Life

23, June 2024

Malian singer Rokia Traore detained in Italy over child custody case ⁰

Malian singer Rokia Traore has been arrested in Italy over an outstanding two-year prison sentence in Belgium handed down in a child custody dispute, prosectors in Brussels said Sunday.

The singer and guitarist was sentenced in absentia in October on charges of parental abduction, after fleeing France in 2020 when she was due to be handed over to Belgian authorities.

Italian media reported that the award-winning musician was arrested at Fiumicino airport in Rome on Friday after she flew into the country for a concert.

A spokesperson for the airport told AFP that border police had confirmed her arrest. There was no official confirmation from the Italian authorities.

Prosecutors in Brussels told AFP that “Ms Traore’s arrest in Italy follows a decision by the Brussels Criminal Court on October 18, 2023, which sentenced her in absentia to two years imprisonment for failing to hand over a child to the person entitled to custody”.

Traore had been arrested in Paris in March 2020 on a European arrest warrant over a Belgian court ruling ordering her to return her daughter, now aged nine, to the child’s Belgian father.

She later defied a ban on leaving France and flew home to Mali several months later, before she could be sent to Belgium.

A lawyer for the child’s father said he had not had any contact with his daughter, who lives in Mali, since she turned four.

The lawyer said the father had offered to draw up a new custody agreement with Traore, validated by Malian and Belgian courts, to “find a way out of this nightmare and guarantee their child a future with two parents”.

Beyond her feted music career, Traore is also known for her advocacy work for refugees, and was made a UN ambassador for refugees in 2015.

Source: AFP

7, May 2024

Manyu Traditional Rulers Association and Mgbe: Wisdom and Knowledge of Jurisdiction is Fundamental ⁰

For over 550 years, Manyu has existed in what is now the Southwest region of the State of Cameroon. As centuries have passed, challenges and even deadly wars have visited the Manyu people but their strong cultural institutions have been fundamental to their survival and progress. The principal institution that has held the Manyu nation together is Mgbe. Mgbe has always been responsible for maintaining the well-being of all in Manyu and for centuries, it has been involved in running Manyu villages socially, politically, and judicially.

On the 16th of April 2024, the most disgraceful scenes ever recorded in Mgbe were witnessed in Nchang village, Manyu Division. Videos are viral in which members of Mgbe Echokoh Nchang, headed by Sessekou Ebai Ayuknso and members of Mgbe Echokoh of Membanoka Lodge were engaged in fist-fighting. This is an act of unacceptable cultural sacrilege. Manyu Mgbe Supreme Council acted swiftly and listened to the perpetrators of this scandalous act. On the 24th of April 2024, the Supreme Council passed judgment with fines for the guilty party, Sessekou Ebai Ayuknso and his Mgbe Nchang Echokoh Lodge.

Since that judgment was pronounced and fines communicated, the guilty party has taken the matter to the Manyu Traditional Rulers Association (MATRA) to register their objection and signalled an intention to appeal. MATRA has now called for an extraordinary meeting on the 8th of May 2024 in Okoyong village to offer an opinion on the judgment of the Manyu Mgbe Supreme Council. This is unprecedented, unconventional and worrying. Scores of Mgbe members and Sessekous in the UK, Continental Europe and North America have over the last few days registered their worry at this ill-advised move from MATRA.

Disturbed by what happened in Nchang, and keen to look like hard rulers, MATRA risks damaging themselves and their authority now and in the long term. It seems wishful thinking for MATRA to believe that they could somehow intervene and solve this matter by annulling or challenging the decision of the Supreme Council. Any action from MATRA at this juncture will invite a tsunami of disdain, disgust and disrespect for that organisation. Nfor Mbi Oruh of Nkpot, Nfor Orock John Mbi of Okoyong and Nfor Orock Ferdinand of Egebekaw and many traditional rulers in Manyu were not members of Mgbe when they were selected by their villages to be chiefs. They subsequently joined Mgbe for…(left blank intentionally). It is evident that Mgbe is the Supreme authority and its matters cannot be adjudicated by MATRA.

The intention of MATRA to create an appeals procedure to question the authority of Mgbe is reckless as only Mgbe has the authority to amend its decisions. Sessekou Ebai Ayuknso and his Lodge know what to do. Mgbe is not subject to political and village authorities’ impulses, wishes and opinions. That is why the police and gendarmes called to the scene in Nchang asked Mgbe to deal with the matter.

