SUMMIT MAGAZINE HONOURS BATE BESONG

i

i

By Tikum Mbah

The Yaounde-based international news publication, SUMMIT MAGAZINE, has just celebrated its fifth anniversary. The birthday was marked by a memorial conference devoted to the late poet and dramatist, Bate Besong.

The jamboree was held at the University of Buea`s sumptuous Amphi 750, under the patronage and in the presence of the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of the University, Dr. Nalova Lyonga.

Tikum Mbah Azonga sat through the ceremony and put together this report.

______________________________________________

Although Bate Besong may be dead, he lives yet again. This was the overriding message that came across the twin celebration of Summit Magazine and the memorial conference held at the university in honour of Dr. Bate Besong.

The show was a major crowd puller bringing together personalities such as Bole Butake, professor of Literature and Drama and to boot, a playwright in his own right. Also present were Francis Wache, Executive Editor of The Post newspaper who served as moderator, Rumpi Project boss Bisong Ntui Ogork who was the chief launcher, the former parliamentarian for Santa and Tubah, Tasi Ntang Lucas, and veteran journalist Peter Esoka. Also in attendance were Dr Rose Jua who is Dean of the Faculty of Arts of theUniversity ofBuea, and the former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church inCameroon, the Rt. Rev, Nyansako-ni-Nku.

One high point of the bonanza was the award ceremony in which Summit Magazine Publisher Kange Williams Wasaloko recognized some personalities for services rendered to the community.

The aspect that stole the show the most was the screening of an interview which Bate Besong accorded CRTV`s production and programmes Manager, Robert Ekukole, incidentally, shortly before the distinguished poet and playwright perished in a car crash along the Douala-Yaounde road as he returned from a literary event in Buea. As fate would have it he died alongside two long time friends and associates: Kwasen Gwanngwa`a, a renowned television producer at the time working for CRTV Yaounde, and Dr Hilarius Ambe, an upcoming dramatist who was widely regarded as Bate Besong`s “professional son”. Ambe was a university lecturer.

The screening of the Bate Besong interview at some point held the audience spellbound and at others, it caught the audience reeling with laughter. After all, that was “BB”, as Bate Besong was fondly called, true to form: firebrand, critique, trouble rouser, agitator, hothead and stirrer. But he was also eloquent, intelligent, knowledgeable, uncompromising, hardnosed and categorical.

Funds were raised generously with assurances from the publisher of Summit magazine that the Bate Besong family would benefit from them. The late poet and playwright’s wife, Christina and children as well as parents were there to see and hear it all for themselves.

________________________________________

This paper was first broadcast on Foundation Radio, Ngomgham-Bamenda on Friday the 13^th of July 2012. The Radio is an offshoot of the Fomunyoh Foundation. Dr Chris Fomunyoh recently appointed me Executive Station Manager of Foundation Radio. I am handling this alongside my full time job as Head of the Communication Division of the University of Bamenda.

SUMMIT MAGAZINE HOISTS BATE BESONG TO THE SUMMIT

i

By Tikum Mbah

Recently, the University of Buea served as the venue for a twin-event that marked the fifth anniversary of Summit Magazine and a memorial service in honour of the late poet and playwright, Bate Besong. This took place qt the University’s Amphi 750 in the presence of and under the patronage of the newly installed Vice Chancellor of the university, Dr Nalova Lyonga:

As a parallel event, the magazine launched a special edition of its publication which it also devoted to the internationally acclaimed literary icon.

Tikum Mbah Azonga leafed through the magazine and sent the following report from Buea.

_________________________________________________________________

Long before the event, Summit Magazine had set the tone for the special edition by producing a beautiful four-page invitation card which it then sent out to invitees. On the cover of the card is a cheerful and exuberant Bate Besong, or “BB”, as he was fondly called, clutching a file whose contents we the onlookers may never know.

The back cover of the invitation card carries four covers of previous editions of the magazine, one featuring the retired Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC), the Rt. Rev. Nyansako-Ni-Nku over whom is the headline, “My place is reserved in heaven”. Another cover portrays the late renowned Professor of Medicine, Victor Anomah Ngu with the caption, “Vanhivax has cured AIDS patients”. The third shows Social Democratic Front (SDF) Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi relaxed in jeans, sporting a cowboy hat and carrying a bunch of plantains on his left shoulder as he walks. The headline on him reads, “I am also a farmer”.

The special edition is a 48-page publication whose main cover page story is understandably: “Remember Bate Besong: Five years after, he lives on”. On the cover, Bate Besong is seen flanked to the bottom by Professor Ndiva Kofele Kale whom the magazine describes as “Marafa`s lawyer”. The latter is of course, the former Territorial Administration Minister who was previously and for years Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic. Marafa, it will be recalled, is one of several cabinet ministers today awaiting trial in jail on charges of corruption.

At the top right hand corner of the cover is an irresistible photograph of the charming Francisca Biaka who is said to be taking over command of the St. Veronica Medical Centre in Buea. Two other smaller cover stories capture the two newly appointed bosses of the Douala Port Authority, the Board Chairman Shey Jones Yembe, and the General Manager Etoundi Oyono. Inside the magazine, the “Young Celebrities” page features Ernest Sumelong who is Editor of the Buea-based The Post newspaper on the one hand and on the other hand, Derica Nkuh Nfor, Service Head for the Budget at the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife in Yaounde.

