Remain an African and a true Cameroonian

Fon Lekunze A.N. III,Paramount Fon of Bamumbu, First Class Chiefdom of the Mundani Tribe in Wabane Sub Division, Lebialem Division in the Southwest Region of Cameroon.

 Many people would want to know about those first steps that you took.

I was born in 1976 in Nchingang, Bamumbu. Born of His Majesty Fon Lekunze J.C. III, Paramount Fon of Bamumbu at the time and of Suzan Manyi-Cha Lekunze who is still alive. My  Grand Father Fon Lekunze II was a member of house of chiefs in Buea meanwhile my father became a member of Parliament as an independent candidate for the Mamfe North Constituency from 1962 to 1967.

HRM Fon Lekunze AN III seen here at the Maiden Edition of the Southwest Cultural Festival in handshake with the entourage of the Secretary General at the Ministry of Arts and Culture in Kumba(-Prof Asheri Kilo, Private Secretary to the minister seen here in glasses directly in-front of Fon Lekunze)

 I went to Primary School at Government School Bamumbu from where I graduated in the 1988-1989 Academic year. I obtained my GCE O levels from GHS Batibo and my GCE A Levels from Presbyterian Comprehensive High School Kumbo.

 

I understand you had an early start in your professional life..

Yes, after my A levels, I moved to Douala where I picked up a job at the Douala Sea Port in Ship maintenance. I later worked with SODISMI SARL as a Logistic Agent and Shipshandler. I was later employed by Cameroon Ship Yard and Industrial Engineering Limite (Chantier Naval). 

Did you continue your studies?

I did. After (Chantier Naval) I enrolled into the University of Yaounde II Soa in 2006 from where I obtained a Bachelors Degree in Political Science in 2009. 

In the heart of the SW Cultural Festival with Royal Staff

So how did your professional life continue?

 In September 2009 I was recruited by REDDYS GLOBAL Industries Limited in Douala as a Marketing Executive. I occupied the positions of Marketing and sales executive for the Douala Market Zone, the Far North Region, the South Region, and the East Region from where I left in January 2013 to answer destiny’s call.

 When did the royal-call came knocking?

I was enthroned on January 20th , 2013 and later installed on the 23^rd of March 2013.

Most of modern Royalty like you, fall in the educated class and at the same time you hold the royal flame. How do you reconcile all of this considering the fact that you are equally a Christian?

I am a born Christian of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon like my parents and I try to reconcile tradition and Christianity because all things come from god. Presently I am almost completing  my studies at the International Relations Institute of Cameroon where I am pursuing studies to obtain a Professional Masters Degree in International Cooperation, humanitarian Action and Sustainable Development. These studies could only enrich my traditional position because I am an in-depth cultural lover and practitioner

Could you briefly say something on the history, Ethnicity and geography of your Division of origin? 

My Division of origin is Lebialem. The Native Authority of Mundani and the Bangwa Native Authority which existed in the 1940s were later merged for administrative purposes to create the Bangwa-Mundani District which forms the bases of the present day Lebialem Division. As concerns the ethnicity of the people, Lebialem Division is made up of two distinct tribes: The Mundani Tribe and the Bangwa Tribe. The Bangwa tribe has a Bamilike origin from the Western Region while the Mundani people originated from Widikum which was then in the Southwest Region. Geographically Lebialem shares boundaries with the West and Northwest Regions.  

   

Could you throw some light on the Ecotourism potential of your kingdom?

Bamumbu is the only habitable Caldera in Cameroon. It is located in the extreme northern parts of the Southwest Region between the Northwest and West Regions, sharing boundaries with Momo Division and Mezam Division in the West, Bambutous Division in the North, Menoua Division in the East and Manyu Division in the South with the rest of the tribe. The highest point is Mount Bambutous called Mangwa in the Bamumbu Language from where River Meyi picks its rise. River Meyi cuts between the entire Mundani tribe and is the main tributary of River Manyu. Bamumbu is a natural hub of biodiversity and home to Echinops gigantus. It has a diversity of climates ranging from tropical, temperate and humid climates. It is characterized with mountains like Mt. Bambutous, Mt Magha and mt. Sufe with several hills and extensive ranges covered with beautiful greenery. It has waterfalls like the Ndoe and Metsep waterfalls, deep valleys and boulders, river meanders amongst others. The Kingdom is rich in wildlife and fauna especially with the presence of the Tofela Wildlife Sanctuary which is home to endemic species of gorillas, birds  and several reptiles in the area.

