A rare blend of the scholar
and the military man
« Education
ensures a better understanding of circumstances in which we live »
Professor Francis Ekosso is a Lieutenant Colonel in the
Cameroon Military and has 21 years of experience as a soldier. He got into the
military after graduating as a Lieutenant
from the Yaounde Military Academy known in its French acronym as EMIA(Ecole
Militaire Inter Armes). After a while, he served as the aide de camps of the present Army Chief of Staff and he somehow
noticed that this gentleman was smart and suggested that the young lieutenant
should continue his education because in the military, autorisation is needed
for the continuation of studies. He requested for an autorisation to continue
his studies by correspondence and did his Masters Degree first of all in
Military Science and a second Master Degree in Risk and Disaster Management at
the Atlantic University in the United States of America. From there he
continued to the Phd at the Charisma University down in the British Isle.
Throughout, he kept teaching in universities and organising conferences. Appointed
an Adjunct Professor of Disaster Management in 2017 and following excellence in
his contribution to learning. He was commissioned full professor in Copperstone
University in Zambia on November 30th, 2018. The military man –cum-professor has
a rich university teaching record. The Universities in which he has taught or
is still teaching include Copperstone University in Zambia, Catholic Institute
of Paris, Catholic University of Central Africa, Cameroon War College, and many
invited lectures. He developed the model for Disaster Geopolitical Analysis and
Adaptation for Air Accident Management for African Countries. He also developed
rescue workspace as a vast experimentation ground for Modern Disaster
Management Technics. Elaborated convergence point studies on safety and
security. Prof Francis Ekosso is a UN
Consultant with the United Nations Disaster Assesment and Coordination Teams Of
the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The professor is an
expert in Strategy and Defense Management and was received officially by Cameroonian
Professors on December 14, 2018.
He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante Lenjo. Read
on.
What are those humble
beginnings of the Professor we are talking to today ?
I am originally from the Southwest Region and a Bakweri
man from Fako Division. So I am English Speaking and more importantly a
Cameroonian because my roots are from all over the country. My dad was a
teacher and my mum was a House Wife. We all continued going to school under the
discipline of our parents. My brother Gerald and sisters Rosemary, Dorothy and
Esther we all kept going to school even if we didn’t sometimes want to because
at that age the only thing you want to do in school is play. We always made
sure that we came back on time to stay away from daddy’s whip. To stay in his
good books you had to pass your exams and we did. I eventually graduated from
Saint Anthony’s Catholic School Buea Town and went to Bishop Rogan’s College
(Minor Seminary) at Small Soppo in Buea hoping to become a Priest but the Lord
decided otherwise. Afterwards I went to Saint Joseph’s College Sasse in Buea where
I got my GCE A Levels.
I went to the University of Yaounde to continue my
studies. At that time the University of Buea was nonexistent but when it was
eventually opened, I continued my studies there in 1993. I did Modern Letters
(French and English) hoping to become a translator one day. Somewhere along the
line, our dreams always change especially with struggling African Families like
ours. After the passing away of our parents, me and some friends who had a
great influence on my life went through very difficult times. Despite all these
difficulties me and my very close friend Bobga Eric decided that we had to
continue with our studies. We did some chores like working in garages and house
building sites to raise some money. There are a couple of other people who gave
me quite some support for me to finally graduate from the University. It was after
graduating that I went into the military.
How fulfilling do you
think your military life has been considering the fact that you were somehow
inspired to get into the military ?
I was first inspired when I saw this Air Force Band which
came to play during 11th February and 20th May Celebrations. We didn’t have a
good band so they came to play. This band usually came in from Douala and I
remember there was a captain who came with this band and I told him that I was
interested in the Military and he encouraged me to write the entrance
Examinations. I however felt that I could serve humanity while in the military
in a completely different category. Thats why I joint the Army Rescue
Department after graduating from the regular military academy. It is that
branch that has been created to take care of civilians and take care of any
other person. We are not involved in repressive roles or something of that sort
but our concern is to directly help the population. When there is an accident,
a fire incident, someone drowns and so on. That's where we come in. It is direct
aid to the population. As a military person involved in rescue missions it has
been very fulfilling. I have used my experience as a good laboratory to
experiment my hypothesis that I developed academically to make theories that I
could teach in universities. I used to teach at the Catholic University of
Central Africa. I also teach at Copper stone University in Zambia and I constantly organise
conferences all over the place. I think as a military man and as an academician
I have proven that we can blend the two. I have a PhD in Public Administration
and Political Science and I know it is a rare thing to find a military man who
teaches politics and who has studied politics to such a level. That however
doesn’t make me a politician. I am a Political Scientist, that is to say
understanding the processes of how the political intention can be applied
positively to the normal human condition.
What do you think can
be the contribution of that educated middle aged Class like you in the
political futur of a Sub Saharan Country like Cameroon ?
We must know that education is never lost and the more
certificates you earn, the closer you get to your grave and then when you die
your certificates cannot be inherited by anybody. You die with them and they
become worthless at death. The advice that I will give everybody in this age
group is to go to school because it opens your mind. There is one of these
courses I teach on Disaster Politics which could be a very good starting point
for those of us in Sub Saharan Africa to be able to understand that when you
have your problems you will always wash your dirty linen at home and not
outside for everybody to see. In Disaster Politics, you will never call a
neighbouring country or the International Community to come and help you solve
your problems because when they come in they benefit from the chaos. The
relationship between Nations are a matter of interest and there is no love in
it. So the more people go to school, the more they will be able to understand
the circumstances in which we live and how we hope to develope our own
environment for the betterment of our own futur and that of futur generations.
There is the general feeling
that Cameroonians need a better orientation to better appreciate what it means
being a Cameroonian.
There is one
thing I noticed in the USA that everybody had a flag in their house and in
their yard. It’s not like in Cameroon where you have flags only in the Palaces
of Chiefs and Government offices and institutions. In spite of all the problems
that they have in their country they are able to say that here we need to sit
down and sort things out. Cameroon is
what it is with its 269 ethnic groups and it is not easy to bring them
together. Even when you look at a small group like the one I am commanding of
hundreds of soldiers in which everybody thinks in their own direction, you must
realise that I need to bring them together and keep them focused in one
direction as a leader to achieve our objectives. What we need is very good
leadership at the summit, at the grass root level, at the family level, at the tribal
level and at the local level. That’s it. These segments of society have to be
headed by people who know how to streamline the different mind shades for the
common good of society. We want to clear our refuse heap and you cannot be in charge
of your refuse heap. You cannot give yourself street lighting. It has to be a
group activity. It stems from the Government’s intentions. There are those kind
of services that cannot be obtained individually. Where do you go to deposit
your refuse? You may say at the refuse heap but what if the refuse heap becomes
mosquito infested and starts stinking? At the local Cameroonian level, we
should be able to go down and down to the grass root level and ask key
questions. What have I done for my child? What have I done for my neighbour?
What legacy do I leave behind? We need to get that word legacy. At the individual
level you need to ask yourself what your legacy is. If you are not leaving
anything behind for the future generation then you have not done anything. You
need to go to school.
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