GEF's Outlook

World Vision Report - Week of June 12, 2010 - Niger Famine

In the past, the government of Niger refused to admit that the country suffered from a famine, which meant no aid or assistance for starving people.

A new government took over in February of this year — leading to a rather bizarre bit of good news. George Fominyen, a humanitarian affairs correspondent with Reuters AlertNet based in Dakar, Senegal, explains the change to host Peggy Wehmeyer.

World Vision Report - Week of June 12, 2010 - Niger Famine.

Tooth Decay Ravaging Cameroonian Children

By *Leo Achembong Ndiangang

The average Cameroonian child is presently facing a challenge that past generations did not have. Dental caries is ravaging Cameroonian children, much as it did in the developed world prior to the emphasis on the use of fluoride and dental hygiene. 

This situation has come about due to a number of factors. The increasing popularity of highly refined foods and the neglect of hygiene instruction in primary schools are two contributors. In general, fluoride toothpaste is not affordable or is probably not on the list of priorities for many Cameroonian families. Basic oral hygiene knowledge and awareness of its importance is lacking. 

In addition, there is inadequate infrastructure in the few available dental clinics and a dearth of dental personnel in Cameroon. There are currently about 150 practicing dentists serving 19 million Cameroonians, 80 percent of whom are located in Yaounde and Douala, the two largest cities, where most dentists are in private practice, out of reach of the ordinary Cameroonian. The ordinary Cameroonian has no access to dental care because of the costs involved and the absence of dental providers in most parts of Cameroon. 

Presently there is no dental school, no dental hygiene school, and no government or public health emphasis on oral health. There is also no reliable data on the prevalence of dental caries. Hopefully, stake holders involved with the proposed dental school at the University of Buea will engage in oral health research and start doing research to show the evidence of the enormity of dental diseases in Cameroon.

Hysacam in Niamey: Exporting Savoir Faire?

Cameroon is commerating 50 years of sovereignty this year. In that time there are many individual Cameroonians who have become leading lights in their areas of work and interest in Africa and internationally but not as many businesses from the country have gained ground out of its frontiers.

It was therefore surprising to see garbage vans in Niamey the capital of Niger bearing the: HYSACAM which is the french acronym for "Hygiene et Slubrité du Cameroun" (Cameroon Hygiene and sanitation company).

The garbage disposal outfit has, however, been present in Niger since 2006, according to the company website.

To say the least, HYSACAM is not the most popular company in Cameroon.  Its services do not cover the national territory and are often decried. Could they really do a commendable job elsewhere in the world?

Niger's paper eating goats

I noticed that inhabitants of Niamey ate a lot of grilled goat or sheep meat. A friend invited me to one of these joints where I savoured African-style barbecued goat.

Since I was in Niamey to cover the food crisis which also involved a deficit of 16 million tonnes of fodder for livestock, I couldn't help asking what these particular goats had been eating to be so fleshy and juicy. Most animals I had seen at a local livestock market in Niamey were lean.

As we drove back to the hotel, I stumbled on this scene of goats rummaging through trash heaps and selecting the "sweetest" bits of paper and paper bags.

Click here to read the rest of the story and watch the video of paper eating goats....

Of Charlotte Dipanda, Majoie Asse and the Canal D'Or

Charlotte Dipanda. Does that ring a bell? The 24-year-old singer with a soulful touch has captured the hearts of Cameroonians since the release of her first album "Mispa" in 2009. They paid her for bringing some bliss into their lives by voting her as the Best Female Artiste of that year,through the Cameroon music and culture awards, Canal D'or.

She carved her niche in the hearts of many with poignant vocals that accompanied the late Jeannot Hens' guitar in songs like Ndando, Longue and Cathy. For connaisseurs who remember her early days as a vocalist in Douala cabarets before she was fished out by Congolese songster - Lokua Kanza, her current success is well deserved.

She was performing on the night of her victory (part of a tour of Cameroon) thus failing to attend the ceremony.

The Male Artiste of the Year - Longue Longue - was at the event. He walked to the stage in a priest's cassock, which he dropped to unveil a stylish suit as he received his prize. According to votes via SMS and the web, he came ahead of Tsimi Tsoro whose lead track  "Merci" was voted best  song of the year.

Lapiro Honoured at Cameroon Music Awards

Organisers of the Cameroon music and cultural awards, CANAL D'Or, have honoured jailed singer Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger aka Lapiro de Mbanga with a a Life time Achievement Award.

