers of the Air Safety

Supervision Agency

known by its French acronym,

ASSA-AC, have mapped out

strategies to boost air safety in central

Africa by making the agency

fully functional.

This was April 13 during the 3rd

Ordinary Committee Session of

Ministers of the Air Safety

Supervision Agency in Central

Africa, which, due to the COVID-

19 pandemic, held through videoconferencing.

It was presided at by

Cameroon’s Minister of Transport,

Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle

Bibehe.

Speaking at the opening of the

session, Minister Ngalle Bibehe

said air transport in the central

African sub region has been greatly

affected by COVID-19, forcing

some companies to shut their

doors.

“More than ever before we have

to invest with determination to

come out of this crisis that is

stalling our economies,” he said.

He added that “through our community

Institution, we have the

opportunity to create conditions

favourable to ameliorate the competitiveness

of air transport and

reduce the constraints imposed by

this context”.

Ngalle Bibehe said the Air

Safety Supervision Agency has

clocked its seventh year, but regretted

that it is not endowed with sufficient

human and financial

resources, as well as texts necessary

for its operationalisation.

“In effect, within the perspective

of its full operationalisation, we

have to engage in examining, with

a lot of attention, important points

on the agenda of the day such as the

Minister Ngalle Bibehe presiding over session

choice of regional inspectors of the

Agency in view of their recruitment,

the roadmap of the Agency,

its logo and the text necessary for

the functioning of the Agency,” he

noted.

Meanwhile, speaking to the

press, the current president of the

Management Committee of ASSA-

AC, Kiapo Francois Alexandre,

said the agency was created in

2012, but its functioning witnessed

a delay.

“So this session is very important

for the ministers to take decisions

for the smooth running of the

agency which is an important

instrument for integration in the

region’s air space. The ministers

had already adopted the basic rules

for air safety for all the CEMAC

countries. For example in

Cameroon the regulations for the

issuance of licence for pilots should

be the same in Equatorial Guinea

and other countries. These are

important steps for integration in

the air transport sector. This session

was to adopt all these texts,” she

said.

She added that: “Before, there

was the second session which took

place in August 2019 and the

agency was already on a great start

because of the first good decisions.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic

came, there was no session. So that

slowed the pace of activities. This

is a young institution, so we are trying

to re-launch it on the very positive

basis set by previous sessions”.

“Now that the ministers had

already adopted the basic regulations,

one of the main issues will be

to come out with a plan of action

for the next three years for the

agency. Until now the agency is not

having enough human resources, so

they will select those who will

work for the agency for the next

three years,” she disclosed.

“What we want is the complete

functioning of the agency. For

instance, if the agency becomes

fully operational, to issue an aircraft

licence we don’t need to have

a regulation in the different

CEMAC countries; we will have a

harmonised regulation for the

agency,” Kiapo noted.

Major decisions taken

Following deliberations and presentations,

the committee took

some major decisions. The committee

selected Pambou Marc Hans, of

Gabonese nationality, second on

the shortlist of candidates for the

post finance controller, to replace

Hélène Nafi. Regarding the egalitarian

contribution for the benefit

of ASSA-AC, the committee,

deploring its low rate of mobilisation,

urged the States which have

not yet done so to proceed as soon

as possible to pay arrears due.

On the closure of the

COSCAP/CEMAC Sao Tome and

Principe project, the committee

invited the CEMAC Commission

to produce its financial report as

soon as possible and to conduct due

diligence with ICAO for the production

of its report.

Regarding the membership of

Sao Tome and Principe in ASSA-

AC, the committee gave a mandate

to the Chairman of the Committee

of Ministers to continue diplomatic

talks with this state with a view to

its membership of ASSA-AC.

After the president of the management

committee presented a

shortlist of logos, the budget and

the allocation proposal for the

remuneration of candidates, the

Committee adopted Logo N °1 representing

a hummingbird taking

flight as the visual identity of

Participants deliberating

ASSA-AC.

The committee also adopted the

budget of 9,000,000 FCFA presented

for the remuneration as well as

the distribution allocation between

the candidates namely six million,

two million and one million respectively

for the first, second and third

project.

Highly attended session

It should be noted that the session

was a highly attended one.

Those who took part included

Arnaud Djoubaye Abazene,

Minister of Transport and Civil

Aviation of the Republic of the

Central Africa; Ingrid Olga

Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas,

Minister of Planning, Statistics,

Regional Integration, Transport,

Civil Aviation and the Merchant

Navy of Congo; Brice Constant

Paillat, Minister of Transport of

Gabon; Alladjim Naorgue, Minister

of Civil Aviation and National

Meteorology of Chad and Shey

Jones Yembe, Commissioner in

charge of the Department of

Infrastructure and Sustainable

Development of the CEMAC

Commission.


The Guardian Post No 2120 POLITICS/SOCIETY


For participating in 2020 twin polls:

Alice Nkom fears Cabral Libii would

lose public sympathy in political vision

By Maxcel Fokwen

Prison is more of reformation

centre than place for

punishment -Kumba prison administrator

Renowned lawyer, Alice Nkom,

has said the participation of the

Cameroon Party for National

Reconciliation, PCRN, in the February

2020 twin polls would cost its leader,

Hon Cabral Libii, public sympathy in

his political vision.

Barrister Nkom made the observation

in a recent media outing.

