Category: Great People

A Heritage of Great African leaders and visionaries

Lapiro de Mbanga in his own words

On By Dr. Y.In Great Music, Great People1 Comment
Lapiro de Mbanga
Lapiro de Mbanga

I decided to make a compilation of some of Lapiro de Mbanga’s words in his interviews.  The full interview to Daniel Brown from Freemuse can be found here; for the interview Lapiro gave to Le Messager, click here; and lastly the interview to Phoenix Gauthier can be found on RFI.  The video below shows Lapiro de Mbanga’s proudly expressing himself at the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2013.  Enjoy!!!

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About life in prison: … There is no hygiene here and we must share our most intimate moments with the other cellmates. … I should have been taken to hospital for a consultation but my status as a political prisoner has meant I have not been allowed to go once in these two years. I somehow survived the typhoid attack in December by taking the antibiotics my wife Louisette brought me. It’s fortunate she comes every few days. It’s a five-hour round trip from Mbanga, it’s taking a toll on her, too. …  I wake at 7 to 8 every morning …. I keep informed about the outside world thanks to TV5 [France’s international station] or Radio France International. I eat, chat with the others in the cell, play Ludo, scrabble, draughts. It’s impossible to compose in such an atmosphere. I need calm, serenity. Here, I cannot concentrate and write the thoughtful songs people expect of me.

Pius Njawe in jail
Pius Njawe, a Cameroonian journalist and martyr in jail

We have penal rations twice a day. At 1pm we are given boiled corn and at 5pm there’s rice in some warm water. It’s the same every day. It’s way below minimum requirements. My wife brings me food every two days, I couldn’t survive otherwise. I’ve seen people die of hunger. It happens every day in Cameroonian prisons.

Normally, I should have no contact with the outside world. Telephones are illegal here. I’m speaking to you because we have to scheme like common crooks. In prison there are all kinds of trafficking going on, including this one. You pay guards to turn a blind eye. You know, in Cameroon you can buy everything. This country has been world champion in terms of corruption.  It’s everywhere and filters down to here. (Source: Daniel Brown, Freemuse)

On being scared for his life because of his outspokenness: It’s all part of my struggle. If I was the scared type I would never have started singing in 1985. I’m not going to start getting scared after all these years. My struggle has always been to denounce inequalities and danger is part of that mission. The only thing that has changed for me since 1985 is I’m at the head of a family with six children. I can guarantee my own security, but not theirs. I’m scared for them. But I have no choice. If you start such a struggle, somebody must pay. Still, my family is unhappy with such risk taking. That’s why I think if I don’t go into exile after this prison term, I won’t survive very long out there – they’ll kill me. Because it’s obvious people in charge don’t want to be confronted with somebody who stops them from just getting on with things. (Source: Daniel Brown, Freemuse)

On going to exile: For starters, I am not in exile; I am political refugee in the USA. I needed a social security and an insurance for the future of my children; I refuse to manufacture unemployed people full of diplomas who will retire without ever having worked.  [Pour commencer, je ne suis pas en exil; je suis réfugié politique aux USA. J’avais besoin d’une sécurité sociale et d’une assurance pour le futur de mes enfants; je refuse de fabriquer des chômeurs bardés de diplômes qui vont aller à la retraite sans avoir jamais travaillé.] (Source: Le Messager 04 April 2013)

Flag of Cameroon
Flag of Cameroon

About the way he spends his days now in the US: I dedicate myself to my children’s education. I have, during 3 decades, focused my life on my struggle, the fight against social inequalities, forgetting that I was first a head of family. Despite what the Um [Nyobé], Ouandié, Moumié, and all the known and unknown freedom fighters have done, nobody knows what has become of their offspring. For me, it is very serious. It is as if they had fought for nothing. [Je me consacre à l’éducation de mes enfants qui sont ici avec moi. J’ai pendant 3 décennies focalisé ma vie sur mon combat, à savoir la lutte contre les inégalités sociales oubliant que j’étais d’abord un chef de famille. Malgré tout ce que les Um, Ouandié, Moumié et tous les autres combattants connus et inconnus ont fait, personne aujourd’hui ne sait ce que sont devenues leurs progénitures, Pour moi, c’est très grave. C’est comme s’ils ont combattu pour rien …].  (Source: Le Messager 04 April 2013)