 The historic Bamumbu Palace and its colourful annual cultural festivals remain another major attraction. It   features colourful traditional dances, Tug of war, crafts exhibition and exhibition of delicious traditional dishes, agricultural exhibition and a host of traditional displays. The people are warmly welcoming, hardworking, dynamic and friendly. It is an exceptional tourist destination to discover though enclaved.  

Ecotourism Haven

Many huge African Tribes have a warlike and fighting background. Is this true of Bamumbu?

 Many huge African Tribes have a warlike and fighting background. Is this true of Bamumbu?

 Historically it is true of the Bamumbu people. They were very instrumental in the elimination of the marquisards movement in Cameroon, specifically in the western front around the territory of mt. Bambutous. Today the Bamumbus are a peace loving people living peacefully with their numerous neighbours in the midst of several land disputes waiting for government to pass judgment trough its constituted land commissions. The people are law abiding and respect state institutions. It is a tradition from the 1900s that the people of Bamumbu and the entire Mundani tribe have always stood by government. Though the area remains very enclaved and backward we don’t want to feel abandoned by government because we know everything has its appointed time and our turn will come one day. An African proverb states that a patient dog eats the fattest bone.

Message?     

Mine is a message of love for one's nation and a message of patriotism. Loving oneself and loving your neighbor as yourself.  Loving Bamumbu, Wabane,Lebialem, the Southwest Region and our dear father land Cameroon  and standing by it at all times.

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Emmanuel Dibango N’Djocke- "Manu Dibango". The Lion of African Music.

Emmanuel Dibango N’Djocke popularly known as Manu Dibango was born in Douala on December 12, 1933. On the international scene, he is known as the Cameroonian saxophonist, pianist, vibraphonist and composer whose “innovative jazz fusions and wide-ranging collaborative work” played a significant role in introducing European and North American audiences to the sounds of West African popular music between the mid-20th and the early 21st century.

Dibango was born into a musical Protestant Christian household to parents who represented two Cameroonian ethnic groups historically known for rivalry: his mother was Douala and his father was Yabassi. Dibango’s musical aptitude became evident at an early age through his singing at the local church.

Manu Dibango is Cameroon's, and perhaps Africa's, best-known jazz saxophonist. Starting in the 1950s, he became a globe-trotting musician, living and performing in France, Belgium, Jamaica, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cote d'Ivoire, as well as in Cameroon. In 1960, Manu Dibango became one of the founding Members of the Congolese band African Jazz, with which he spent five years. World attention was turned to him with the release in 1972 of Soul Makossa, a work that actually had touches of the precious makossa sound in it, and scored later hits with Seventies and Ibida. Manu Dibango’s output has been prodigious and multi-faceted. He has worked with musicians from diverse backgrounds like Fela Kuti, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Don Cherry, and the Fania All-Stars. In addition to being one of the leading jazz saxophonists of his generation, Manu Dibango has also run nightclubs, directed orchestras, and started one of the first African musical journals. A later release, Polysonik featuring English rapper MC Mello, Cameroonian singer Charlotte Mbango leading a choral section, and sampled pygmy flutes shows that Manu Dibango is continuing to flourish and expand in challenging new directions.

It is almost impossible to find a fitting description for a musician such as Manu Dibango who has made such an enormous contribution to African music as a whole. He is a saxophonist, nicknamed 'The lion of Cameroon', from a track on The Very Best of African Soul album.  Originally trained in classical piano, his musical career began in Brussels and Paris in the 1950s. 1960 found him in Congo as a member of African Jazz led by Joseph Kabasele (Le Grand Kalle)! He formed his own band in Cameroon in 1963 and moved to Paris in 1965. His international breakthrough came in 1972 with Soul Makossa. 
Manu Dibango is extraordinarily versatile, having played almost every style of music you care to mention: soul, reggae, jazz, spirituals, blues... Manu Dibango features on albums by Angelique Kidjo, Anne-Marie Nzié, Frederique Meiway and Kékélé Kinavana, 2006. On his Wakafrika album of 1994, many top African and international musicians contribute. In 1985 Manu raised funds for famine-striken Ethiopia through his successful 'Tam-Tams for Ethiopia' project with Mory Kante and others.
Manu's first album was recorded in 1969 and in 1970 he accompanied Franklin Boukaka in a classic 12-track album. In the year 2000 two albums were released: Anthology, a boxed set of 3 CDs and Mboa' Su   which includes a new arrangement of Franklin Boukaka's track 'Aye Africa' (Le Bucheron), made for the millennium celebrations on Robben Island in the presence of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.