According to her, Cabral Libii has a lot

of potential but his decision to take part

in last year’s municipal and legislative

elections may see him lose support

from the population.

In an interview granted the online

portal, Premium Television, Nkom, the

first woman to be called to the

Cameroon Bar, said she admires the

PCRN leader a lot but said the politician

is “naïve”.

She declared that, “I am afraid. I like

Cabral Libii very much, but he is naive

because if he was not naive, he would

not have gone to the elections”.

Besides boycotting the elections, the

lawyer further expressed reservation

over Libii being a Member of

Parliament.

According to the human rights

lawyer, “if he weren't naive, he wouldn't

be here saying I’m a parliamentarian”.

Hon Cabral Libii is Member of

Parliament, MP, for the Nyong and

Kelle Constituency, in the Nyong and

Kelle division of the Centre region. He

Barrister Alice Nkom

was voted into parliament during the

February 2020 twin polls.

In 2018, Cabral Libii took part in the

presidential election under the banner

of the Universe party of Prof Nkou

Mvondo. Results which the

Constitutional Council, made public

put Cabral Libii on the third spot.

Libii’s advantage

Comparing Cabral Libii with other

political leaders in the country,

Barrister Alice Nkom said the PCRN

leader has the advantage of time to his

advantage.

This, she noted, is what other key

politicians in the country don’t have on

their side given their ages.

"I think he has one major asset that

the other candidates did not have: now

is the time given his age…,” she said.

Nkom holds the view that most of

Hon Cabral Libii: PCRN National

president

those who started off in politics as challenging

the current regime always end

up losing their political vision and

identity.

Going by her, oftentimes, those who

set off with an opposition posture end

up being absorbed by the regime.

Barrister Alice Nkom’s reasoning

about the February 2020 polls is not

new.

When Prof Maurcie Kamto, leader

of the opposition, Cameroon

Renaissance Movement, MRC, pulled

his party out the polls, Nkom supported

the move.

She was also one those who reacted

to threats from territorial administration

minister, Paul Atanga Nji, then.

The minister had said government was

not ready to tolerate campaigns to

dampen voter turnout in the polls.

By Njingang Godwin

Nyenty Lionel: Kumba prison administrator

The administrator of prisons,

Superintendent In charge of Kumba

Principal Prison has, Nyenty Lionel,

has the prison is more of a reformation centre

than a place for punishment.

This, he said, is because most inmates

who come to prison without a skill end up

learning a trade which in turn use to put food

on their tables once the leave prison.

Nyenty Lionel was speaking in his office

while receiving the executive bureau of

Nfon Mukete’s legacy

inspiration for nation-building

members of the Kumba chapter of the

Cameroon Association of English-Speaking

Journalists, CAMASEJ.

While giving an account of his close to

three years stewardship at the helm of the

Kumba principal prison, the superintendent

Cont’ed from page 1

The President in the message

addressed to Nfon Mukete III’s

successor Nfon Mukete IV

Ekoko extolled the uniqueness of the

stateman of blessed memory.

According to President Biya, the

late Nfon emeritus had a unique destiny.

He praised the Nfon’s contribution

to promoting peace and national

unity.

Biya brought to the fore, Mukete’s

exploits in politics, economics and his

savvy as a traditional ruler on the

stool of Kumba as having earned him

respect across decades.

For Biya, the “ death of this personality

with a unique destiny is an

immense loss for Meme division,

South West region and Cameroon of

which he will remain one of the most

imminent sons. May his exceptional

career and his patriotic legacy serve as

an inspiration to the younger generations”.

The president through the letter

extended the condolence of parliament

and that of his wife to the Mukete family,

the Bafaw community whom the

deceased served as paramount king for

decades.

In the letter sent through the

Governor of the South West region,

the President said he had “ relations

marked by mutual esteem” with Nfon

Mukete.

The Head of State admitted having a

personal relationship with the Bafaw

The late Nfon Mukete, President Biya during one of their exchanges

patriarch.

Giving Mukete’s lifespan, Biya

described him as “ one of the last privileged

witnesses of the independence

and reunification of Cameroon. I was

able to appreciate his great wisdom and

his constant commitment to peace concord

and national unity”.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, April 11,

the Prime Minister Head of

Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion

Ngute tweeted expressing sympathy

following the Nfon emeritus’ demise.

“It was with a heavy heart that I

received the very sad news of the passing

away of Senator Nfon Victor

Esemisongo Mukete, a great statesman,

eldest member of the Senate and

Paramount ruler of the Bafaw,” the

Prime Minister noted.

The Prime Minister said, Nfon

Mukete’s contribution to the reunification

and indivisible nature of

Cameroon would remain indelible. He

described the deceased as a great

respecter of traditional values.

Nfon Mukete III ascended the

throne of Kumba, Meme division,

South West region in 1982. He abdicated

in August 2020 and handed over

the throne to his youngest son Ekoko

Mukete.

The new King of Kumba and paramount

ruler of the Bafaw now goes

by the name Nfon Mukete IV Ekoko.

The late Senator studied in Nigeria

and Britain. He returned home and

made impact in several areas of life in

Cameroon.


said basically the role of prison warders are

mostly to keep the records of inmates and

make sure that they are presented to court if

necessary. He said they also release inmates

who have either served their sentences or

benefitted from a presidential pardon.