The special tribute presented to his wife Louisette Lambo Sandjo on Friday is in recognition of the artiste's work, especially his engaging lyrics on the social, political and economic situation of his countrymen, often delivered in the "mboko" variant of the country's lingua franca, Pidgin-English.

"I dedicate this award to my husband and to all who are with him in cell number 18," the emotional Louisette told the audience made up of politicians, senior civil servants, top class businessmen, musicians, comedians and journalists.

Lapiro de Mbanga was arrested in April 2008 after the violent riots that rocked Cameroon in protest of high prices of basic commodities and popular discontent over a change in the country's constitution to drop the restriction of Presidential terms.

"I WON'T CRY"

He was convicted in September 2008 to three years imprisonment for looting, unlawful gathering and blocking the public highway at Mbanga, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Douala, the economic capital and one of several towns swept by riots that claimed more than 40 lives according to the official toll.

Scenes From 25 Years of Watching TV in Cameroon

"When you are old and gray and full of sleep, and nodding by the fire, take down this book and slowly read, and dream of the soft look your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep,"said the Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats.

Cameroon's national TV (CRTV) literally took down the book from the shelf by re-broadcasting shows like "Thinking Time" with Emmanuel Jackai, and "Accord Majuscule" produced by Vincent Doumbe as part of activities to celebrate the 25 years of television in the country, this March 2010.

There was something close to depicting Yeats' "dream of the soft look your eyes had once" as CRTV turned to its lofty past and flew-in two of its famed news anchors - Eric Chinje and Denise Epote - from Washington and Paris respectively, to present a commemorative newscast.

Observing the depth of the reports by Charly Ndi Chia, Robert Abunaw, Carol Ijang Akutu, et al on the programme "Provincial Spotlight" produced in 1986; with pictures that matched the scripts written in good English; there was a feeling of bliss all around.

But, should  Cameroonians live on nostalgia alone? Is this all they should expect of a public service broadcaster? Aren't they entitled to more?

The buzz created on Facebook pages where clips of this special newscast have been posted and the scores of newspaper articles and testimonies by past and current viewers of national TV either mean that these were such dazzling presenters that their aura remains for eternity or what is currently on offer is so distasteful to the point that  national TV could be described at barely 25 years of existence as "nodding by the fire" like grey-haired old man! 

Mauritanian Muslim imams initiate rare ban on female circumcision

(Culled from Reuters AlertNet)

The centuries-old practice involves removing part or all of a girl's clitoris and labia, and sometimes narrowing the vaginal opening. About 72 percent of the women in Mauritania have undergone FGM which health workers say often causes severe bleeding, problems urinating and potential complications during childbirth.

"Are there texts in the Koran that clearly require that thing? They do not exist," the secretary general of the Forum of Islamic Thought in Mauritania, Cheikh Ould Zein, told Reuters. "On the contrary, Islam is clearly against any action that has negative effects on health. Now that doctors in Mauritania unanimously say that this practice threatens health, it is therefore clear that Islam is against it," he added.

In many parts of West Africa, FGM has been presented as a religious obligation for practising Muslim women, leading most to believe that if they are not circumcised they are unclean and their prayers will not be heard.

Continue reading Mauritanian Muslim imams initiate rare ban on female circumcision

Book Launch: Paul Biya -The People's Call

By George Esunge Fominyen

If you are interested in a genre of political literature called "motions of support" then there is a new book on the shelves in Cameroon for your reading pleasure: Paul Biya: The People's Call. It is a 336 page compilation of motions of support to Cameroon’s President Paul Biya packaged by the Cameroon Publishing Corporation (SOPECAM). 

The first of four parts of the book republishes motions of support requesting Paul Biya to stand for election in 2011 for another 7-year- term. Part 2 compiles motions of support from different parts of Cameroon "thanking" the President for appointing their sons or daughters in government or other high duties. The third part includes the messages sent to Paul Biya after reports about his "supposed ill-gotten wealth and lavish spending on holiday in Europe". The final part focuses on motions of support for the anti-graft operation dubbed sparrow hawk (Epervier).

“The book is a testimony of communication between a people and their leader,” Philemon Yang the country’s Prime Minister said at the book launch on Monday. “It is a healthy two-way flow of messages," he added.