 In 2000 Manu gave a concert in Cameroon after many years away and was given the honour of the Cameroonian of the Century together with football star Roger Milla. In 2002, an album with a difference was released entitled B Sides with most of the tracks re-mastered from recordings in the 1970s where Manu plays, not sax, but the marimba and vibraphone.

 There are Rough Guides to the music of whole countries but Manu warrants one all to himself: the 13-track album The Rough Guide to Manu Dibango (2004) has the full range of his songs, classics and rarities .
Manu's autobiography was originally published in French in 1989 with the English translation, Three Kilos of Coffee, published in 1994. The book makes fascinating reading as Manu describes his experiences personally. In 1984 he originated the word 'negropolitain'.
Manu performed alongside Cuban Clave Y Guaguanco at the Barbican in London in 1999 and played there again in April 2001 with the spectacular Afro-Funk Big Band including Richard Bona, Claude Deppa and Tony Allen. In 2003 he was on stage with Ray Lema at WOMAD. In September the same year Manu was in London with the Soweto String Quartet for an evening of songs of struggle and liberation.

 To celebrate his 70th birthday Manu held a unique concert with special guests at London's Barbican in October 2004. Earlier in 2004 he was named as UNESCO's Peace Artist of the Year.
 

A major event for 2007 was Manu's celebration of his 50 years in music, coinciding with the release of a CD/DVD The Lion of Africa. Manu paid tribute to jazz composer and musician Sydney Bechet, who had been a powerful motivating force in his life, in an album Homage to New Orleans: Manu Dibango joue Sydney Bechet (2007).

 In 2011 Manu went on to collaborate with Wayne Beckford for a new version of 'Soul Makossa' as well as an album Past Present Future. Visit www.manudibango.net. For example he was at the 2012 Kriol Jazz Festival in Cape Verde in which Cesaria Evora was honoured.

He has collaborated with many other musicians, including Fania All Stars, Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Adé, Don Cherry, and Sly and Robbie. In 1998 he recorded the album CubAfrica with Cuban artist Eliades Ochoa.

Early life

Dibango was born in Douala, Cameroon. His father, Michel Manfred N'Djoké Dibango was a civil servant. The son of a farmer, he met his wife travelling by canoe to her residence in Douala. She was a literate woman who was into fashion designing, running her own small business.^] Both her ethnicity, the Douala, and his, the Yabassi, viewed this union of different ethnic groups with some disdain.

Emmanuel had no siblings, although he had a stepbrother from his father's previous marriage who was four years older than he was. In Cameroon, it is traditional for one's ethnicity to be dictated by their fathers, though he wrote in his autobiography, Three Kilos of Coffee, that he has "never been able to identify completely with either of his parents.
Manu Dibango's uncle was the leader of his extended family. Upon his death, Dibango's father refused to take over, as he never fully initiated his son into the Yabassi's customs. Throughout his childhood, Dibango slowly forgot the Yabassi language in favour of the Douala.. However, his family did live in the Yabassi encampment on the Yabassi plateau close to the Wouri River in central Douala. While a child, Dibango attended Protestant church every night for religious education, or nkouaida. He enjoyed studying music there, and reportedly was a fast learner.
In 1941, after being educated at his village school, Dibango was accepted into a Colonial School, near his home, where he learned French. He admired the teacher, whom he described as "an extraordinary draftsman and painter." In 1944, French president Charles de Gaulle chose this school to perform the welcoming ceremonies upon his arrival in Cameroon.