Nyenty Lionel dismissed claims that the

prison is overcrowded during this crisis period

that has greatly affected the North West

and South West regions.

The prison administrator said he is a

happy man because since the close to five

years of conflict that has greatly affected the

North West and South West regions, with

some prisons around the country also greatly

hit, no major incident has been recorded in

the Kumba central prison. He said the prison

is rather slowly becoming a reference for

peace.

He expressed appreciation to the administration

of Meme division and judicial family

for their continuous support, adding that he

remains open to the society because he has

nothing to hide.

Nyenty Lionel Ebot previously served as

chief of service in the North West regional

delegation for penitentiary administration

before his appointing at the Kumba principal

prison.

He is a happily married man.

The Guardian Post No 2120 COLUMN


Real Issues With

The States Lady

By Victory Marshal Ayafor Basang

Be strong enough to let go of whatever makes you unhappy

Although different people have different ambitions

and aspirations in life, one thing is certain—we all

share the common goal of happiness.

Whatever we do in life and whomever we meet, we do

it with the hope of reaching our ultimate goal and that is

to be truly happy.

Happiness cannot be defined because it doesn’t represent

the same thing to everyone.

But I think we all strive to find the inner peace that we

all connect with the term happiness.

And while we may think we work hard to achieve that

happiness, what most of us don’t know is that we are actually

the ones keeping ourselves from being happy. We are

the ones giving too much of our lives to people and things

that don’t deserve it.

The one thing you always need to remember is that you

are in complete control of your life.

No, you can’t affect every little thing that is going on

around you and you can’t impact on everyone in your life

but what you can choose is your reaction to all of these

people and things. What you can choose is who you allow

to be a part of your life. You can choose who and what to

let in and who and what to let go of.

I am not going to lie to you—letting go is never easy.

Sometimes we subconsciously hold on to things and people

that actually make us miserable. We do it because we

are too scared to step out of our comfort zone and because

we feel comfortable with something that is familiar to us,

even when that something makes us unhappy.

Letting go is a challenging but life-changing experience.

And most of all, it is something you’ll have to do at

one point in your life. And instead of starting right now,

you keep postponing it. You have different excuses for

living in your comfort zone of unhappiness; you think

there will come a time when it will be easier for you to let

go, you justify yourself as being too busy to think about

the things that are bothering you and you justify the people

in your life and their place in it.

Either way, the harsh truth is that you haven’t moved

from one spot for years. And although you keep promising

yourself you are about to make some huge changes in

your life, in practice, you are actually doing nothing.

And I am here to tell you there is no better time to start

with those changes than right now. Not tomorrow, not

next week, not Monday, not next spring but exactly this

moment. I am here to tell you to let go of the past! The

past is there for a reason.

The people who didn’t make it to your present and who

won’t make it to your future were clearly not worthy of

your time and energy. The first thing you need to realize

while letting go of the past is the fact that you can’t

change it. We all have some regrets and we all wish there

were some things we did differently. But you can’t change

how people treated you and how you treated people.

So instead of wasting your energy thinking how things

could have turned out to be different, let go of all the

grudges and resentment for others and most importantly,

for yourself. If you were the one who treated someone

badly in the past and that is eating you up, the only thing

you can do is ask for forgiveness from that person and

from yourself.

When you do that, leave the past in the past and focus

on improving your present and your future. I am here to

tell you to let go of negativity because it will get you

nowhere. Yes, I know we all live stressed lives and that

negative things are all around us. You feel like you are

bombed out with negative news and negative people and

you just can’t help yourself from becoming the same.

With time, you feel like you are surrounded by pessimism

and most importantly, you start to follow these

negative patterns.

And although you can never change your surroundings

completely, what you can always change is your perspective

on things.

What you can do is try to find something positive in

everything and everybody you encounter. What you can

do is reprogram yourself to be optimistic. And most of all,

I am here to tell you to let go of toxic people! Sadly,

sometimes the people closest to us are the ones who make

us unhappy.

And when you come to think about it, it makes perfect

sense—those are the people who you care about the most

so consequently, they are the people with the strongest

impact on you. And although it is natural for you to feel a

little bit hurt from time to time by some words and actions

of the people around you, if this is becoming a behavior

pattern of theirs, maybe it’s time you rethink your relationships.

And I am not talking about your romantic relationship

only here, I am talking about your friendships and even

your family relations. As much as it hurts, you need to let

go of whoever makes you feel unworthy and not enough.

You need to let go of whoever or whatever makes you

feel unhappy, despite all the history you may have with

these people or memories and despite everything you’ve

been through with them. I know this is something you

can’t even think of doing and I am not going to tell you it

will be easy, but trust me—it will be worth it.

*VictoryMarshal Ayafor fondly called THE STATES

LADY is a journalist by profession, motivational speaker,

marriage counselor, life coach, relationship expert,

self-actualisation consultant and certified Psychologist

in private practice.

Community Development, Peace

& Social Transformer’s Notebook

By Rosaline Akah Obah*

Practicing non-violent communication during coronavirus:

Overcoming coronafatigue

Humanity has never experienced a global lockdown

which it is witnessing now as the coronavirus continues

its deadly tirade against humankind. A very

large population of the world are either self-isolating or

under lockdown as nations, unable to find any credible

solutions to handle the menace of COVID-19 are pushing

citizens to restrict themselves or enforcing complete lockdown.