According to Philemon Yang, the President acknowledged the motions of support in his letter to the nation that marked his 27th anniversary in power. Paul Biya said he had heard the appeals and motions of support the people have been sending to him.

"I thank you for them, very sincerely. They are the most eloquent signs of encouragement addressed to me in the discharge of my responsibilities at the helm of State," the Cameroon Head of State wrote in his 3 November 2009 letter.

The Prime Minister described the book as "a landmark in the political history of our Fatherland." He said "for many years, future generations would read it and try to understand many issues that perhaps today we take for granted.”

It's understood that everyone has a right to their thoughts and convictions. Prime Minister Yang is thus entitled to speak of two-way communication between President Biya and the people he rules.

One simply wonders why the Head of State has not responded to a young rapper called Valsero who many months ago wrote "a letter to the President" about the plight of the country's masses (particularly the youth).

President Biya writes to Cameroonians on his 27th Anniversary in Power

After 27 years as President of any Republic it is not easy to maintain attention on the day one came to power. Paul Biya of Cameroon has decided to generate a buzz by doing something unusual. At least, it is unusual for him.

He has opted to write a letter to his countrymen and of course supporters of his party - the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM).

Paul Biya generally addresses the nation by radio and TV broadcasts so, his option to use the print media is an innovation. What is more is that he sent it directly to all the daily papers in the country regardless of official(state) and private (independent) media dichotomy.  

What did Biya have to say to Cameroonians? Read the President's letter below:

LETTER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC,

CPDM NATIONAL PRESIDENT

To all Cameroonians and CPDM Militants

My dear Compatriots, Dear CPDM Militants,

On the occasion of this 27th Anniversary of the New Deal, I am very pleased to address you, through this letter, on the future of Cameroon which depends on each and every one of us. It is our individual and collective responsibility. Each person in his own sphere and all of us together have to work actively to build that future. It will be the fruit of our collective effort. It will be what all of us want it to be.

For my part, I want to reiterate that I will never fail, as I promised, you will remember, when taking office as President of the Republic.

Le Messager, Tax Bills, Media Entrepreneurship and the Cameroonian Appetite for Celebration

By George Esunge Fominyen

Last week the offices of Le Messager newspaper were sealed by local taxation services in Douala for unpaid taxes.

"We were accused of arrears of 1.4 million CFA francs," Pius Njawe, the publisher, told a news conference in Douala. "That amount is nothing in comparism to the bill of 12 million CFA francs that we are owed by the Ministry of Finance, (which is the titular head of the taxation department) and other parastatals, "Njawe said.

He has decided to pay the tax bill only after the Ministry of Finance pays up what they owe Le Messager as dues for adverts and announcements.He plans to protest at the Ministry of Finance.

The veteran newspaperman believes the decision to seal his business is an act of sabotage meant to discredit Le Messager which has planned a big celebration of its 30 years of existence in November with many international guests in attendance.

However, with all due respect for what Le Messager and Pius Njawe have achieved in the quest for freedom of expression in Cameroon, there is something odd about this palaver.

Malnutrition Kills 52,000 Children Yearly in Cameroon - UNICEF

"In a country of relative wealth, a middle-income country, there is really no need for 52,000 children to die each year of malnutrition,” Mia Farrow, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, said in a visit to Cameroon.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says Cameroon is experiencing a silent emergency. Four (East, Adamawa,North, Far North) regions out of the country's 10 have high malnutrition rates.

Unicef in Cameroon wants people to be aware of this problem. They want the government to make resources available from the national budget to fund malnutrition services in every corner of the country and ensure that every health centre in the country has the ability to offer nutrition services. 

That was the reason behind Mia Farrow's visit to Cameroon. She met the country's First Lady, Chantal Biya, and Prime Minister, Philemon Yang; hope they got the message. 

Somen scores, Nkoulou on the bench again: How Le Guen's men fared this weekend

As the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon gather in Yaounde ahead of their double-header against Gabon on the 5th and 9th of September, Somen A Tchoyi was the only one in the 22 Europe based players to score for his club this weekend.

He thundered in a header to score the second goal for Red Bulls Salzburg that beat KSV Superfund 3-0 in the Austrian superleague. The Bulls are now topping the league in Austria.

Samuel Eto'o played his most elaborate game in an Inter shirt (although he did not score) when the Italian champions destroyed their city rivals Milan 4-0. He gave width, depth and fluidity to Inter's game. He obtained a penalty when Gatusso fouled him in the 18 yard box which, Milito scored.