About his rupture with Biya and Fru Ndi: Paul Biya, even if he listens to my songs, does not count on my very short list of friends. So no need to break up with him even though I never voted neither for him, nor for Ahidjo’s party which he hijacked in Bamenda in 1985. Fru Ndi, whom I now call “CHIENMAN” and not Chairman, has ceased to be worthy of my respect, given his multiple reversals and changes. … I cannot be in good terms with an individual who plots against the people, it is as simple as that.  [Paul Biya même s’il écoute mes chansons, ne compte pas sur la liste très restreinte de mes amis. Donc pas besoin de rompre avec lui encore que je n’ai jamais voté ni pour lui-même, ni pour le parti de Ahidjo qu’il a détourné à Bamenda en 1985. Fru Ndi que j’appelle désormais “CHIENMAN” et non Chairman, a cessé depuis bien longtemps d’être une personne ayant droit à mon respect, compte tenu de ses multiples virements, revirements et retournements de veste. … Je ne peux pas être en bon terme avec un individu qui complote contre le peuple, c’est aussi simple que cela]. (Source: Le Messager 04 April 2013)

On his dream for Cameroon? I dream of a Cameroon where the power will belong to the people.  Where the wealthy will not use the misery of the poor by giving them some rice, fish, beer and 1000 FCFA to stay in power and plunder the country’s resources.  [Je rêve d’un Cameroun dont le pouvoir appartiendra au peuple. Où les riches ne vont pas se servir de la misère des pauvres en donnant aux démunis du riz, du poisson, de la bière et 1000f pour aller au pouvoir piller les ressources du pays.] (Source: Le Messager 04 April 2013)

Lapiro de Mbanga
Lapiro de Mbanga

On his struggle: The fight continues. I got out of jail only three months ago. And I need to continue the fight at a greater level. … You have seen my environment. Here in Mbanga, it is 7:30PM and it is already dark everywhere. Without electricity, you can be attacked. Yet, there are people who fight at work all day. And at the end of the day, there is no light, no health, the children cannot go to school. There is no escape. That is my fight, my struggle. It is for that Cameroon that I am fighting. And I want the Americans and Europeans to understand. I come to tell them: thank you for fighting for Lapiro de Mbanga [release] , but there are 20 millions of Lapiro de Mbanga in Cameroon who experience the martyr daily. Wake up and do something. [Le combat continue. Je suis sorti de prison il y a seulement trois mois. Et je dois continuer le combat au niveau des grandes instances. … Vous avez vu mon environnement. Ici à Mbanga il est 19h30 et partout il fait noir. Sans électricité vous pouvez être agressé ici. Pourtant, il y a des gens qui se battent au travail toute la journée. Et, à la fin, il n’y a pas de lumière, ni de santé, les enfants ne peuvent pas aller à l’école. Il n’y a pas d’issue. C’est ça mon combat. C’est pour ce Cameroun-là que je me bats. Et je veux que les Américains et les Européens comprennent. Je viens leur dire par ma voix : merci d’avoir combattu pour Lapiro de Mbanga, mais il y a 20 millions de Lapiro de Mbanga au Cameroun qui subissent le martyr au quotidien. Réveillez-vous et faites quelque chose.] (Source: RFI, P. Gauthier, 12/07/2011)

Lapiro de Mbanga: the Voice of the Voiceless is gone!