They feel it is the only solution at hand to slow the rate

of transmission of the pandemic which is not only infecting

millions but also is at its brutal best as it taking the

lives of innocent people.

We are in an unprecedented situation as we find ourselves

practicing social distancing, not going out and

forced to spend time with families/ friends/acquaintances/or

even alone within the four walls of our homes.

Before, we used to go out for work or socialising.

But for many of us the homes have become our workplace

and also sites for socialising. Probably for many, in

the first few days, it seemed to be an exciting option. But

slowly as time passes, it becomes challenging. Even

though it is not a prison, but many of us have started to

feel suffocated, our freedoms are all gone and increasingly

we feel we are becoming stressful.

About a fortnight back, during an online session on

nonviolent communication and coronavirus, one student

asked after a solution, as he and seven other members of

his family – parents, brothers and sisters – all have to

share the same space day in and day out. Though they

have been living together, but all of them would go out

during the day for work or studies, spend quality time outside

socializing and then come back in the evening. He

said the personal spaces which each member enjoyed

before had suddenly disappeared and this was resulting in

increasing frictions in the relationship even though no one


wished it.

This may be true for a large number of people across

the world- the sudden disappearance of the precious personal

space, the fatigue arising due to constantly being

forced to stay in one place and interacting with the same

set of people all the time even though they might be our

dear ones like parents, brothers, sisters, friends or even

house mates. Many of them may find themselves drifting

towards the well of mental ill-health, others are being

forced to compromise with the unfortunate situationoverall

everyone seems to be suffering from coronafatigue.

While we find a large number of counsellors, spiritual

healers, life-coaches, relationship experts giving their

advice to people in psychological distress due to the pandemic

in different ways through different social media

platforms, one of the powerful methods would be to

assimilate and practice nonviolent communication to get

over with our own mental fatigue and the friction that may

be arising with our fellow beings staying with us.

Well many of us may be wondering what exactly nonviolent

communication is and how it can be an instrument

to negotiate the ill-effects of coronafatigue.

Senior Gandhian Natwar Thakkar has given us an elaborate

understanding of nonviolent communication. He

says (Kundu, 2018): “To me nonviolent communication

literacy would mean how our communication efforts

should be nonviolent; how our ability and capacity to

communicate not only with ourselves but with our family

and society be nonviolent in all aspects and overall how

the entire process of communication whether between

individuals, groups, communities and the world at large

should be nonviolent in nature”.

He further says: “So, I firmly believe that by practicing

nonviolent communication, there can be amazing opportunities

to promote goodness in our world which keeps on

getting struck with conflicts. It is an essential part of

efforts to evolve a culture of peace and nonviolence not

just in our homes but in the entire world. This is also an

antidote to all acts of revenge, aggression and retaliation

as all these arises from breakdown in communication or

our reliance in violence in communication”.

Natwar Thakkar passed away in 2018, he was of the

view that nonviolent communication is a powerful strategy

to encourage emotional bridge-building and helps in

strengthening of relationships not through coercive methods

but through love and compassion.

*With contributions from Vedabhyas Kundu,

Programme Officer, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti

The Guardian Post No 2120 SOCIETY/ECONOMY


Cameroon, Turkey discuss broadening economic ties


Cameroon and Turkey,

yesterday April 14 discussed

areas through

which they could strengthen

cooperation ties so that peoples

of the two nations reap maximally

the benefits of fruitful

relations.

That was when the new

Turkish Ambassador to

Yaounde, His Excellency

Volkan ISIKCI was granted

audience by Alamine Ousmane

Mey, Cameroon’s Minister of

Economy, Planning and

Regional Development,

MINEPAT.

The Ambassador told

reporters that he was on a familiarization

visit wit aim to

explore areas where Ankara and

Yaounde could boost economic

and other cooperation ties so

that more fruitful exchanges

could spring up between the two

peoples.

He cited sectors that Turkish

nationals are already doing

fruitful business in Cameroon to

include infrastucture development,

education, restaurants,

and roads construction as some

of their giant investments in

Turkish ambassador talking to reporters yesterday as

minister Ousmane Mey looks on

Cameroon.

The Ambassador equally

expressed the wish to see his

country invest more in other

sectors of the Cameroon economy,

insinuating that profitability

that benefits both parties will

continue to guide their drive.

“We really want to see what

added value Turkish business

operators can bring to

Cameroon to benefit the

Cameroonian people,” the

Ambassadort said.

For his part, Minister

Alamine recalled the visit of the

Turkish President to Cameroon

and the return visit of President

Paul Biya to Ankara which culminated

in the opening of a

Turkish Embassy in Yaounde

last year.

This, to Minister Aslamine,

was eloquent testimony of the

fruitful relations that exist

between the two countries.

He revealed that the first fruit

of this cooperation is in the

domain of education, where a

professional training centre has

been built in Maroua to train

professionals in the energy,

Turkish delegation, minister Ousmane Mey in group picture

equipment maintenance, refrigeration

and wood works.

According to the officials, the

new establishment that is built

on a surface area of 4000 m2, is

the first phase of a project that

will see the construction of an

institution of higher learning in

Yaounde, for the training of

trainers.

They also cited the energy

sector where many projects are

under study as one of the priority

interests of Turkish investors.

The Turks are also visible in

Cameroon in the area of design

engineering, research and

development for industrial

refrigeration.