Manyu is telling MATRA loudly and clearly that their impending attempt to undermine the authority of Mgbe is equivalent to walking on broken bottles. Nowhere has that message been more deafening than in the Manyu Community in the US, UK and across Europe where the matter is being discussed at every MECA meeting, village association, wake, birthday party and Mgbe session. These discussions are tremblings saying an earthquake is coming to MATRA if it attempts to intervene with 550 years of cultural precedence.

Manyus, at home and in the diaspora are extremely livid with the cultural disgrace and thuggish behaviour displayed in Nchang village on the 16th of April 2024. MATRA must remain wise and not overstep their authority. This is a message of caution, not a threat. The Great Chiefs Mbeng Bessong, SA Arrey, Tataw James and many others would never have considered a so-called appeal against a judgement passed by Mgbe.

Law and order are the foundation of a functioning and civilised society. Without law and order, chaos would reign and the scenes in Nchang would be the norm. In any civilised society, there is a separation of powers and in our Manyu nation, there is a role for our Chiefs, but this is not one of them. Mgbe reigns absolutely in Manyu and will continue to reign supreme all the days of our lives and during the lives of our descendants.

By Sessekou Isong Asu and Nfor Mgbe Barrister John Ntuiabane, Mgbe UK

27, April 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Libianca Raises Her Voice with New Song “God’s People” ⁰

Cameroonian-American singer Libianca is advocating for the victims affected by the aftermath of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon through her new single “God’s People.”

“If you want to help the Anglophones, listen to this song,” she says. “I’ve released GOD’S PEOPLE everywhere to raise funds from my stream profits to help victims of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. You would be joining me to support some people in my country who’ve lost their families, their hopes in making their dreams come true, and their education. If I’m influential, I might as well influence others to show love to each other.”

The Anglophone Crisis remains a pressing issue in the Republic of Cameroon in Central Africa, with English-speaking Ambazonian separatists fighting for the independence of the former British trust territory of Southern Cameroons.

Culled from Bellanaija

18, April 2024

Cameroon doctors flee to Europe, North America for lucrative jobs ⁰

The state of health care in Cameroon is a source of growing concern, with thousands of doctors fleeing the central African country for lucrative jobs elsewhere, especially in Europe and North America, according to officials.

The number of people, including doctors, acquiring passports and applying for visas has increased by 70 percent, officials say. In addition, 75 percent of the 1,000 doctors that Cameroon’s government trains each year are leaving.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health reports that several hundred doctors are enrolled in what members of the profession see as lucrative schemes to emigrate to Canada. Also, the number of health workers, including doctors, applying for the U.S. government’s Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery, is rising.

The Cameroon Medical Council, an association of doctors, says the doctor-patient ratio in Cameroon has sunk to one doctor per 50,000 people, instead of the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of one doctor per 10,000 patients. The group reports that the doctors are fleeing to escape hardship, poor pay, difficult working conditions and unemployment.

Doctor Peter Louis Ndifor, the council’s vice president, said it is unfortunate that Cameroon trains but does not recruit thousands of its doctors. He spoke to VOA via telephone from Buea, an English-speaking town in southwestern Cameroon.

“The number of registered doctors on the roll[s] of the Cameroon Medical Council is about 13,000, but we have 5,000 to 6,000 doctors in Cameroon presently,” he said. “Doctors quitting Cameroon is an eloquent testimony that doctors are in discomfort, doctors are in distress.”

Cameroon says it currently needs at least 30,000 health workers, including doctors. The country is facing attacks from Boko Haram that have left more than 36,000 people dead, a separatist crisis that has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced about 750,000 others, and the spillover of sectarian violence from neighboring Central African Republic.

The Cameroon Medical Council says the central African country in 2013 launched a program to train about 1,000 doctors in order to improve the doctor-patient ratio, which was then one doctor per 17,000 patients.

However, the government recruits less than 100 doctors each year due to financial constraints, officials say. Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health says it expected privately owned hospitals to recruit a majority of the doctors upon graduation from medical school, but hospitals owned by individuals, communities and churches also recruit less than 100 doctors each year.

Even when recruited, the doctors say they are paid about $100 per month in private hospitals and about $220 per month in government hospitals.

Jathor Godlove, 29, is an unemployed doctor. After seven years of study at the faculty of medicine of Cameroon’s University of Bamenda, he says hardship is forcing him to consider leaving the country.

“I find myself being very restrained and restricted in my capacity to help my family,” he said. “I even have some peers who venture out of medicine because they see that as a medic, when you get somewhere to offer your services, they will tell you they want to pay you 50,000 [Central African CFA] francs a month [around $80 U.S.], which is very funny. Some of them have families, when they find themselves in such situations, they see better opportunities abroad. I think you can’t blame them.”