On By Dr. Y.In Great Music, Great People1 Comment
Lapiro de Mbanga
Lapiro de Mbanga

The current news of Lapiro de Mbanga’s death really took me by surprise.  It really saddened me.  In the past few months, Cameroon has lost some of its most valiant fighters: Abel Eyinga, Charles Ateba Eyene, and now Lapiro de Mbanga.  Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger, also known as Lapiro de Mbanga, was a freedom fighter for those without voice; he was an outspoken critic of the government of Paul Biya, and made himself the spoken voice of thousands of Cameroonian who could not speak and whose rights were bent.  Ndinga Man, or the guitar man, used music to say what others were afraid to say.

Flag of Cameroon
Flag of Cameroon

Born in the village of Mbanga, just north west of Douala, Pierre Roger Lambo Sandjo started his career under the name of Pastor Sandjo Lapiro in the late 70s when his disks were made in Nigeria.  He later adopted the stage name of LAPIRO, part of his name LAmbo PIerre ROger, of Mbanga his birthplace.  In 1986, he collaborated with his fellow countryman Toto Guillaume (from Kassav), and came out with Pas argent No Love, and then No Make Erreur.  He chose to sing in Pidgin, mixed in with some English, French, and Douala, for all his countrymen to understand, and to articulate all the daily injustices he witnessed.  The Jamaican Jimmy Cliff praised Lapiro’s qualities on the album’s back cover, and hoped to see him go international.  Lapiro’s strong stance, without any deference against the authorities, gained him an immense popularity just like the Nigerian artist Fela.

Lapiro de Mbanga - Na You
Lapiro de Mbanga – Na You

His songs echoed the struggle for democracy in Cameroon.  For the past 25 years, Lapiro’s songs – No Make Erreur, Pas argent no love, Kop Nie, Mimba We, Na You, Ndinga Man contre-attaque : na wou go pay ? – often flirted with censorship and provoked the ire of officials.  Like he said of the president who did not want to leave power, Day di go mandat di bole…  But it was his 2008 composition Constitution Constipée which really brought Lapiro face to face with the country’s repressive justice system, and landed him three years in the country’s jails.  This protest song denounced the amendment of the constitutional clause, which limited presidential mandates to two non-renewable seven year terms.  As usual his lyrics mixed in humour and anger in calling for Biya to step down, since the pacho (old man) is daya (tired) and has outlived his usefulness.  The song was banned from airwaves; but since “impossible n’est pas camerounais” it was leaked out, and became the anthem for the youths and workers’ protests against the steep rise of the cost of living in the February 2008 riots.  Lapiro was arrested and thrown to jail for inciting violence and arson.  He spent the next three years ‘rotting’ in jails in Douala as a political prisoner in the worst conditions ever: sleeping on the floor in the rain, sharing the cell with 50 or more others, eating one meal a day, not having access to proper health care, etc.  It is believed that he was only granted his freedom in 2011 because he was on the verge of death.  In 2012, he sought and was granted political asylum in the USA.  He arrived with his family in September of 2012.  Lapiro joined his ancestors last night…

Lapiro de Mbanga - Our ambassador
Lapiro de Mbanga – Our ambassador

All said and done, Lapiro was really the idol of the downtrodden and forgotten people, the sauvetteurs and the bayam selams; he was the voice of the voiceless.  Many believe the opposition leader John Fru Ndi would have never had the “aura” he had in the 90s without Lapiro.  Truly Lapiro sang for the people, talked about the youth’s shattered dreams, the division, the tribalism, the corruption, the decadence, and the ills of the country.  Cameroon has once again lost one of his great sons.  This makes me want to ask Bob Marley’s question: How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?  It really hurts, but we should remember Lapiro, our ambassador, as the outspoken critics, the voice of those without voice, and the “complice of the contre man” as he said himself.  Ndinga Man, rest in peace! Enjoy No Make Erreur!!!