They insist that there were

three difficulties that need to be

eradicated to boost the business

environment: corruption, the

anglophone crisis and the very

limited involvement of

Cameroonian government.

Notwithstanding, they still

expressed their willingness to

encourage the creation of new

partnerships between Turkey

and Cameroon.

Yaounde:

11 suspected car thieves

arrested, presented to press

Islamic Trade Finance injects 64

billion FCFA into SODECOTON


By Morine Tanyi

Officers of the Sub-

Directorate of

C r i m i n a l

Investigation are reported

to have arrested 11 suspected

armed robbers who

are said to have been specialised

in the theft of cars

and other valuables in the

houses of victims in

Yaounde.

The suspects were presented

to the press in

Yaounde Tuesday April 13

by officers of the Judiciary

Police in Yaounde, Centre

region.

According to the Deputy

Director of Criminal

Investigations at the

Judicial Policy Directorate

in Yaounde, Senior Police

Superintendent Denis Nto,

“in the space of one

month, we have received

over ten complaints of a

supposed gang specialised

in attacking people and

making way with their

valuables. As such an

investigation was opened

and a manhunt was

launched for the members”.

He went further to note

that, the multiple searches

by the sub-directorate of

criminal investigations led

to the arrest on March 27

of the brain behind the

gang, a man aged 46.

“His questioning led us

to his home in Minkan, a

Senior Police Superintendent Denis Nto speaking to the press

neighbourhood in Yaounde

where we were able to discover

the existence of a

painting booth where the

gang changes in the looks

of cars stolen,” Senior

Police Superintendent

Denis Nto said.

“The team is composed

of a well-organised group

where everyone has a precise

role. The robbers track

the victims, follow them to

their homes and their victims

are mostly high profile

personalities. They

attack the victims by surprise,

tie them up, violate

them to force them to

cooperate and give in to

their demands,” he said,

adding that: “After their

operation, they take the car

to the mechanics who

transform them. Thereafter

others are in charge of selling

the cars”.

“In all, there were

twelve members in the

gang, but we were able to

arrest eleven; five robbers,

two mechanics and four

sellers. A manhunt has

been launched for the last

member. We are putting all

in place to arrest him to

face the charges levelled

against him,” Senior

Police Superintendent

Denis Nto vowed.

“Following the arrest of

the gang members, we

were able to recover 11

luxurious cars, 27 license

plates, 11 firearms, 25 war

and hunting ammunitions,

electronic devices, and

other valuables probably

stolen from their victims,”

he disclosed.

He equally used the

opportunity to call on the

population to trust the

services of the police by

keeping them informed on

all the happenings in

neighbourhoods.

In a release issued by

the ITFC, it was revealed

that the money is an interest-free

(Murabaha) of 98

million Euros, which is

about 64.3 billion FCFA;

meant to facilitate the

purchase of agricultural

inputs for state-owned

cotton producer SODE-

COTON.

“It is important for

cameroonians if we

develop sectors such as

agriculture, especially

cotton, which is a major

export commodity. We

are committed to working

closely with our partners

and to supporting the

country efforts to

increase export of this

commodity," commented

Hani Salem Sonbol,

ITFC CEO. "ITFC

financing to date has

enabled the country to

achieve a record production

of 328,454 tons of

seed cotton collected in

2019/2020, of which

115,000 tons of cotton

lint were exported despite

the COVID-19 pandemic,"

the ITFC indicates in

the release.

It is worth recalling

that the International

Islamic Trade Finance

Corporation is a member

of the Islamic

Development Bank,

IsDB, which is a longstanding

financial partner

to SODECOTON. Every

Will smallholder suppliers also smile?

year, IsDB provides

financial support to help

the state-owned cotton

company purchase agricultural

inputs and cotton

seeds from producers.

Initially, the yearly support

was capped at 13 billion

FCFA but in the

2017-2018 cotton season,

the support was increased

after tough negotiations

between the IsDB and the

Cameroonian government.

Since the 2017-2018

campaign, that yearly

support is now 65 billion

FCFA, and thanks to it,

SODECOTON can effectively

purchase the cotton

seeds produced by the

about 250,000 producers

it oversees. It also shields

the cotton company from

the sometimes prohibitive

interest rates on

loans provided by the

local banks SODECO-

TON used to solicit for its


funding needs when the

IsDB’s yearly financial

support was still capped

at 13 billion FCFA.

Equally worth reminding

is that in its recent

report on state-owned

companies’ 2019 performance,

the Technical

Commission for the

Rehabilitation of

Enterprises in the Public

and Para-public Sectors,

CTR ranked SODECO-

TON in the top 5 of the

promising state-owned

companies out of the 50

public corporations

reviewed. The CTR

explains that the public

corporations ranked as

promising are those

which recorded positive

operating results and net

profit, and also generated

dividends as of

December 31, 2019.

SODECOTON recorded

3 billion FCFA of net

profit in 2019.

The Guardian Post No 2120 CULTURE


Renowned Cameroonian

Novelist, Oyônô Mbia, drops pen

Watch Out

Compiled by Morine Tanyi Yaounde

By Morine Tanyi

One of Cameroon’s dramatist and

short-story writer, who is among

the few finest bilingual writers in

the country to have achieved success,

Guillaume Oyônô Mbia has died at the

age of 82.