Albums

• Manu Dibango (1968)
• Saxy-Party (1969)
• O Boso (1971) London/PolyGram Records
• Soma Loba (1971)
• Soul Makossa (1972) Fiesta Records (France), London Records (UK and Canada), Atlantic Records (US)
• African Voodoo (1972)
• Africadelic (1973)
• Blue Elephant (1973)
• Makossa Man (1974) Atlantic Records released as Pêpê Soup on Decca Records
• African Funk (1974)
• Makossa Music (1975) Creole Records, licensed from Société Française du Son
• African Rhythm Machine (1975)
• Countdown at Kusini O.S.T. (1975) D.S.T. Telecommunications, Inc.
• Manu 76 (1976) Decca/PolyGram Records
• Super Kumba (1976) Decca/PolyGram Records
• The World of Manu Dibango (1976) Decca Records
• Ceddo O.S.T (1977) Fiesta Records
• L'Herbe Sauvage O.S.T. (1977) Fiesta Records
• Disque D'Or (1977)
• A l'Olympia (1978) Fiesta Records – a live double album
• Anniversaire Au Pays (1978) Fiesta Records
• Afrovision (1978) Mango/Island/PolyGram Records
• Sun Explosion (1978) Decca/PolyGram Records
• Le Prix De La Liberte (1978) Fiesta Records
• Big Blow (1978) Derby Records – re-issue of Afrovision with a track from L'Herbe Sauvage OST and the extended single version of the song Soul Makossa
• Gone Clear (1979) Mango/Island/PolyGram Records
• Ses Plus Grands Succes (1979)
• Home Made (1979) African Records
• Ambassador (1981) Mango/Island/PolyGram Records
• Waka Juju (1982) Polydor/PolyGram Records
• Mboa (1982) Sonodisc/Afrovision
• Soft And Sweet (1983) Garima Records
• Deliverance (1983) AfroVision Records
• Surtension (1984)
• Electric Africa (1985) Celluloid
• Afrijazzy (1986) Enemy Records
• Négropolitaines, Vol.1 (1989)
• Deliverance (1989) Afro Rhythmes
• Happy Feeling (1989) Stern's
• Rasta Souvenir (1989) Disque Esperance – a reissue of Gone Clear & Ambassador (compilation)
• Polysonik (1991)
• Bao Bao (1992)
• Negropolitaines, Vol.2 (1992)
• Autoportrait (1992)
• Live '91 (1994) Stern's Music
• Wakafrika (1994) Giant/Warner Bros. Records
• Lamastabastani (1996) Musicrama
• Sax & Spirituals (1996)
• Papa Groove: Live '96 (1996)

African Soul – The Very Best Of Manu Dibango (1997) Mercury (compilation

• Manu Safari (1998)
• CubAfrica (Cuarteto Patria with Eliades Ochoa) (1998)
• Mboa' Su – Kamer Feelin' (1999)
• Collection Legende (1999)
• Anthology (2000) (compilation)
• The Very Best Of Manu Dibango: Afrosouljazz From The Original Makossa Man (2000) (compilation)
• Kamer Feelin' (2001)
• B Sides (2002)
• Dance With Manu Dibango (2002)
• Africadelic: The Very Best Of Manu Dibango (2003) (compilation)
• From Africa (2003) Blue Moon
• Lion of Africa (2007) – live album including bonus DVD
• African Woodoo (2008) from tracks recorded between 1971 and 1975 for cinema, TV, and advertising.
• Choc'n'Soul (2010) features Sly and Robbie
• Afro Funk (2010)
• Afro Soul Machine (2011) (compilation)
• Past Present Future (2011) features "Soul Makossa 2.0" with vocals performed by Wayne Beckford
• Ballad Emotion (2011) (mostly jazz standards)
• Africa Boogie (2013)
• Aloko Party (2013)
• Lagos Go Slow (2013)
• Balade En Saxo (2013)

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Nakuve Samuel Moka Lifafa Endeley; the Political, Legal and Cultural luminary.

His Royal Highness Nakuve Samuel Moka Lifafa Endeley, the Paramount Chief of Buea was born on June 9, 1923 to Chief Mathias Lifafa Endeley and Maria Mojoko Endeley.

As a young boy Moka Endeley studied at the German Basel Mission Vernacular Kindergarten School at Soppo Wongaga and obtained the Statutory First school Living certificate with distinction in 1939. This permitted him to gain admission into the Government College at Umuahia in Eastern Nigeria and the School of pharmacy in Lagos from where he obtained the Pharmaceutical Chemist Diploma in Forensic pharmacy.

Doctor Samuel Moka Lifafa Endeley Later enrolled to read law and eventually graduated with a Law Degree in 1959 in London. He returned to Cameroon in 1960 and worked in the Court of West Cameroon. He was later appointed judge of same in 1966.

An aspect of his personality that many still refer to as controversial was the declaration on several occasions that he was not an Anglophone, but simply a Cameroonian. Opinions from those close to him hold that the Pharmacist and Chief Judge saw things from the vantage point as he was immersed in all local customs, culture and expressions as was the tradition in his family. He defended Cameroon energetically in the case over the Bakassi conflict with Nigeria at the International Court of Justice at The Hague in The Netherlands.

He succeeded his Uncle Mbella Endeley as the Paramount Chief of Buea in 1982. From then, Samuel Moka Lifafa Endeley played a stabilizing role on the Sociopolitical landscape of Cameroon. He got married to the late Gladys silo Endeley who passed-on in 2010. They had five sons and a daughter.