“Equal Rights” by Peter Tosh

On By Dr. Y.In Great Music, Great PeopleLeave a comment
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh

Over 50 years after the Civil Rights movements, and almost 20 years after the avenue of “democracy” in South Africa, people around the world are still fighting for ‘equal rights‘.  The Black people of Brazil are screaming for equal rights, women in many countries of the world are still fighting for equal rights, people of lower social classes in the society are crying for equal rights, people of different castes in India are demanding equal rights… many African countries and governments just want equal rights to be treated and dealt with like proper economic partners to the G8 and G20 countries.  One of my favorite Reggae singers, the Jamaican Peter Tosh sang it so well over 20 years ago… and I just want to reiterate that it is a basic human need to be treated equally with respect no matter who we are, what the color of our skin is, what our gender is, what our social background is, what our religious affiliations are, etc.: we are first human beings and we deserve equal rights!

‘Poetry’ by Amilcar Cabral

On By Dr. Y.In Great Literature, Great People2 Comments
Amilcar Cabral on a stamp with the flag of Guinea Bissau
Amilcar Cabral on a stamp with the flag of Guinea Bissau

January 20th, is the day of Amilcar Cabral, the father of Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau independence was murdered.  I would like to celebrate this day of remembrance with a poem written by Amilcar Cabral himself.  He used to sign his poem by the name Larbac, which is an anagram of his last name Cabral.  The current poem is attributed to him… I was unable to find the Portuguese version.  Enjoy this poem by one of Africa’s greatest sons.

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… No, Poetry …
Do not hide within the inscrutability of my soul
Do not run away from life itself.
Break the invisible bars of my prison,
Open wide the doors of my being
– Come out…
Come out to struggle (life is a struggle)
The men outside call for you,
And you, Poetry, you are also a Man.
Love everyone’s poetry,
– Love Men
Let your poems flow to every race, to all things.
Merge with me …
Oh Poetry,
Take my arms to embrace the World,
Give me your arms to embrace Life
I am my own Poetry.
Amilcar Cabral Poem, 1946

Queen Amina of Zazzau: the Great Hausa Warrior born to Rule

On By Dr. Y.In Great Civilizations, Great People20 Comments
Queen Amina of Zazzau
Queen Amina of Zazzau

Today, I would like to tell you about yet another great queen of Africa, Queen Amina of Zazzau.  Just like Amanishakheto of Nubia, Nzingha of Angola, or Ranavalona I of Madagascar, Amina was a strong queen who loved her people, and totally marked her kingdom forever.

Queen Amina of Zazzau was born around 1533 in the province of Zazzau, in modern-day Nigeria.  Zazzau refers to the Zaria emirate which is a traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria in Kaduna state in Nigeria.  Zazzau was one of the seven Hausa city-states which dominated the subsaharan trade after the collapse of the Songhai Empire at the end of the 16th century.  Its wealth was due to the commerce of leather, textile, horses, salt, kola, cloth, and metals imported from the East.

Queen Amina celebrated on a Nigerian stamp
Queen Amina celebrated on a Nigerian stamp

As a toddler, Amina was already attending state business on her grandfather, the king’s laps.  At the age of 16, Amina was seen as a potential contender to her mother’s throne (Magajiya), the queen Bakwa of Turunku.  Amina started to learn the responsibilities of a queen from her mother: taking part in daily assemblies with high dignitaries of the kingdom.  Even though her mother’s reign had been one of peace and prosperity, Amina chose to learn military skills from the warriors.

Queen Bakwa died around 1566, and the Zazzau kingdom was governed by her youngest brother Karama.  During the reign of her brother, Amina emerged as principal warrior of the kingdom’s cavalry.  Her military successes brought her wealth and power.  When her brother died after ten years of reign, Amina was crowned queen of Zazzau in 1576.  During her reign, which lasted 34 years, she expanded her kingdom’s boundaries down to the Atlantic coast, she founded several cities, and personally led an army of 20,000 soldiers to numerous battles.  However, her focus was not on annexation of neighboring lands, but on forcing local rulers to accept vassal status and allow Hausa traders safe passage.