He is said to have died at the close of

last week after a long illness at the

Ekounou District Hospital in Yaounde.

The author of the most read novel

“Three suitors… a husband” better

known in its French title as “Trois pretendants

un Mari” exited after several

years of service to the artistic sector.

The writer has been at the forefront to

speak on the emancipation of women.

His novel, “Notre fille ne se mariera pas

» is a clear example of the fight.

This novel even got him the prix of

l’Office de radio-télévision française in

1969.

In the novel Three suitors… a husband,

the author portrays the story of

Juliette who is in love with a man but her

family has received two dowries, without

her concern.

They received 100,000 FCFA from

Ndi, the peasant, and 200,000 FCFA

from Mbia, the civil servant but their

daughter is in a relationship with another

man. Juliette will steal the dowries to

enrich her lover.

About Oyônô Mbia

Guillaume Oyônô Mbia, born on

March 2, 1939 in Mvoutessi II, in the

The late Guillaume Oyônô Mbia

Zoétélé municipality of the South region

was a writer, playwright and storyteller.

He was equally a teacher at the

University of Yaounde.

In 1958, he began high school studies

which he later dropped in 1961. He

became a teacher in a college before

enrolling to study English in Great

Britain where he obtained a translator's

diploma and a Bachelor of Arts degree in

1969.

Back in Cameroon, he lectured

Literature in the English Department of

the Faculty of Letters and Human

Sciences of the University of Yaounde I.

Between 1972 and 1975, he was chief

administrative officer in the Cultural

Affairs Office of the Ministry of

Information and Culture.

In the 1970s his desire for satire was

evident in three volumes of amusing

tales of life in his native village,

Chroniques de Mvoutessi from 1971–

72; “Chronicles of Mvoutessi”.

He is the author of several books

among them are Trois prétendants . . . un

mari (1962; Three Suitors . . . One

Husband), Until Further Notice (1967),

Notre fille ne se mariera pas!, 1969;

“Our Daughter Will Not Marry!”, and

His Excellency’s Train in 1969, all written

on his favourite theme of youth versus

adult, modernity versus tradition.

Awards

In 1970 he won the El Hadji Ahmadou

Ahidjo Prize with his novel titled: Three

suitors… a husband.

He was honored with the Grand Prix

des patrons at the 2014 edition of the

Grands Prix des associations littéraires.

Sandrine Nnanga

on stage April 23

Sandrine Nnanga one of the upcoming voices

of Cameroonian music will be entertaining fans

April 23 in Yaounde.

The private concern according to organisers

will hold April 23 at the Laboratoire Musical in

Bastos in Yaounde.

The concert, the organisers added will take

place in the strict respects of the barrier measures

put in place to fight the COVID-19.

Singing competition to fight

Malaria, kicks off April 25

Cameroon celebrates World Art Day today

By Morine Tanyi

Cameroon today joins the rest of the

world to celebrate the 2021 edition

of the World Arts Day commemorated

every April 15.

In prelude to this celebration, the

Synergy of Professional Painters better

known in its French acronym SYNAPPRO

is organising a round table conference

where artists will be showcasing their talents.

The ceremony according to orgainsers

is said to hold today at their head office in

Yaounde; this amidst the health crisis

marked by the COVID-19 pandemic that

has also negatively the painting sector.

“The event will be graced with the participation

of several professional painters

will meet for a painting competition, this

will be followed by a painting workshop

and award of prizes to the meritorious participants,

this within the strict respect of

the barrier measures”.

The World Art Day is an international

celebration of the fine arts, that holds

annuallye on April 15. This will be taking

place under the theme: You’re Not Alone.

The day was initiated by the

International Association of Art, IAA. The

idea was proposed at the 17th General

Assembly in Guadalajara and the committee

unanimously approved it.

It was intended to commemorate the

birthday of the great Italian painter, sculptor,

writer, thinker, philosopher, mathematician

and scientific innovator,

Leonardo da Vinci who is considered a

symbol of multiculturalism, free expression,

world peace, tolerance, and visionary

in the world of arts.

Events on this day can vary from special

museum hours to conferences and special

exhibitions.

The World Art Day permits art lovers

and artists of the world to feel the preciousness

and the power of art simultaneously.

A singing competition in favour of the fight

against malaria has been opened to all musicians

from 18 years and above.

According to Malaria No More and partners

piloting the initiative, interested candidates

have until April 23 to submit their files.

The competition will take place under the

theme: “Zero malaria-Draw the line against

malaria.

The songs they added could be written in

French or English or both languages as well as

in their local languages.

The songs done in several languages are

equally encouraged.

Veteran Nigerian actor, Bruno Iwouha, quits scene

By Morine Tanyi

One of Nigeria’s biggest actors,

Bruno Iwouha has died. He is said

to have given up the ghost recently

after spending close to three weeks in a

comma.

According to the release made public by

the Director of Communications, Actors

Guild of Nigeria, Monalisa Chinda Coker,

the actor succumb to an illness after battling

for years with diabetes.

Monalisa Chinda Coker went further to

note that “It is on a sad note that we

announce the passing away of our elder

colleague and active member of AGN

Abuja, Bruno Obinna Iwuoha…”

He joined the Nolloywood industry in

the early 2000s and has been noted for his

soft-spoken voice and sense of maturity

displayed in his movie.