He says poor working conditions — including the lack of hospital equipment and poor pay — are pushing nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians to join doctors in leaving Cameroon for Europe and North America.

However, some medical staff members who have not been able to travel out of Cameroon offer voluntary services in hospitals like in Bamenda, capital of Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest Region.

Doctor Denis Nsame, director of the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, says unemployed health care workers outnumber health workers hired by the government.

“At the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, out of 600 staff, only 146 are state-employed staff, and we consult on average 45,000 patients per year, carry out about 1,900 surgeries per year, we have deliveries [of babies] close to 250 to 300 every month,” Nsame said.

The Cameroon Medical Council says that some health workers, including doctors, at times go several months without pay. Many of the health workers count on donations and consultation fees from well-wishers and patients to make a living.

In a message to Cameroonian youths last February 11, Cameroonian President Paul Biya said young people’s growing desire to emigrate is increasingly a cause for concern. He said Cameroonians should be patriotic and serve their homeland because the country is facing difficulties and leaving is not a solution.

Doctors and other health workers say the president, if he wants to curb emigration, should improve their living conditions and hospital equipment.

Source: VOA

3, April 2024

Daughters of Manyu Ireland: Some takeaways from a great celebration in Dublin ⁰

Thousands of eyes all over the world were on Dublin, but what message did Daughters of Manyu Ireland send out about their home constituency in Cameroon-The Manyu Division?

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group knew this would be a real spectacle, but from an ekpe front row seat at Anus Kitchen Glen Abbey, I watched Daughters of Manyu with all their pomp on show- Moningkim, flamboyant Manyu robes and ekpe regalia.

There were so many old Manyu traditions that were displayed. But who knew, until March 30^th that Manyu Seseskous and traditional leaders could interpret sound messages? The Daughters of Manyu Ireland event is what distinguishes Manyu Division in Cameroon from the rest of Africa.

We witnessed in Glen Abbey in County Dublin the inclusion of many other African communities and representatives of the Irish society and Mgbe Manyu UK were involved in a ceremony out of their jurisdiction for the first time ever. Daughters of Manyu Ireland sent out a message of diversity and inclusion never known in the history of the Great Manyu Division.

Another first were the Moningkim ladies. Their dancing thrilled the sell-out crowd. Afterwards, Chief Ebot Agbor of MECA Ireland told this reporter that “you will never see Moningkim that well performed ever again in Europe.”

For hours on that Saturday, DJ Takeaway from Great Britain kept Anus Kitchen filled with simply wonderful music.

Thousands of Manyus saw the live broadcast on Face book; live streaming online, clips turned around on social media and Smartphones made those who answered present photographers.

Daughters of Manyu Ireland is the oldest Manyu women association in Western Europe that has held the hopes of the Manyu people in quite the way that the late Mami Arreyngang did with Glee Club some three decades ago in Mamfe the chief town in Manyu.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in Dublin

13, March 2024

Childhood deaths reach ‘historic’ low but progress is unequal, UN report finds ⁰

The number of children worldwide who died before age five reached a record low in 2022, the United Nations said in a report published Tuesday, as for the first time fewer than five million died.

According to the estimate, 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2022, a 51 percent decrease since 2000 and a 62 percent drop since 1990, according to the report, which still warned such progress is “precarious” and unequal.

“There is a lot of good news, and the major one is that we have come to a historic level of under-five mortality, which… reached under 5 million for the first time, so it is 4.9 million per year,” Helga Fogstad, director of health at the UN children’s agency UNICEF, told AFP.

According to the report, prepared by UNICEF in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, progress was particularly notable in developing countries such as Malawi, Rwanda and Mongolia, where early childhood mortality has fallen by more than 75 percent since 2000.

“Behind these numbers lie the stories of midwives and skilled health personnel helping mothers safely deliver their newborns… vaccinating… children against deadly diseases, and (making) home visits to support families,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.

But “this is a precarious achievement,” the report warned. “Progress is at risk of stagnation or reversal unless efforts are taken to neutralize the numerous threats to newborn and child health and survival.”

Researchers pointed to already worrying signs, saying that reduction in under-five deaths has slowed at the global level and notably in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Preventable deaths

In total, 162 million children under the age of five have died since 2000, 72 million of whom perished in the first month of life, as complications related to birth are among the main causes of early childhood mortality.