Eto'o, Meyong, Makoun Score in European Football Leagues this Weekend

By George Esunge Fominyen

Samuel Eto'o Fils scored on Sunday from the penalty spot in his Italian Serie "A" debut for Inter Milan which drew 1-1 with FC Bari.

"I am satisfied with his [Eto'o's] performance today but, of course, I expect him to improve each week," Inter's manager, José Mourinho, told pressmen after the game.

The Cameroonian striker told pressmen that his team still needs to work harder and stay focused to attain their objectives for the season.

Eto'o, who told French TV channel TF1 that his biggest wish for the moment was to see Cameroon qualify for the 2010 World Cup, was not the only member of Paul Le Guen's 22 man list for the World Cup qualifiers against Gabon to have scored for his team. Here is a round-up of Lions in action this weekend.  

What African Women think inside - A review of poetry on Batuo’s World

Blog reviewed by George Esunge Fominyen

Is it easy to be an African woman? Always having other people deciding what you do, have, like or say; and how you should feel and act. Except if you are a woman like Joyce Ashutantang; a Cameroonian literary academic, actress, playwright, scriptwriter and poet.

In a series of poems posted on her blog –Batuo’s World – she masterfully brings out women's  innermost feelings about love and life that some of society’s “protectors” in her country and continent of origin would want gagged and buried inside.

One of those issues is whether to allow women choose to keep or terminate pregnancy within given conditions. In “Sarah Palin: A Poem for Women” Ashutantang writes: “She can kill a moose, I can’t / She touts a gun, I hate guns / She derides abortions; I stand by them; my body is mine…”

Recently in Cameroon, persons who speak for women (and who seem to know better than women about choices they should make) got thousands of men and women to march on the streets against the parliament’s decision to ratify the Protocol to theAfrican Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa which simply provides that right to choose.

Cameroon Duo Gives Spurs Victory Over Liverpool in Le Guen's Presence

Cameroon's Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sébastien Bassong Sunday scored the two goals that helped Tottenham Hotspur beat Liverpool FC 2-1 in the last game of the opening day of play in the English premier league.

Both men scored in the presence of the Indomitable Lions manager, Paul Le Guen, who was at White Hart Lane as a pundit for the French television channel Canal+.

Generally a very controlled person, Le Guen's pride could be felt in his voice as he responded to the screams by the french commentator who reminded his viewers at every occasion that the two players were Cameroon internationals and Le Guen's  is their manager.

Cameroon Pair Gives Spurs Victory Over Liverpool

Cameroon's Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastian Bassong Sunday scored the two goals that helped Tottenham Hotspur beat Liverpool FC 2-1 in the last game of the opening day of play in the English premier league.

Assou-Ekotto shot spurs into the lead with a devastating left foot strike at the 43rd minute of the game. It was his first goal for his club since he moved from France.

The Sawa Chiefs, Christianity and African Traditional Religions

In the first week of August 2009, the traditional rulers of Cameroon's Sawa ethnic and linguistic group organised a march through the streets of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, angered by a government decision allocating a piece of land - located at Besseke in the city's Plateau Joss area - as State property,local media reported. The Sawa want to build the headquarters of the Ngondo, their 300 year-old cult, on this site.

What caught my attention in this protest was the form it took. There was the march, a petition to the President of the Republic and (more interestingly) a church service at the Native Baptsist Church, which was followed by a ritual which included the burial of a goat (or sheep) on the site. It was the stark depiction of the African caught between living his/her old ways and being the reverent Christian in a modern world.

Is such open reliance on both the God of the missionaries and that of their ancestors a sign of Africans ready to openly live their multiple beliefs?  

GEF speaks to Palapala Magazine (1st anniversary edition)

Interview by Kangsen Feka (originally published on Palapala Magazine)

George Esunge Fominyen is West and Central Africa correspondent for Humanitarian affairs for [Reuters] AlertNet and West and Central Africa coordinator of the Emergency Information Service of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. He formerly headed the multimedia editorial unit of Panos Institute West Africa (PIWA).

At PIWA, his task was to strengthen the role of the institution in the training of journalists and other media personnel in media production, dissemination and exchange on selected priority issues in West Africa and across the continent.

