NEW LANGUAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BUEA

 By Tikum Mbah Azonga

One of the basic principles one learns in journalism is the aphorism that “man bites dog is news whereas dog bites man is no news”. The central idea here is that news is that which is “unusual”. One can paraphrase that phenomenon by using synonyms such as “rare”, “infrequent”, “uncommon”, “scarce”, “unfamiliar” and even “strange”.

Anyone who listened to the discourse pronounced by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea, Dr. Nalova Lyonga, during the recent installation of newly appointed officials at the university must have noticed that there was a change in the diction and tone she used. The choice was “unusual” not just for the University of Buea but, in my view, throughout the nation`s university system, including the private ones, when it comes to installation ceremony speeches. The Vice Chancellor`s message was not just inclusive but family-like. It was not `talking down`, it was `talking to`. It was in no way saber-rattling; it was coaxing, firm coaxing, as I saw it.

The Post newspaper picked this up when it quoted her as saying to the newly appointed officials and by extension the entire university staff: “Let us talk to each other and not walk out. Let us keep going into UB like a river and be of good to our community. We welcome comments that will make us grow.”

The use of the river metaphor by the Vice Chancellor who has a literary background was of course, well calculated to involve everyone not just in the flow but in a flow that goes in the same direction. The underlying cushion was, of course, the appeal for “comments that will make us grow.”

The newspaper goes on to cite the Vice Chancellor as referring to the essential role of the university as one “growing and building other universities, hence there is need for mentorship”. The Post then refers to the Vice Chancellor as emphasizing the need for team work, tolerance, forbearance, interdependence, human symbioses and the need to hand on the relay baton: “We have to build others for us to stay afloat. That is an opportunity for us to build others so that they can take the place of those who have left.”

Officials who were installed at the ceremony included Dr. Blaise Moukoko as Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Teaching, Development of Information and Communication Technology and Professionalization; Dr. Charles Epah Fonkeng as Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research, Cooperation and Relations with the Business World; and Prof. Theresia Nkuo Akenji as Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Internal Control and Evaluation. Prof. Joyce Bayande Endeley was commissioned as pioneer Director of the newly-created Higher Technical Teachers` Training College in Kumba. Prof. Samuel Ndonwi Ayonghe was installed as Dean of the Faculty of Science.

The Vice Chancellor assured the audience that HTTC Kumba will go operational in September of this year (2014). Already, she said, programmes of work are being elaborated jointly by the university`s administration and the newly appointed Director of the college.  The Vice Chancellor stated that accommodation had been established for the college at the Government Teacher Training College (GTTC) in Kumba: “The administration out there has been nice to us and has made available some space already. We will make good use of the space given to us. It is not enough and can never be enough. You can never start with everything you need. We will take off progressively”. Regarding funding, she revealed that the Ministry of Higher Education had made available “some money for this interim period” and added: “we will use this time to give in the best we can.”

Surely, if such a discourse pervades Cameroon`s university milieu, the latter will certainly become more user-friendly.