Between the ages of one month and five years, respiratory infections, malaria and diarrhea become the main killers — ailments which are all preventable, the report points out.

In order to reach the UN’s goal of reducing under-five deaths to 25 per 1,000 births by 2030, 59 countries will need urgent investment in children’s health, researchers warned. And without adequate funding, 64 countries will miss the goal of limiting first-month deaths to 12 per 1,000 births.

“These are not just numbers on a page; they represent real lives cut short,” the report said.

The numbers also reveal glaring inequalities across the world, as the sub-Saharan Africa region accounted for half of all deaths of children under age five in 2022.

A baby born in countries with high early childhood mortality, such as Chad, Nigeria or Somalia, is 80 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than a baby born in countries with low childhood mortality rates, such as Finland, Japan and Singapore.

“Where a child is born should not dictate whether they live or die,” WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Source: AFP

4, March 2024

Revisiting the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo’s greatest contribution to Manyu ⁰

A man who had perhaps the most significant influence on Western political thought and education is the Greek philosopher Plato. As a student of Socrates and later the teacher of Aristotle, he cherished education and believed in its power to change people and create a stable state. Plato believed that all citizens in a society needed to be educated for it to be stable and prosperous. Inspired by the wisdom of Plato, Ahmadou Ahidjo who became Cameroon’s first head of state embarked on that great journey to educate all in his new country.

This heroic and commendable vision of President Ahmadou Ahidjo led to a national policy of sending the brightest minds the country produced to study at the finest universities in the West. Most of these students left Cameroon after A’ Levels in the ’60s, ’80s and 90s with full tuition and accommodation expenses paid for by the government of Cameroon. They studied at University College London, University of Cambridge, Columbia University, Imperial College London, and University of Oxford, Yale, Harvard and many other great institutions of higher learning in the West.

One of the communities that greatly benefited from Ahmadou Ahidjo’s policy of education for a prosperous state was the Manyu. Manyus are renowned for having an inborn aptitude for education and have consistently produced smart and fertile minds. They contributed vast numbers to the scholarship community travelling to the US and UK. A recent survey by this media outlet found that Manyu had more young men and women on the scholarship train than any other constituency in Ahmadou Ahidjo’s United Republic of Cameroon. Manyus will live to enjoy for a very long time due to the vision of one person-the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo.

Today in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Manyu celebrates Dr Ben Tanyi, who studied Mathematics and Statistics and has distinguished himself in the global mining and petroleum industry.

Manyus bow and tremble when the name Dr Henry Tabe is mentioned! A man who navigated from a BSc in Mathematics and Statistical Science into a PhD in Pure Mathematics, which he completed in 18 months at the University College of London. Dr Henry Tabe is a prominent finance expert who can hold his own against anyone in the City of London.

Another recipient of Ahidjo’s scholarship was Ayuk Akoh-Arrey, a Senior Policy Actuarial in London who knows almost all that is about insurance products.

Dr Peter Ashu made the most of his opportunity and obtained a PhD in Physics from the renowned University of Cardiff before establishing himself in the global Information Technology sector.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and formerly of the American University of Nigeria, was another beneficiary who moonlighted himself as a global Information Technology Expert. The Manyu list is long, great and remarkable.

President Ahidjo like many other African leaders was a man with many faults! He was a tricky and canny political operator who tolerated no political opposition to his views and ambition. He single-handedly brought so much benefit to the Cameroonian nation ranging from great infrastructure projects to economic growth and prosperity, building of a welfare state and instilling in the consciousness of Cameroonians that education remains the key to a prosperous society.

As we approach the centenary of his birth, (born August 1924, Garoua, Cameroon—died Nov. 30, 1989, Cameroon Concord News Group is imploring its readers to celebrate a man who had a vision for a united people and a united nation. This publication is calling on Manyus around the world to raise a glass to this visionary that used the levers of power to set the foundation for the academic take off of Manyu as a constituency and the economic profits that Manyu is enjoying today.

Plato and Ahidjo believed education was the key to eradicating evil and achieving stability in a community and State. They were both correct, for the Manyu community at home and in the diaspora is a better place today because Ahidjo lived.

By Isong Asu

The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Cameroon Concord News Group

3, March 2024

Nollywood mourns as Mr Ibu dies ⁰

Veteran actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, who was loved for his comic roles in movies and skits, was confirmed dead on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at a hospital in Lagos. He was said to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

His death came barely 24 hours after another actor, Quadri Oyebamiji, aka Sisi Quadri, passed away in Osun State.