**Indomitable Lions Need More Than Just A New Coach

Cameroon's Minister of Sport and Physical Education has confirmed the appointment of Paul Le Guen as head coach of the country's football team. His statement also confirmed French media reports that Le Guen would come along with his assistant, and a physiotherapist. This sparked controversy as some local media and posters on online forums  wondered why he should come with a crew and criticised government's decision not to name Cameroonians as his assistants.

The following article, originally published in September 2007 in the Herald newspaper's column: Geof's Game Plan, is in favour of a big staff with clearly defined roles and picked by the head coach. Considered from that perspective, a staff of three (pending further appointments) is not even enough for the Lions!

A journey into dejection or the denunciation of resignation: A review of Francis Nyamnjoh’s Souls Forgotten

Souls Forgotten (355 pages; Langaa research and Publishing CIG, 2008)

 Reviewed by George Esunge Fominyen

It took Emmanuel Kwanga four years after dropping out of university to take control of his life and decide to set up an NGO to assist his community reeling in neglect, instead of griping about the fate of the rich and poor, the corrupt and the defenceless in his country Mimboland. Francis Nyamnjoh in Souls Forgotten (2008) used the subtlety of prose to tell Cameroonians in 355 pages what the U.S Ambassdor Janet Garvey said to them via a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Douala in June 2009 : it is time to take ownership of their destiny, their government, their community.

World Vision scandal puts spotlight on efforts to stamp out aid corruption

By George Fominyen (Originally published on www.alertnet.org)

With a $1 million alleged fraud case in Liberia, World Vision has become the latest aid agency to be embroiled in a corruption scandal. The Christian organisation has rushed to implement new systems to prevent such abuse in the future, but analysts say fear of negative publicity, lack of external monitoring and a degree of complacency are hampering efforts to stamp out corruption in the aid world.

The Liberian case involves three former World Vision officials who are accused of stealing food and construction materials meant to help people recover from the country's 14-year-long civil war. They allegedly masterminded a scam in which food aid was sold for profit in local markets.

Song Bahanag Injured as Ivory Coast Beats Cameroon

Cameroon may have to play their crucial World Cup qualifier against Gabon without their captain, Rigobert Song, after he sustained a serious shoulder injury in a friendly against Ivory Coast which, Cameroon lost 2-1.

The charity game, in memory of the Ivorians who died in a stadium stampede last March, confirmed the Lion's inability to set-up offensive play, but the coaches will take comfort in Marcus Mokake's goal that broke a two match goal drought.

June 8: The Day the Lions put Cameroon on the World Map

It was 8 June 1990 and the opening game of the FIFA World Cup in Italy. Cameroon was up against reigning world champions Argentina. At the 65th minute of play, Francois Omam Biyick rose high (his boots reaching and Argentine defenders shoulder) and met the ball from a deflected Emmanuel Kunde free-kick. The header was stunning. The Argentine goalkeeper, Pompidou, fumbled and the ball wriggled into the net. It was Cameroon 1 – Argentina 0. (Listen to commentary below)

That was the final score line. The Indomitable Lions became the first sub-Saharan African team to win a match at the FIFA World Cup. Being the tournament opener and against an Argentina side that included Diego Maradona, the world’s best footballer at the time, this caught the international media spotlight. FFootball had put Cameroon on the world map.

Cameroon v Argentina Italy 1990 .mp3 -

The Woes of a People Enslaved by Alcohol: A review of Francis Nyamnjoh’s: the Travail of Dieudonné

By George Esunge Fominyen

When a social science researcher takes to fictional literature, it is hard to draw the line between reality and imagination. It is the case with Cameroon’s Francis Nyamnjoh; a sound academic  who knows how to tell a story simply and vividly. Apart from deliberate exaggerations by the author, any Cameroonian who has lived in the country for the past quarter of a century reading The Travail of Dieudonné, could easily find their space or that of a person they know in the colourful characters in the novel’s setting of Mimboland.

What’s in a name? Mimbo in Cameroonian pidgin means a drink (from palm wine to champagne). So doped of this potent nectar, are the characters of The Travail of Dieudonné that, they readily accept their unfortunate fate. Theirs is a world of misery in which insultingly rich and corrupt officials reap of an undemocratic government in which poor governance thrives, while the masses abandon themselves to sexual perversity and self-pity with the help of alcohol. In many ways, it is Cameroon seen through a glass of beer and Cameroonians locked inside a bottle of lager.

