THE SOILED BOWL OF GARRI

THE SOILED BOWL OF GARRI

This is a true story about the uneasy relations between senior students and junior students in boarding school.
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FIVE YEARS I REMEMBER


During the five years I spent at Sacred Heart College, Mankon-Bamenda
from Form 1 to Form 5, the most popular meal in the refectory was rice
and beans. We had the meal on Thursdays in the afternoon; so for
lunch. I can`t now remember how that popularity came about but I do
remember that practically every student relished it and always looked
forward to it with baited breath.


WEEVILS IN SPITE OF OURSELVES


It didn`t matter that there were dead weevils in the beans. These are
parasitic animals that bore holes in our beans and fed on their
inside. I believe that the insects were so many in their invasion that
the cooks decided not to bother to sort them out of the beans before
preparing the meal. So, they just let them be. We students in our
haste to eat the meal also did not have the time to weed them out. So,
we consumed them along with the beans. Some students used to crack
jokes to the effect that weevils were a good source of proteins.


DUE RESPECT TO ST. THOMAS` HOUSE


The entire student body was divided into "houses", named after some
biblical saints, since our institution was a catholic religious one.
We had four houses:  St. John`s (mine), St. Francis, St. Thomas and
St. Peter`s. I recall this to land by saying that for some reason, our
popular meal of rice and beans was said to be "a St. Thomas House"
meal. I don`t know why.


A MEAL IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN

The incident I am about the recount happened when I was in Form 2. It
was a Thursday afternoon and we were having our lunch of rice and
beans in the refectory as usual. Some of us liked to have our meals
accompanied by various food items, depending on what the individual
student could afford. We could peel and slice pears and add them to
our meals. At other times, it could be raw onions, or lettuce, or
leeks. On days when we had beans like the famous Thursdays, it was
common to find students accompanying their rice and beans meal with
garri soaked in cold water with or without sugar added.


A CONTACT POINT THAT WAS TO COST ME DEARLY

On this particular day, a student who was in Form Five spotted my bowl
of garri as he was passing by and decided to stop by and help himself
to it. He wasn`t just a senior student but also a Prefect. In our
school, prefects wielded a lot of power. In fact, . . .
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THE FIRST OF THE AZONGA CHILDREN

This is Azi azonga, the Alpha of the family; the first-born of my children, some years ago.  Her motto is "An eagle uses the storm to reach unimaginable heights". No wonder, she is a Sagittarius.

THE BENJAMIN OF THE AZONGA FAMILY

Here is Mauritio Nguena Mbah Azonga as he was a couple of years back. Ages five today, he is the last (in terms of age) in the Tikum Mbah Azonga dynasty.

HERE ARE NINE OF MY BOOKS FOR YOU

The books are now available online as e-books which means you can access them wherever you are and whenever you like. You can read them on the internet, on your laptop or on your phone. And what`s more, each of them will cost you only one US Dollar which is about six hundred Francs CFA!

 They are:

1-      `SAY NO TO AIDS` (Non au SIDA) which is a collection of poems, some of which are in English and some in French. The publication contains poems on HIV AIDS education. It is prefaced by the Cameroon Minister of Public Health and carries the logo and approval of the National AIDS Control Committee (NACC) which is the official organ put in place by the government of Cameroon to pilot HIV AIDS issues.

It is available at: https://sumbola.com/books/499/say-no-to-aids-non-au-sida

2-      `THE CRYING BABY` is a collection of eleven short stories on college life, living in an African village, child bed wetting, attempted robbery, gluttony, crying babies and what some mothers do with them, as well as the prospect of getting married to a minister`s daughter.

It is available at: https://sumbola.com/books/497/the-crying-baby

 3. `MY LOVE FOR NURSE NAOMI`

 contains nine short stories that touch on different aspects

 of everyday life. The themes treated in the work include love,

 education, the economy, the way parents treat their children, public

 violence, travel abroad and tourism, life and death. Of particular interest is the lead story which narrates how an eleven-year-old boy fell madly in love with a working female nurse who looked after him in hospital.

 The book is available at: https://sumbola.com/books/496/my-love-for-nurse-noami

 4. `A DIME FOR THREE`

 is a collection of eight exhilarating real-life experience short stories set in an African country but which inevitably ring bells with people in other countries. The themes covered are varied and include life, disease, death, pain and frustration, achievement and joy as well as nature, the universe and God.

 It is available at: https://sumbola.com/books/493/a-dime-for-three

 5. `THE WOODEN BICYCLE` 

contains ten short stories that any reader would find captivating. This is because the stories are thrilling, amusing and educative. The book is a depiction of life as a gift, as fun and as a duty. They are told in such a way that the reader feels compelled to read a story right to the end and immediately begin the next one.

 You can access through: https://sumbola.com/books/500/the-wooden-bicycle

 6. `MY FLYING EAGLE`

 contains 100 (one hundred) poems. The figure 100 stands for some outstanding facts of life such as the boiling point of water. It is the square of the figure 10, the starting point for percentages. It is the atomic number of fermium which we all know is an actinide. The figure 100 is also the unit into which most currencies of the world are divided. From that point of view, the number is noteworthy. It should be borne in mind that the book bears some resemblance to my daughter, Abu Azonga in the sense that the “flying eagle” in the title of the book is her favorite “animal”. You will know why when you read the book.

`My Flying Eagle` is available at:https://sumbola.com/books/501/my-flying-eagle

7. `CUP MAN AND OTHER STORIES`

 is a collection of eight stunning and mesmerizing stories that take an incisive look at some aspects of everyday life. Subjects covered include drunkenness, man`s relationship with cows, the untold tough life overseas, why stealing is wrong, the rising trade in coffins in Cameroon, the carelessness that leads to loss of life on our highways, and the puncturing of the myth that the woman is the weaker sex.