Portrait of Queen Amina
Portrait of Queen Amina

During her reign, she commanded the construction of a defensive mural around each military camp that she established.  Later, those camps evolved into prosperous cities within those walls, and some can still be seen today in northern Nigeria.  Those cities are known as walls ‘ganuwar of Amina’ or ‘Amina’s walls‘.  It is believed that Amina died in the town of Altagara in 1610. Today, Amina is remembered in Nigeria as ‘Amina, rana de Yar Bakwa ta San’ (Amina, daughter of Nikatau, woman as capable as a man).  The introduction of kola nuts into the region is often attributed to Amina.  Amina is celebrated across the Hausaland as a great warrior queen who was born to rule, and led thousands of soldiers to war.  To learn more, check out Black history heroes, History and Women, as well as the book African Princess which dedicates a chapter to this great queen.  Amina’s achievement was the closest that any ruler had come in bringing the region now known as Nigeria under a single authority.  Enjoy the video below of great African queens including Amina.

Nelson Mandela in his Own Words

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great People, Uncategorized4 Comments
Nelson and Winnie Mandela, on Nelson's release from prison on 11 Feb. 1990
Nelson and Winnie Mandela, on Nelson’s release from prison on 11 Feb. 1990

I remember the day Nelson Mandela was freed from jail after 27 years of imprisonment.  It was on 11 February 1990.  This being a national holiday in Cameroon, we were all at home, and could watch live as Nelson Mandela was released from prison and walked hand in hand with Winnie Mandela, both with their fists raised high up.  Later that day, Mandela stood outside the balcony with his fist raised high up, and said: “Amandla!” to which the overjoyed crowd replied “Ngawethu!”, in other words, “Power to the People!” And he finished “iAfrika!”  I am leaving you here with some words by Mandela himself.

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“I raised my right fist and there was a roar.  I had not been able to do that for 27 years and it gave me a surge of strength and joy.” Describing the day of his release from prison in 1990 – Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

“I am fundamentally an optimist.  Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say.  Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.  There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair.  That way lays defeat and death.” Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

Nelson Mandela ca 1955
Nelson Mandela ca 1955

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

“Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”  Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”  Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

“I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.” Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

Madiba
Madiba

“I found solitary confinement the most forbidding aspect of prison life. There is no end and no beginning; there is only one’s own mind, which can begin to play tricks. Was that a dream or did it really happen? One begins to question everything. Did I make the right decision, was my sacrifice worth it? … But the human body has an enormous capacity for adjusting to trying circumstances. I have found that one can bear the unbearable if one can keep one’s spirits strong even when one’s body is being tested. Strong convictions are the secret of surviving deprivation; your spirit can be full even when your stomach is empty.“ On Prison – Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

Zindzi Mandela reading her father's refusal to leave prison - 1985
Zindzi Mandela reading her father’s refusal to leave prison – 1985

“In the name of the law, I found myself treated as a criminal… not because of what I had done, but because of what I stood for, because of my conscience. No-one in his right senses would choose such a life, but there comes a time when a man is denied the right to live a normal life, when he can only live the life of an outlaw because the government has so decreed to use the law. … The question being asked up and down the country is this: Is it politically correct to continue preaching peace and non-violence when dealing with a government whose barbaric practices have brought so much suffering and misery to Africans? I cannot and will not give any undertaking at a time when I, and you, the people, are not free. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated. I will return.” Message read by his daughter, Zindzi Mandela, at a rally in Soweto in 1985.

“It seems the destiny of freedom fighters to have unstable personal lives… to be the father of a nation is a great honour, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy.  But it was a job I had far too little of.”  Talking about fatherhood – Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

“A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness…  The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.” On prison – Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

Nelson Mandela raising the freedom fist
Nelson Mandela raising the freedom fist

“The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because the common humanity that bonds both black and white into one human race will have said to each one of us that we shall all live like the children of paradise…  But there are still some within our country who wrongly believe they can make a contribution to the cause of justice and peace by clinging to the shibboleths [dogmas] that have been proved to spell nothing but disaster.  It remains our hope that these, too, will be blessed with sufficient reason to realize that history will not be denied and that the new society cannot be created by reproducing the repugnant past, however refined or enticingly repackaged.” On receiving the Nobel Peace Prize with F.W. de Klerk, 1993.

