By Tikum Mbah Azonga
Those who are familiar with Cameroon`s Communication
Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, will no doubt remember him as a man who always
appears in public clad in the traditional gandoura wear.
I first met Tchiroma in 1998 shortly after he had been
dropped as Minister of Transport. That was in Yaounde, at the chick snack bar
that used to be next door to the Hilton Hotel and was run by the flamboyant
politician Nicole Okala. I sat with Tchiroma and we chatted over a drink.
As far as I can remember, he was in gandoura. Since then till
today, I have seen him dressed in nothing but the gandoura. I always wondered
why. I asked myself why not once could he be spotted in a suit for example, or
in some casual wear like his colleague, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Essimi Menye.
Nonetheless, a few days ago, my doubts were put to rest when
Tchiroma answered the question himself in an interview he granted the
Journalist, Okol of LTM Television here in Cameroon. Not only did Tchiroma
confess his penchant for the gandoura but he said he had worn it for the past
thirty years. That means for that number of years, the minister has not won a
suit.
However, he told the journalist that he also had suits in his
wardrobe. So, would he never be seen in a suit ever again” his life time, then?
The minister replied: “I won`t say, `never`”. Tchiroma said he loves his
gandouras because he feels very much at home in them. He reminded the journalist
that he was a native of Garoua, a major town in the north of Cameroon where
gandoura`s are very much in vogue. It was part of his culture, he said.
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