Paying tributes to the late Okafor, the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, wrote on his Instagram, “Sad day for the Actors Guild of Nigeria. Kate Henshaw lost her mother earlier today, and Mr Ibu suffered cardiac arrest, according to his manager of 24 years, Don Nwuzor. I announce with a deep sense of grief that Mr Ibu did not make it. May his soul rest in peace.”

On her part, an actress, Mercy Johnson-Okojie, wrote, “It is well…rest well, sir.”

Peter, a singer and member of the pop group, P-Square, wrote, “Rest well, Mr Ibu. We will definitely miss you, brother.”

Recall that had battled ill health for some time, leading to the amputation of his legs. This was after he had appealed to his fans and members of the public to prayer for him and render financial assistance to cover his medical bills.

However, as the actor lay on his hospital bed, members of his family were in a fierce battle, During this period, his family seemed to have been in a fierce battle, as they accused one another of wanting to embezzle the money raised by members of the public.

It was also alleged that the actor was involved in an affair with his adopted daughter, Chioma (Jasmine); though both parties denied the allegations.

Indeed, the actor’s last years had been tumultuous. On different occasions, he claimed to have survived several poison attempts. According to him, three attempts were made on his life but he survived them all.

Actors who have passed on this year include Sisi Quadri and Deji Akinremi, aka Olofa Ina.

Source: Punch.ng

2, March 2024

Douala: Mr Leo on finding the ‘power of our voice’ ⁰

Mbolé-pop star Mr Leo’s next musical mission is to break through to English-speaking audiences – and he hopes his new album will do the trick.

The singer-songwriter from Cameroon has been wooing French-speaking West Africa and the diaspora with his melodious love songs and infectious dance tunes since 2015.

Born Fonyuy Leonard Nsohburinka, Mr Leo shot to fame with E Go Betta. That first single was one of the biggest tunes on radio and TV in 2015 – in and out of Cameroon.

He fuses Afrobeats with the country’s home-grown mbolé music, a blend of the rhythms and sounds of Cameroon like makoosa.

He’s won multiple awards – and in 2021 he was selected to be part of the musicians who cast votes for the prestigious Grammys.

Mr Leo’s path into music wasn’t straightforward. As a schoolboy, he joined the school choir – only because that was the only way to spend time with a girl he liked. His father, a stern military man, blocked his path because he wanted his son to be a medical doctor.

But “music chose me”, says Mr Leo.

“Each time I sang, it got me into a place where I really enjoyed myself. I created a world that I could fully control – without my father telling me exactly what to do – and I could just be myself,” he says.

His third, 14-track album, Good Vibes drops in March – and as its title suggests it is full of positive lyrics and uplifting melodies. He sings in English, French and Lamso.

“I’m all about the One Love spirit, being there when people need and bringing out positivity,” he says.

“I just feel like if this is a gospel that people really preach around the world, it will change something, – because everyone is going through a lot of trying times.”

His music and musical growth has been influenced by the conflict in Cameroon. Since 2017, Cameroon’s mainly English-speaking north-west and south-west regions have seen a guerrilla war between government forces and insurgents fighting for the independence of the region they call Ambazonia.

Mr Leo has been personally affected – like hundreds of thousands other people, he’s been displaced and had to move from his hometown of Buea to the main town of Douala. And many of his friends and acquaintances have been killed.

“It makes me value my time more and it makes me want to do something as an artist,” he says.

“We’re not politicians, we don’t have seats in power – but we do have the power of our voice and the least I can do is use my voice to talk through one or two of my songs.”

Source: BBC

10, February 2024

Michael Jackson: Stake in catalogue sells for $600m ⁰

Sony Music Group is understood to have paid at least $600m (£475m) for half of Michael Jackson’s catalogue.

If accurate, it would mean the singer’s musical assets are worth more than $1.2bn (£950m).

The deal would also be the biggest ever for the work of a single musician.

Michael Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, is one of the most successful pop stars of all time, selling more than 400 million records worldwide.

That figure is disputed and may be much higher.

His 1982 album, Thriller, is still the best-selling record of all time, according to Guinness World Records.

The King of Pop is also hugely popular on streaming services, with almost 40 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

His songs Billie Jean and Beat It have each been played more than one billion times on Spotify alone.

An upcoming film biopic starring Jackson’s nephew in the title role will also undoubtedly increase interest.

The back catalogue deal is also reported to include tracks by other artists acquired by Jackson’s Mijac publishing group, said to include hits by Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin.

The sale would have been arranged with the Estate of Michael Jackson, who manage the late star’s affairs.

Source: BBC