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”  Presidential Inauguration, 10 May 1994.

“Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another…  The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement.  Let freedom reign.  God bless Africa!” Presidential inauguration, 10 May 1994.

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 - 05 Dec 2013)
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 05 Dec 2013)

“I am confident that nobody … will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I am still in good health with my family, my friends, and also with myself.” On stepping down after his first term as president.

“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity, against which I ask all humanity now to rise up.” Message at the Live 8 Concert in Edinburgh, July 2005.

Nelson Mandela, Madiba, Our Freedom Fighter is no Longer

On By Dr. Y.In Great People, Uncategorized5 Comments
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela

Words cannot quite express my sadness at the loss of Africa’s greatest man, and probably one of the world’s greatest icon: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.  Just to think that this man spent 27 years in jail so that we, Black people, could have rights, could have freedom, could be free to love, live, and work, is beyond amazing!  Yes… almost 3 decades, and more, since he did not really lead a ‘true’ family life because he spent most of his time pursuing his cause for the freedom of Blacks in South Africa.  What tribute could I possibly give for a man who spent most of his life fighting so that I, a Black child, could walk free in South Africa after our land was taken by the Boer invader, and we were beaten under oppressive laws?  What could I possibly say for a man who epitomizes true leadership, statesmanship, democracy, humility, and love… love in the face of so much hate.  Because, for Nelson Mandela to make it, there were those like Steve Biko or Chris Hani who were killed by the apartheid system.  I would just like to say farewell Madiba… for you, I am a proud African child… Farewell Father Mandela, for you, I can roam the streets of South Africa free… Farewell Nelson, for you, I am free… because of you, I am a proud Black child, for you I am a proud African!

Nelson Mandela raising the freedom fist
Nelson Mandela raising the freedom fist

I live you with one of his quotes: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived.  It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”  Madiba, you have truly changed my life, and that of millions around the globe!  The world is a better place because you stepped on it!  So long… Madiba!

Tabu Ley Rochereau, a Baobab of African Music

On By Dr. Y.In Great People3 Comments
Tabu Ley Rochereau
Tabu Ley Rochereau

Is it possible to talk about Congolese music without mentioning ‘Le Seigneur’ Rochereau (Lord Rochereau)? Is it possible to talk about Africans performing at the great Olympia hall in Paris, without mentioning the first African ever to have performed there? Is it possible to talk about Rumba, without talking about the impact Tabu Ley Rochereau had on Congolese, and therefore African music?

Tabu Ley Rochereau & M'bilia Bel in 'Loyenghe'
Tabu Ley Rochereau & M’bilia Bel in ‘Loyenghe’

I remember listening to his love ballads ‘Pitié’ on the radio, while growing up. I remember watching the gorgeous M’bilia Bel singing with Tabu Ley Rochereau.  Well, Tabu Ley Rochereau was one of those rare artists who have written/composed/performed/produced over 3,000 songs, and have more than 250 albums in his repertoire.  He is one of the few who could claim to have influenced entire generations both in music and in politics as he later became vice-governor of Kinshasa. Just listening to the interviews of the likes of Koffi Olomide, Lokua Kanza, M’Bilia Bel, Papa Wemba, tells us a lot about him.  When asked about the impact of Tabu Ley Rochereau on Couleurs Tropicales, Lokua Kanza (one of my favorites) replied: “Just like an American child can say that Nat King Cole rocked his childhood, Tabu Ley Rochereau rocked mine (Lokua’s),” and that of most Congolese children.  That was the impact of ‘Le Seigneur Rochereau’.