It is available at: http://www.sumbola.com/books/512/pages/current

8. `TOMATOES FOR FOUR` : 

 Like with poems in any other collection, the verses in this book tell

their own individual tales. Examples are `The Cat Song` which is an

animal`s rendition, `High Treason` which tells of how a so-called

gentleman was discourteous to a lady, and `The Mocking Bird`, which is

dedicated to His Royal Highness the Fon (Traditional Ruler) of Oku in

Cameroon - a childhood friend of the author`s. Collectively though,

the poems recount a story which opens with a cat that tells the

truth; followed by a man stranded at a train station; the good fight a

departed "mother" put up; and tears being shed in `This Country`,

which is a lamentation for a country - Cameroon - in which things are

going wrong. At the same time, the poet dedicates a significant number

of the 56 poems to colleagues of his at the Cameroon Radio Television

(CRTV). It is to be noted that these poems were written at the time

the author worked at the corporation.

TOMATOES FOR FOUR` can be viewed through the link: 

http://www.sumbola.com/books/504/tomatoes-for-four

9. `A STORM IN A TEA CUP`

One aspect that stands out in this book is the relative shortness of

its poems. In fact, few of them are up to, let alone, longer than a

score of lines and most are clearly poems made of single stanzas of

four lines each. Without doubt, such an architectural disposition

makes the work reader friendly in the sense that a reader does not

have to read too much before getting the message that is contained in

a verse. Themes treated in the collection are both deep and wide. They

include human psychology, money, religion, societal ills, evil doing

and doomsday, as well as pious living and its reward. Another

interesting feature of the poems is the fact that they are very

universal in nature and do not unnecessarily harp on any one

geographical area of the world. Such an approach enables many more

people to identify with the stories told in the poem.

The link is: http://www.sumbola.com/books/502/a-storm-in-a-tea-cup

 Enjoy the books and please, I would be grateful for your feedback either through my email address tmazonga@gmail.com or through my website www.tmazonga.blogspot.com or on FACEBOOK under my name <Tikum Mbah Azonga> or on Linked In under the same name. I can also be contacted through P.O. Box 625, Buea, South West Region, Republic of Cameroon.

Many thanks

Tikum Mbah Azonga

HOW THE CAMEROON GOVERNMENT HAS PUT ITS FOOT IN ITS MOUTH

THE ABSURDITY OF A GOVERNMENT DECISION

Candidates who sat for the GCE exam in Cameroon this year are expected to receive their results next week our the week after. Even so, for some who will pass, success will be like a poisoned gift. Yet it will not be through any fault of theirs.
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SUSUNGI POKES FUN AT CAMEROON`S STATESMAN

N.N.. SUSUNGI DISPARAGES  CHIEF MUKETE


 Susungi has today taken the senator to task on Facebook.


1.THE CHIEF`S ALLEGED HUMILIATION BY THE REGIME

N.N.Susingi mocks the elderly statesman by saying “The time has now
come for HRH Chief Victor Nfon Mukete. Paramount Chief of the Bafaw
people, to distance himself from this regime which has humiliated him
so much in our eyes.”

What I say: Firstly, who are the “us” to which Mr.  Susungi`s “our”
refers? Secondly, if really Chief Mukete has been humiliated, only he
can tell. He is best placed to know where and if the shoe is pinching.


2. THE REASON BEHIND THE CHIEF`S POST

Mr. Susungi derides Mfon Mukete by saying: “But today HRH Nfon Victor
Mukete is in 97 years old and instead of resting in his palace in
Kumba, he is still hanging on to the position of Senator and Chairman
of Camtel so that President Paul Biya will be credited with giving
something to the people of Meme Division. “

Firstly, is it bad or worng to be aged 97? Should we not be crediting
Nfon Mukete for that and asking him what his secret is?
Secondly,Mr.Susungi gives a reason for the Chief accepting his
appointment from Paul Biya.  Is that what  Chief Mukete says?


3. CHIEF MUKETE AS A FARMER

M. N. Susungi pours scorn on the Senator by affirming that he was
“dumped” to go and do “farming”.

I say: What is wrong with farming? With great wisdom, our first
president said when our country discovered oil: “Before oil, there was
agriculture and after oil there will still be agriculture”. So Chief
Mukete placed his bet on the winning horse, by all accounts.


4. THE ALLEGED CONSTERNATION IN THE HOUSE

N.N. Susungi claims that Dr. Endeley, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and
Nigeria were “stunned” when Mukete declared his stance for
“reunification”. Why? Were they in a political system where peopledid
not have freedom of thought, opinion and choice? Or was Mukete a mere
puppet in their hands for them to manipulate at will?


5. FRANC E AND THE WAR IN CAMEROON

N.N. Susungi writes that “France had started its war on nationalists
in French Cameroons in the Douala area and in Sanaga Maritime where
Ruben Um Nyobe would be finally killed by the French in 1958.” My dear
brother, it was a war, and one first of all declared by those you call
“nationalists”. They captured and killed some people close to me. Of
course, French excesses in Sanaga Maritime and in Bamileland are to be
decried. But the fighters on the other side were no saints by any
stretch of the imagination.



6. SUSUNGI AND HIS OWN CONTRADICTIONS

Mr. Susungi criticizes Chief Mukete for opting for “reunification”. At
the same time, Susungi has publicly declared his intention to run as a
presidential candidate against Paul Biya in 2018 and even hopes to be
Cameroon`s next preisdent. Has he forgotten that the country he seeks
to govern is . ...

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