Of course, the bulk of the publication examines Bate Besong from various angles including his being a legend as portrayed in the foreword by Veteran Journalist Peter Esoka. Summit Magazine`s Publisher Kange Williams Wasaloko recounts his encounters with Bate Besong whom he describes as “the tiger that never bites”. The late poet and dramatist`s comrade-in-arms, Dr. Babila Mutia, who is also a writer and lecturer at the Higher Teacher`s Training College (ENS) in Yaounde, pens down his views of Bate Besong from the angle of his ideas, vision and life. Other contributors include Bole Butake, professor of literature and drama, Literary giant Canute Tangwa, as well as Francis Wache who is Executive Editor of The Post newspaper and who acted as moderator during the ceremony. Also participating were the journalists Douglas Achinagle and Azore Opio, as well as U.S.-based University don Dr. Joyce Ashuntantang.

Anyone who picks up the special edition can not fail to be moved by the lengthy interview the wife of the late Bate Besong, Christina, gives the publication. In it, she talks at length about B.B. the man, the critic, the husband, the father, the lover and man of her dreams. She, of course, recalls the moment she learned of her husband`s death.

Summit Magazine announces that it will take a break from July to September of this year, to bounce back in October with another special edition, this time on Cameroon`s forthcoming reunification celebration.

_________________________________________________________________

This paper was first broadcast on Foundation Radio, Ngomgham-Bamenda on Friday the 13^th of July 2012. The Radio is an offshoot of the Fomunyoh Foundation. Dr Chris Fomunyoh recently appointed me Executive Station Manager of Foundation Radio. I am handling this alongside my full time job as Head of the Communication Division of the University of Bamenda.

THE WOMAN ON THE BUS

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

One of the most popular modes of public transport in Cameroon today is night travel. This happens especially between the South West, Littoral, West and North West Regions where passengers finish their full day`s activities in one city and then take off before midnight to get to the next one at about 6 am. Such an option enables those who travel overnight to immediately start a new day on arrival without having lost a whole working day traveling.

I am one of the lovers of night travel. Recently as I journeyed from the North West Regional headquarters of Bamenda to the South West Regional Headquarters, Buea, I sat next to a woman who fascinated me from the beginning of the trip to the end.

I refer to her as “the woman by me”, not meaning, “the woman I fathered”, because I couldn`t have done so. She is the one “by me” because she sat next to me.  Yet, I cannot call her, “the woman by my side”, for that description is exclusively reserved for my better half. I won`t call her “the woman behind me” because that is my mother. She is not “the woman above me”, for that is Mary the Mother of Christ. Similarly, she is not “the woman in front of me” because that is the expression I use to refer to Dr. Nalova Lyonga, an undeniably dynamic woman who was recently appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea, here in Cameroon. Dr. Nalova is “in front of me” because I know that where she has got to today is by dint of hard work on her part. So to me she is a role model.

Nonetheless, let`s return to the woman on the bus. On this day of the trip I was happy to have had a seat on the Buea by night 70-sitter bus. I prefer the 70-sitter to the smaller Coaster because while the latter is small, narrow, crammed and indiscreet; the former is large, spacious and discreet, and to boot, gives one the false impression that one is flying in an airplane. That is not bad, because, after all, do the French not say : ”Il est toujours permis de rêver?”, which means, “one can always dream?”

Before I took up my seat, Number 46 to be precise, the woman had already taken up hers, the one just before mine, Number 45. So we sat close to each other. But mind you, I took no unfair advantages.  The first thing I noticed about her was that she was in the prayer mood. When I greeted her, her response was, “Praise God!” When I asked if I could pass to my seat, she said: “Alleluia!”

During the journey she sang, she hummed, she whispered and even occasionally cried out:”Jesus!”, or “Father!”, or Daddy God!”, or “Father Almighty!” Although I am one who prays, I did not cherish this particular manner of praying because when I travel at night I want to sleep. But now, I realized that was out of the question. Even so, I did not see why I, an autonomous passenger with sovereign rights of mine , should surrender my freedom to a fellow passenger.

So, I spoke up:”Madam, what do you think you`re doing?” She was not just surprised but shocked by my question. “I am praying! I am worshipping God! Can`t you see?” I told her that there was nothing wrong with worshipping God apart from the fact that her loudness was disturbing me and possibly other passengers. She replied that no other passenger had complained and wondered loudly why I should complain about her when she was sure that if the driver had instead put on music with the loudspeakers of the bus blasting away , I wouldn`t complain. On that point I felt she was right because I love bus music to the point of going to sleep while it`s on. Even so, I was not prepared to hand her victory on a platter of gold.

Just then, she added another dimension to my Calvary by speaking in tongues: “Abra kada Bra saka maka la lata!” “What are you saying?” I enquired. “Do I even know what I`m saying! I know I`m moved by God`s spirit. He puts words in my mouth. He tells me what to say.” “But what you say must have a meaning!” I insisted. “I don`t know what it means. But the Lord Knows.”, she told me, rather categorically.

I pointed out to her that what she was doing was contrary to the way Jesus preached. She was disturbing the public peace, I explained. Spinning round as if stung, she declared to me that the problem was mine, not hers. She even said she would continue to sing and exclaim as much as she wanted. Strangely enough, not a single passenger uttered a word in support of me, although none also spoke on her behalf. But then again, she was winning the day, wasn`t she?

When we got to Mile 17 Buea where I was alighting, she looked at me and said: “God bless you, brother!” Looking back at her, I swallowed my pride and replied: “God bless you too, Sister”.  She continued her journey to the town of Muyuka. As I walked away from the bus her sighs and chants and outbursts faded away. I wondered who of the two of us should be saying to the other:” Good riddance!”

BULK PURCHASES

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Would you care for a buffet

Or would you rather sulk?

If you`re offered the odd turrets

Please, take them only in bulk.

ON THE LATE NIGHT BUS

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

We came earlier today

Tired of all the lame excuses

So while we`re here to play

Let`s not fail to deliver the late night buses.