  Things here and there

In 1940, SML Endeley passed the competitive entrance into the Government College Umuahia in Eastern Nigeria. During the Second World War, the college was closed down and converted into an internment camp for German war prisoners. As a result, the students were transferred to Hope Waddel Training Institute in Calabar. SML Endeley left Hope Waddell at age 22 after obtaining the Cambridge School Certificate.

In 1946 SML Endeley passed the highly competitive examinations into the prestigious Nigeria School of Pharmacy in Yaba, Lagos, where he obtained a Pharmaceutical Chemist and Druggist Diploma with a distinction in Forensic Pharmacy.

From 1950 to 1957, he worked as a government pharmacist in Lagos and Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and Tiko, Bota, Victoria(both now in the Limbe City Council Area) and Kumba all in the former Southern Cameroons which now constitute the Southwest and Northwest Regions of the Republic of Cameroon.

In 1953 SML Endeley married Gladys Silo Steane, an Accounts Clerk with the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC).


Against the tumultuous backdrop and the soci-political effervescence of the late 1950s in Southern Cameroons,Sam Endeley soon lost his passion for pharmacy and turned his attention to law, a profession through which he believed he would contribute more to the development of Southern Cameroons.

In 1956 he was admitted into the University of Leeds where he obtained a diploma in Sociology. In 1957 he sought and gained admission into the Middle Temple Inn of Court where he read law at the Inns of Court School of Law in London. In 1959, he passed the final examination for the Barrister-at-law degree and was called to the English Bar in January 1960. He returned to Cameroon in April of that same year when he got called to the Nigerian Bar.

Between 1960 and 1966 he ran his bustling and lucrative private practice, Lifafa Chambers, located around the Buea town market. This was a period when Nigerian lawyers dominated the legal field in the Southern Cameroons but Samuel Endeley rose and stayed at the top.

 

Young Sam Endeley with Lawyers Fred Eko and Koffi Mensah, the first generation of British-trained Southern Cameroons lawyers. Picture courtesy of Cameroon Census forum/Henry Monono.

During this period, Samuel Endeley became involved in the major contemporal social and political issues. In the 1950s and 60s, he was instrumental in setting up the Bakweri Co-operative Union of Farmers (BCUF) and the Bakweri Land Committee (BLC) which sought to reclaim Bakweri ancestral lands wrested by the Germans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was also a major role player in the plebiscite campaign leading up to the unification of the British and French Cameroons, and was even selected to address the UN Trusteeship Council in 1961. He was also part of the Southern Cameroons delegation to the Foumban constitutional conference of that same year.

 Arriving at the Foumban conference. From left to right, PM Kemcha, SML Endeley and legnedary photographer, E. Mbwaye. Southern Cameroons archives.

He later became a prominent member of both the CNU ;Cameroon National Union and the CPDM;Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement.
In 1966, SML Endeley turned his back on private practice and turned to the bench and it turned out to be a lengthy and luminous legal career.

In 1966 he was appointed Judge of the High Court of West Cameroon and President of the West Cameroon Bench of the Federal Court of Justice.

In 1968, he became an Appeals Judge of the Full Bench of the Federal Court of Justice Yaoundé, and a year later, he was appointed member of the Higher Judicial Council.
In 1970, he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of West Cameroon.

When the Cameroon Federation was dissolved in 1972, SML Endeley moved to Yaounde where and became Vice President of the Supreme Court of the United Republic of Cameroon. In 1973 he was appointed President of the Administrative Bench of the Supreme Court and later returned to Buea as President of the South-West Court of Appeal.

 Justice Endeley with J.C Ngoh (Federal Inspector of Administration for West Cameroon,) and Mr Ngwa, SDO Fako Division. Source: Cameroon Census forum/Gervase Ndoko.
Throughout his legal career, SML Endeley was a member of every law harmonisation and law revision commission set up by the government of the United Republic of Cameroon ;a clear indication of how his legal opinions were valued by the state. He was also a Member of the Cameroon-Nigeria Joint Border Commission and was also a member of the Cameroonian legal team in the land and maritime border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria which culminated in the award of the Bakassi Peninsular to Cameroon by the International Court of Justice-ICJ.  Between 1982 and 1990, SML Endeley served as Board Chairman of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC).

Justice SML Endeley was as crowned Paramount Chief of Buea in 1990 in succession of his uncle Gervacius Mbella Endeley who reigned as District Head and Chief of Buea from 1925 to 1982.