Tabu Ley Rochereau & The African Fiesta National
Tabu Ley Rochereau & The African Fiesta National

As Kinshasa, Congo, and Africa mourns Tabu Ley Rochereau, we will remember ‘Le Seigneur Rochereau’ by dancing and singing to his great tunes.  We will celebrate his life (Rochereau even wrote the song ‘Mokolo Nakokufa’ (the day of my death) a bit like Mozart composed Requiem) and influence on all of our lives (even when he stood against Mobutu with the title ‘Trop c’est Trop’).  Tabu Ley was a uniter (when Kenya banned Congolese music, he sang ‘Twende Nairobi’ with M’Bilia Bel), a decider, a crooner, a lover, an activist, a melodist, but above all, Tabu Ley Rochereau was a baobab!  Listen to ‘Pitié’ below, and do not forget to read these really good articles on his life on Philly.com, AFP, RFI Musique, and the best on Radio Okapi.

Condemnation of Rudolf Douala Manga Bell – August 8th 1914

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great People1 Comment
Rudolf Douala Manga Bell - ca 1900s
Rudolf Douala Manga Bell – ca 1900s

On August 8th, 1914, a proclamation signed by Governor Karl Ebermaier was posted on all the principal places of the town of Douala, stating:

“People of Douala, I am here to announce that Manga (Rudolf) Bell is condemned today to death by hanging because he has betrayed the Kaiser and the empire.”

That same day, at 5PM (17:00) in the evening, the respondent was executed by hanging, with his relative and secretary Ngosso Din.

The official statement from the governor stating the charges incriminating the Bell king, continues as follows:

Adolf Ngoso Din, Assistant to Rudolf Manga Bell
Adolf Ngoso Din, Assistant to Rudolf Manga Bell

“He [Manga Bell] admitted, at the last minute, that he had been led by the fear of revenge from his countrymen, from those whom you know, who, by fear, secretly remain in the background, those who brood poison and seduce the people.  May the blood of Manga fall back on those who led him on the path of crime!  He who does not want to become a traitor, like Duala Manga and his aids, should pull away from his seducers, who secretly remain in the background preparing poison!  Whoever has fair intentions will be welcome.  The government of Kaiser will always be just and grateful to the loyal aids and loyal subjects.

What we deplore is the result of machinations carried by these of men of darkness who – the governor says – have always been at work to excite the people, to maintain it in terror with their poisons and kept under the yoke to their benefit. T ear yourself from them and you will be happy.  Manga himself, in his last hour, prayed his people that with his death, loyalty to the Kaiser and obedience towards the government may return into the heart of the Douala people.”

The translation to English is offered to you here by Dr. Y., www.afrolegends.com.  You can find the original published in French by the Cameroonian Quotidien Mutations on Bonaberi.com.  Don’t forget to read the article by Suzanne Kala-Lobé on NjanguiPress.com.

Rudolf Douala Manga Bell: One of Cameroon’s first Resistant

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great People12 Comments
Rudolf Douala Manga Bell - ca 1900s
Rudolf Douala Manga Bell – ca 1900s

Today, I would like to talk about one of the heroes of Cameroonian history, Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, who stood against the Germans in the 1910s in Kamerun.  His courage, and strong determination earned him the right of martyr and hero in the history of the Douala (or Duala) people, and thus of Cameroon.

Rudolf Douala Manga Bell was born in 1872, and studied in Cameroontown (modern-day Douala).  He was the first son of King Manga Ndumbe Bell, of the Douala people.  After completing his primary education and part of his secondary school in Cameroon, he went to study at the Lycée of Aalen in Bonn (Germany) finishing secondary school.  He later went on to study law at the university there.