Prominent among his films are World

Apart, Sins of the Flesh, Occultic battle,

The Late Bruno Iwouha

among others.

He won the award of the Best Supporting

Actor award at the 3rd Africa Movie

Academy Awards in 2007 in his performance

in the movie Sins of the Flesh

Bruno Iwuoha hails from Ehime Mbano

Local Government Area of Imo state

Nigeria. He leaves behind a wife and six

children.

In 2015, Iwuoha is said to have gone to

public to reveal about his health condition

as he sought Nigerians’ support to raise

funds to treat glaucoma and diabetes after

losing an eye to the ailments. Shortly after,

he was flown to the US for treatment.

Since the announcements of his death,

eulogies have poured in from fans and

close collaborators.

To fans Nollywood and Africa in general

has lost one of its greatest actors.

“You were a good man, you fought a

good fight…go well my friend and colleague…”

one of them wrote.

“The Nigerian film industry and Nigeria

as a whole will miss all the moments

shared…you took your work well and followed

instructions…farewell sir…” another

wrote.

K-Johnson ft Falone Maty

drops videogram tomorrow

The videogram of Cameroonian musician

Falone Maty featuring K-Johnson is said to

drop tomorrow.

The song “Le gout de yamo” said to drop by

6pm is produced by KAKAA of Doublas Bind.


The Guardian Post No 2120 SPORTS


UEFA Champions League:

Chopou-Moting’s goal not

enough as PSG eliminates Bayern

National teams’ deputy coordinator

donates to SW women’s clubs

By Deng Eric

Cameroon and Bayern

Munich striker, Eric

Maxim Chopou

Moting scored the lone goal

in the reverse fixture of the

2020/2021 UEFA Champions

League quarter final against

Paris Saint Germain, PSG on

Tuesday but his side failed to

advance to the last four.

Holders, Bayern came into

Tuesday’s game haven suffered

a 2-3 defeat at home to

French giants and 2020 finalist,

PSG in the away leg.

Filling in for the injured

Robert Lewandowski, Eric

Maxim Choupo-Moting

scored again against his former

team to give Bayern the

lead in the 40th minute.

On a loose ball in front of

goal, Choupo-Moting outmuscled

Presnel Kimpembe

to get to Navas's rebounded

save and headed home to

make it 3-3 on aggregate.

The nerve breaking

encounter saw PSG’s playmaker,

Kiylian Mbappe and

Neymar Junior come close to

scoring on several occasions

but Bayern’s Manuel Neuer

was excellent at goal.

Bayern went on to win the

game 1-0 but crashed out of

Europe’s most prestigious

tournament.

Eric Maxim Choupo-

Moting goal Tuesday showed

a marked improvement on his

Champions League scoring

form.

The former Schalke 04 and

Stoke City man has now

scored four goals in his last

five games in the tournament,

after netting only twice in his

first 20 appearances in the

tournament.

The Cameroonian has

scored more goals in his two

Champions League appearances

against PSG (two) than

he scored in his 10 games for

them in the competition

(one).

Although the German side

held on to record an away victory

at the Parc des Princes,

they crashed out of Europe’s

elite club competition on the

away goals rule after scores

on aggregate stood at 3-3.

After a shift that saw him

feature for 85 minutes, the 32-

yer-old was substituted for

Javier Martinez.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer

expressed his disappointment

with the outcome of the game

while assuring that his team

would come back stronger

next season.

"The 1-0 is deserved, but

the result last week was not

good. It should have been better.

It's annoying," Neuer told

the media as per the Bayern

Munich website.

“Thus, the dream of

defending the title ended in

the quarter-finals. Based on

their performance last week

and on Tuesday evening in

Paris, Bayern can definitely

leave the competition with

their heads held high.

“Commitment, will and

enthusiasm were clearly evident

across the 180 minutes

and will be the basis to go for

it again next year.”

Bayern Munich will now

shift their attention to the

German elite division when

they take on Oliver Glasner’s

Wolfsburg on Saturday at the

Volkswagen Arena.

Having amassed 65 points

from 28 games played so far

in the 2020-21 German topflight

campaign, they lead the

Bundesliga log, while RB

Leipzig occupy second spot

with five points less.

Deputy coordinator

of the

C a m e r o o n

national teams, NT,

Madam Ntui Ashu

Sarah Nkongho has

made a moral boasting

donation to all

women’s football

teams participating in

the 2020-2021 South

West Regional championship.

Tuesday, April 13

saw all five clubs that

entered the third tier

competition receive

two each of ten balls

donated by one of their

own currently working

at the headquarters of

the Cameroon Football

Federation.

Legend FC, Kumba

Lakers, Nkamanyi FI

Women, Njo Wassc,

Biyos Kake FC all benefited

from the

unprecedented gesture

and expressed their satisfaction.

“The women’s football

clubs of the

Southwest Region

acknowledge the

receipt of your donation

of two balls each.

We heartily appreciate,”

a portion of the

letter of appreciation

read.

All five cubs participating

in this season’s

southwest Regional

championship therefore

have two additional

top quality ballls

with which they will

continue to prepare for

match-day two of the

regional championship

while budding young

talents in the region.

Madam Tabe Ntui

who won the 2019

Under-17 AFCON and

2020 Under-20 UNIF-

FAC tournament is

noted for her humanitarian

approach

towards her environment

thus making the

recent move from her

to be far from a surprise.