Witchcraft and Justice 2: The Case of Cameroon

By George Esunge Fominyen

In December 2008, the  American newspaper Star Tribune reported that a woman of Cameroon origin  had filed a lawsuit in a US Federal Court accusing another woman for using voodoo to steal her man and ruin her life. By February the woman had withdrawn the case citing the power of prayer as the final sword in her battle to regain "her man". This affair drew a mix of contempt, ridicule and sympathy for her, as it seemed  absurd that one would dare to file such a case in a court of law.

 If this woman had been well advised she would have simply taken the case to the land of her forefathers. Article 251 of the Cameroon penal code  provides that anyone found guilty of practising sorcery could be punished with imprisonment for up to 10 years and fined 100,000 FCFA ($200). All she needed to do would have been to prove her allegations. Well, that's where things become awkward. How do you prove the existence of what is essentially supernatural? 

Witchcraft and Justice 1: Should Witchcraft be Punishable by the Law?

By George Esunge Fominyen

The Al Jazeera television programme People and Power recently broadcast an investigative report by Sorious Samura on the penal implications of witchcraft in the Central African Republic. I shared the version published on Youtube (below) with some friends. It sparked a debate over the presence of the occult in the minds and lives of Africans. Is this whole thing about witchcraft a figment of people's imagination? Are some African governments right to maintain witchcraft as a crime punishable by law? Where does one draw the line between a true para-normal occurence and idle and defamatory accusations?

Indomitable Lions: Remember 27 March 1988

By George Esunge Fominyen

Does the date 27 March 1988 mean anything to you? If you are a fan of the Indomitable Lions it should. This day 21 years ago at the Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca-Morocco the Cameroon national football team won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time. They beat Nigeria 1-0 in the final (listen to highlights below). As fate would have it, it was against the same Nigeria that they won their first trophy in 1984  and their third in 2000.

Cameroon v Nigeria 1988 final - Commentary:Boh Herbert/Ayissi Essomba

The News Media and the Pope in Cameroon

By George Esunge Fominyen

The Pope has left and Cameroon is not so hot in the news anymore. That is the way news organisations work. Still, it was fun to read distant papers like the Seattle Times mentioning Cameroon. And I'm still to get over some of the interesting, absurd (would you say bizzare?) stories that popped-up in relation to this Papal visit. From the controversy on condoms and the spread of HIV, through echoes of Cameroon's First Lady's head gear at the welcome ceremony to maize named after the Pontiff.  Here's how the media covered Pope Benedict XVI in Cameroon...

Timothy Kasolo: Journalists Need to be Trained to Blog

By George Esunge Fominyen

Timothy Kasolo is a Zambian journalist cum entrepreneur cum blogger. He was recently in Dakar to collect an award (coupled with a $2000 cheque) on behalf of lusakatimes.com. This online/citizen media  project had won the prize for the Best African Civil Society Organization’s Blog in the Waxal Blogging Africa Awards.

The ceremony included a debate on the marriage between blogging and journalism. So how do the likes of Timothy deal with this union? I stole into Timothy's time at the reception (with clicking plates and spoons in the background) for a conversation on the matter. One thing he said was that journalists need to be trained to be good bloggers but started by introducing lusakatimes.com...

Timothy Waxal Award Winner.mp3 -

Conversation With...Rosebell kagumire -Award Winning Journalist-Blogger

By George Esunge Fominyen

Rosebell Kagumire, winner of the  Waxal Award for Best English-Speaking African journalist's blog, says ordinary Africans can use blogging to change people's perception of Africa. She spoke to me after receiving her award in Dakar, Senegal on Monday, 9 March 2009.

This investigative journalist for "The Independent" news magazine in Kampala - Uganda thinks if blogging is made close to everyone in Africa it could serve as a counterweight to the depiction of Africa by international media like the CNN and the BBC as a place of suffering, despair and poverty. She supposes it might even make these media view Africa differently.

My conversation with Rosebell also delved into the difference between blogging and journalism and how she copes with both caps...

Best English Journalist Blogger - Rosabell Kagumire

As the Mighty Fall - Is it Still Appealing to be Appointed?

By George Esunge Fominyen

I gather Paul Ngamo Hamani, the last provisional administrator of the now dead Cameroon Airlines company, has been arrested on allegations of corruption.

Hmmmmm!!!!