Kamerun (German Cameroon)
Kamerun (German Cameroon)

Manga Bell married Emily Engome Dayas, the daughter of an English trader and a Douala woman after his return home in 1896.  He also became a civil servant.  On 2 September 1908, he succeeded to his father as Paramount Chief (Chef Supérieur) of the Bell dynasty (founded since 1792) which encompassed the Bonamandone, Bonapriso, Bonadoumbe, all owners and inhabitants of the Plateau Joss in Douala.  In those days, Douala was composed of several tribes: Bakole, Bakweri, Bamboko, Isubu (or Isuwu), Limba (or Malimba), Mungo, and Wovea.  Among those chiefs, some of them including the famous King Akwa, signed a Germano-Douala treaty on 12 July 1884, which placed Cameroon under German protection.  Cameroontown thus became Kamerunstadt.

Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, Leader of Douala people
Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, Leader of Douala people

In 1910, the German governor of Cameroon, Theodor Seitz, approved an urbanization project for the city of Douala (Kamerunstadt had been renamed Douala) set to turn it into one of the largest ports of Africa.  The project outlined a plan to relocate the Douala people inland from the Wouri river to allow European-only settlement of the area.  Neighborhoods such as Neu Bell, Neu Akwa, and Neu Deido were to be created for the indigenous people; these new allotments were going to be separated from the ‘European city’ by a barrier 1km wide (early version of apartheid!).  The expropriations affected most of the Douala clans, who were angered and formed a united front behind Manga Bell.  Rudolf Douala immediately refused, and told the Germans that the treaty signed in 1884 did not stipulate the removal/expulsion of the locals from their lands, and that this separation constituted a form of apartheid.  Manga Bell then enlisted the help of Hellmut von Gerlach, a German journalist.  Gerlach managed to secure a suspension order from the Reichstag Budget Commission in March, but the order was overturned when Colonial Secretary Wilhelm Solf convinced elements of the press, businessmen in the colony, politicians, and other groups to finally rally behind the expropriation. Manga Bell and the Douala requested permission to send envoys to Germany to plead their case, but the authorities denied them.  In secret, Manga Bell sent Adolf Ngoso Din to Germany to hire a lawyer for the Douala and pursue the matter in court.

Adolf Ngosso Din, Assistant to Rudolf Manga Bell
Adolf Ngoso Din, Assistant to Rudolf Manga Bell

Manga Bell then turned to other European governments and to leaders of other African ethnic groups for support.  His envoys to other Cameroonian leaders reached Bali, Balong, Dschang, Foumban, Ngaoundéré, Yabassi, and Yaoundé.  Charles Atangana (Karl Atangana), leader of the Ewondo and Bane peoples, kept Manga Bell’s plan secret but urged the Douala leader to reconsider.  In Bulu lands on the other hand, Martin-Paul Samba agreed to contact the French for military support if Manga Bell petitioned the British.  However, there is no evidence that Manga Bell ever did so.  In Foumban, Ibrahim Njoya, sultan of the Bamum people, rejected the plan and informed the Basel Mission on 27 April 1914 that Manga Bell was planning a pan-Kamerun rebellion.  The missionaries alerted the Germans.
Noticing the German lack of respect of the signed law, who started removing locals from their lands, Bell allied with other chiefs of Cameroon to counter the colonial plans.  During the mutiny, the Germans arrested the Douala leader and Ngoso Din on 10 May 1914 accusing him of high treason.  Their trial was held on 7 August 1914.  World War I had just begun, and an attack by the Allied West Africa Campaign in Kamerun was imminent; accordingly, the trial was rushed. On 8 August 1914, Rudolf Douala Manga Bell and Ngoso Din were hanged.

Let us all celebrate Rudolph Douala Manga Bell,  the Tét’èkombo (the king of kings in Douala), the first, the uniter of Cameroon (already reaching out to other kings), and one of Cameroon’s biggest resistant.  Enjoy this old rendition by Charles Ewandje (probably recorded in the 70′s) of Tet’Ekombo an ode to resistance and to the land.  The song was written in 1929 in memory of Rudolf Douala Manga Bell.