Man Utd manager suggests empty

seat to blame for club’s form

Slavia's Ondrej Kudela

gets 10-game racism ban

Slavia Prague's Ondrej

Kudela has been banned

for 10 matches after

racially abusing Glen Kamara

- with the Rangers midfielder

suspended for three games.

The Finn has been found

guilty of assaulting Kudela in

the tunnel after the sides'

stormy Europa League meeting

at Ibrox in March, which

Slavia won.

Kamara's lawyer, Aamer

Anwar, called Kudela's sanction

"the barest minimum

penalty" and made "a mockery

of Uefa's claims on taking

racism seriously". He also

suggested Kamara's suspension

was reduced from five

games on appeal.

Rangers striker Kemar

Roofe has been banned for

four games, too, after Ondrej

Kolar suffered a fractured

skull in a challenge during the

game, with the Ibrox club

fined 9,000 euros for failing

to control their players.

Roofe and defender Leon

Balogun were sent off, and

three other players were

booked in the stormy last-16

second-leg encounter, which

the Czech side won 2-0 to

progress 3-1 on aggregate.

Police Scotland are still

looking into separate allegations

of racial abuse and a

reported assault.

Rangers "welcome"

Kudela's suspension, which

they say "vindicates Glen

Kamara's evidence" and

"underlines the severity of the

comment".

However, they have written

to Uefa for clarification on the

punishments given to Kamara

and Roofe, which they believe

to be "severe" and intend to

appeal against.

Rangers' players were left incensed by a

comment made to Glen Kamara by Ondrej Kudela

Kudela, meanwhile, said in

a statement

released by his lawyers that

he was "surprised" by the verdict

and reiterated his innocence.

The centre-back had rejected

the "disgusting accusation"

of racially abusing Kamara -

while covering his mouth -

amid a melee in the closing

moments of the game, but did

admit to swearing at him.

He was provisionally

banned for one game pending

an investigation by a Uefa

ethics and disciplinary inspector

Ċonsequently, he missed

Slavia's 1-1 draw at Arsenal

last week and will now also

be ineligible for the next nine

games played by either Slavia

in Europe or the Czech

Republic national team,

which will almost certainly

include the Euros.

The governing body's rules

state the punishment for racist

abuse should be "at least 10

matches", but Kudela's legal

team say they are considering

filing an appeal and queried

the rigour of the investigation.

"In retrospect, I realise that

it was a mistake to go to Glen

Kamara at all and tell him

anything," the Slavia player

said. "There were emotions in

the match and unfortunately I

can't take it back now. I'm so

sorry."

Slavia chairman Jaroslav

Tvrdik said the club "respect

the decision... and apologise

to Glen Kamara for a situation

that has clearly caused distress

to him and his teammates".

He added: "I am taking

positive steps to prevent such

a situation from happening in

our club ever again."

The bans received by

Kamara and Roofe apply only

to Rangers' matches in

European competition, with

the Ibrox club entering the

Champions League at the

third qualifying round in the

first week of August.

Slavia had asserted that

Kudela was subject to a "brutal

attack" by Kamara, which

was "carried out with full

intensity in order to injure and

cause physical damage".

They said Uefa delegates

witnessed the incident, along

with Rangers manager Steven

Gerrard.

Source. BBC

The Red Devils have a better

record away from Old Trafford

and the manager believes it

may have something to do with the

wraps over the empty seats

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has suggested

the red wrap on the seats at Old

Trafford could have contributed to

Manchester United's inconsistent

home form with the players unable to

pick each other out.

United have won 27 points at Old

Trafford this season, losing four times

and drawing three, compared to collecting

36 points on the road where

they are on an unbeaten run stretching

back 23 Premier League games.

The Red Devils face Granada in

their Europa League quarter-final second

leg on Thursday, looking for a

first knockout round home win in this

season’s competition, and Solskjaer

feels the team are now at an advantage

because the banners around the

seats have changed.

Solskjaer was asked about the discrepancy

between his side’s home and

away form, and suggested it may

have had something to do with the red

seats in the stadium.

“You’ll see a change now, if you

see the banners around the club, it’s

not red anymore,” Solskjaer replied.

“We’ve looked into this, there

shouldn’t be a reason, really. But

some of the payers have mentioned

that split-second decision you have to

make where you look over your

shoulder to see if your team-mate is

there or not and the red shirt is on a

red background with red seats. So,

we’ve tried to change that along with

the anti-racism campaign, that was

important that it wasn’t red anymore.

"There shouldn’t be any reason but,

then again, if you have a 4-0 advantage

[against Real Sociedad] you

don’t really have to win that game, 0-

0 was a good result, then the first

game against Milan, we conceded in

the last minute.

"I still think we’ve played some

good football at home. We started off

badly with three defeats with Palace,

Tottenham and Arsenal very early on,

but we’ve improved.”

When games restarted last year

after lockdown the club covered all of

the seats at Old Trafford with impressive

wraps which either had pictures

of fans who had submitted their personal

photographs for the mosaic,

advertising, or messages of support.

The banners around the lower tiers

of the stadium were changed a couple

of weeks ago to launch their SEE

RED anti-discrimination campaign

which is aiming to combat racism

within the game. The seats are now

covered in a black wrap with white

lettering on.

Source:Goal.com


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