Slowly and steadily, there is a full football team (complete with reserves) of former ministers and top managers of state corporations in Cameroon that is rising in the Yaounde and Douala Central prisons. It makes me wonder if there is a need to splash and celebrate when a friend, "brother from the village or region" is appointed to a top position. Who knows, it may be time for Donny Elwood to revisit his song "en haut". And Cameroon is not the only place where some mighty people are falling after supposedly milking dry the national cow!

A journey into Ivorian Culture via a Costumes Museum

By George Esunge Fominyen

 

To the east of Abidjan (the commercial capital of Côte d'Ivoire) there is a seaside resort barely 45 minutes fron the international  airport. It is Grand-Bassam. It was the first capital of Côte d'Ivoire under French colonial administration between 1893 and 1900. The sandy beaches of grand Bassam are always filled with tourist - local and international - particularly during the weekends. 

 

However, while Bassam, my preferred touristic site was an interesting museum constructed in 1893. It is a costumes museum and and art centre. It is easier to learn about the mix of cultures that make the current Cote d'Ivoire and even understand the roots of the intestine conflicts rocking this beautiful country through the lens of this museum.  Learn about the Akan of Cote d'Ivoire through their traditional costumes in this episode.

 

 

Lessons in Ivorian Culture Part 1 - George Esunge Fominyen

Ivorian Community Radio Producers Discover the Joy of Blogging

By George Esunge Fominyen

Towards the end of January 2009, I recieved a mail from the editorial team of Global Voices online about a meme to "teach someone you love to blog or mini-blog" on the occasion of Valentine's day. That was a dream action to take but I couldn't. As they say better late than never. On the occasion of a workshop organised for community radio broadcasters in Grand Bassam - Côte d'Ivoire, I decided to spread the blogging gospel. That's how my colleague, Judith Lenti Sidibé and I set up Bassamony!  

Senegal Takes its Share of China's Africa-Love-Spell (2)

By George Esunge Fominyen

President Hu Jintao on 14th February 2009 visited the site on which the Chinese would be constructing a Grand National theatre for the Senegalese capital. What one cannot tell is if he was warned by local officials that the residents of that neighbourhood were not too pleased to have their stadium demolished in exchange for a theatre (listen to the voices in the video clip below).

Hu Jintao in Dakar: Not All Happy
Uploaded by esungeft

Senegal Takes its Share of China's Africa-Love-Spell (1)

By George Esunge Fominyen

The romance between China and Africa tastes really sweet for Senegal on this Valentine’s Day 2009. China is reported to have offered Senegal aid and loans worth 45.8 billion FCFA (approximately 90 million USD). Happening on (or the eve of) a day when most persons in the Western hemisphere are celebrating love, the additional Chinese promise to purchase 10 thousand tons of groundnut oil  from Senegal could be likened to a declaration of love from China. President Hu Jintao was in the West African country on the second-leg of his African tour.  What would the Chinese get in return?

Red Dakar On V-Day 2009
Uploaded by esungeft

African Courtship in Song for V-Day

George Esunge Fominyen

It is 14th February. Saint Valentine's Day. Some people claim it's lovers' day. In most western countries the day is full of people expressing their passion for their loved ones. Lots of red roses are bought and handed over to sweethearts. Africans too are very much involved these days.The way it's done in Yaounde or Bamenda is often along the western lines. Ha! 

Here's a gift to all who are celebrating on this day. Ngbwak Afup: It is a love song exhibiting courtship a l'Africaine; sung in bulu to the rythm of the mindzang (balafon) or traditional xylophone by the Rocher Jazz Band de Mezesse. Subtitles available in English. Happy V-Day...Mayange wo ngkak Afup...!

Poetry: Lines of Broken Contact

By George Esunge Fominyen
 
I thought I could move you
Until I discovered something new
You do not give a damn
Between You and I now is a dam
Whose construction order I still can't construe.

Interim EPAs Put African Regional Integration in Jeopardy

By George Esunge Fominyen (originally published in Flame of Africa)

African civil society representatives have warned that the signing of Interim Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between the European Union and some African countries will undermine the fledgling processes of regional integration on the continent.  They held this position at a seminar organised under the banner of the African Trade network (ATN) during the 2009 Social Forum in Belem

Holding Foreign Mining Companies To Account For Acts in Africa

By George Esunge Fominyen (culled fromFlame of Africa)

The British based poverty alleviation organisation War on Want is campaigning for legislation to enable local communities in Africa and other Third World countries hold trans-national mining companies to account in their home countries for human rights abuses perpetrated in countries where they operate.