Oroko People,WHY ARE WE SO DIVIDED? PART 1

I don't know or maybe am being too critical but one of our greatest problems is that, we Oroko people are too divided.....

Some say they are upper Mbonge and the others are lower Mbonge;some are upper Balue while others are lower Balue;some are upper Bakundu while others are lower Bakundu;the Batanga people say they are the masters of Toko subdivision and are at daggers-drawn with the Ngolos and Bimas for supremacy!

Likewise, the Bekondo customary court area is not happy that,they being the Intelligentsia and population of Mbonge subdivision neither have a mayor,a senator nor a parliamentarian and why should the people of Big Nganjo, take the mayor and senator seats?Why should a man from Dienyi be the chief of Mbonge Marumba and consequently the paramount chief of the Mbonges whereas this should be reserved for a "real son of Mbonge". Why should one person be a parliamentarian always whereas there are many illegible and competent people who can also become an MP?

Why should a mayor and his first deputy not talk to each other in a council like Ekondo Titi, a town the Oroko hold in high esteem?Why should people fight during the installation of the mayor for Dikome Balue, that of Konye, that of Toko, that of Mbonge and what is happening to Pamol?How could a company of that nature go for months without a trained medical doctor or why should a company like Pamol not provide basic hygiene and sanitation facilities to its workers?Why are some people in support of Herakles farms and others not?

Will the Oroko people ever enjoy a macadamized thoroughfare?Apart from the lucky people of Bisoro, Ekombe, Bekondo, ""DK city"" and Mundemba,will the Oroko people ever enjoy living water?

Oh!i heard the chiefs of Ekondo Titi subdivision want to build a mortuary and budgeted over 100 millions of our scarce cfa francs,what a paradox!They are talking about a mortuary when a 37year old small boy DO is terrorizing them and collecting taxes as if he's the taxation officer!Where on earth did you ever see a DO become a taxation officer or supervising clean-up campaigns!so what is the duty of a mayor?

Oh!i almost forgot the so-called Oroko "intellectuals, the elites and those in the so called "diaspora".Oh yes!i heard they started translating the Bible to Oroko in Big Bekondo but will a Balondo Man be able to read a book written in Mbonge?Oh sure, i heard books were donated by OrokoUSA to the Ekondo Titi Library project. Two months ago, i visited that library, thought i saw but Late Dr Zach Fomum's Church and a college?

And what about our politicians?Are they actually our representatives or a bunch of hungry stomachs in the quest for self gratification?The so called chief Dr,Hon chief, Chief board chairman, chief manager, chief GM, chief mayor, president honorable, principal councilor, chief councilor or barrister mayor, chief justice, mayor senator, chief secretary general, chief commissioner, DO this and DO that, governor this and governor that!what has been their role in the Oroko vicious backward quagmire and economic slump?

And the Oroko Students Association dubbed OSA, does it still exist on paper or does it actually reflect/stand for the development/unity as well as well-being  of the Oroko people?

So many questions with difficult answers,answers as difficult as going to Dikome Balue in the rainy season or obtaining land in Big Nganjo.
These are just some of the problems plaguing my mind when i return from work and my kids are asleep and their father is snoring beside me.My mind rovers as i wish and pray that my kids will have a better Oroko than that which i live in.
In the upcoming weeks, i will develop most of  and attempt to exploit these questions surrounding the Oroko people.Please if inspired, leave your comment.

Rise-up Oroko and be Proud

Some OROKO NAMES don't just make sense

In most parts of the world, names are known or thought to be a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place or thing is known, addressed or referred to. In other words, names are used by individuals to describe one another or a place.

With over 13 tribes and each having its own dialect, Oroko names are sometimes just horrible and they drive me crazy. I often ponder over these plethora of names from the Balue, Ngolo, Mbonge, Bakundu, Bima, Batanga and you name the rest. 

Moving around Cameroon, i understand that the Oroko people occupy a special place as concerns naming children. I don't know if these names are a representative of our diversity, cultural heritage,  beauty or tradition. 

Be they for remembrance of events, happenings or circumstances, some of these names are just crazy and of little value especially when we grow up. I often think that these names also accompany us and may become a major player in our future life, character, destiny and achievements.

Let's now take a look at some very common Oroko names that beat my imagination and keep me pondering.

Just imagine that because death had visited your family several times before your birth, they name you Merima (graves), Njikobiya (i will not run), Misodi or Misori and Bekeli (tears). 

Imagine that because your father is seriously sick and everyone thinks he's gonna die,so when you are born, they name you Bongor (fear). You were born when your family was undergoing serious financial difficulties, so they name you Ituka (suffering). Can someone tell me why name your child Mindako (blackmail), Besumbu (grass), Bea (leaves), Isselle (leave it), Ditake (let's talk), Njeya (road) etc etc?

Because your father was unable to repay his debts, so when you are born, he names you Marumbe (debts).  There is another name depending on how you pronounce it,it may mean something else Makane (resemblance), (prayers) but sometimes i hear people saying Makana (insults).

Some common names include Ngoh (Tiger), Isoh (shame), Museke (beak), Bosani (they stayed at home), Mokori (hill), Mososo (talk), Mosongo (a kind of earthworm), njuma (fight), Emeri (remembrance) and so forth and so forth.

All i know is that the Oroko people should rethink and reconsider their naming strategy because it does not actually go down well with some of our brothers and sisters.

I am sick and tired of these names, Oroko Rise Up!

Cameroonians and Titles, Necessity or Pride?

 I do not understand why this mad rush and frenzy about titles and attachments to names in Cameroon. From the foot of mount Fako to the banks of lake Oku; from the pigmies of Lobeke to the safari hunters of the waza; from Ngoaekele to Buea; from churches to mosques; from political parties to njangis; from driver unions to association des ressortissants du??????, just name the titles if you can! Presi, chef terre, grand, ton ton, la mere, chef, tantine, mon colonel, honorable, son excellence, father, prophet, dokta,  manager, prof, proviseur!

These names vary from titles that people give themselves or those that people call them. Infact in Cameroon, if you don't have any title at all, at least you find others calling you sister, aunty, brother, uncle, mummy or daddy. Never you try call someone especially an elderly person by name, maybe you end up in a police cell because you failed to call a commissaire, commissaire or you called a captain lieutenant, na die that!

What utterly baffles me is the fact that, some Cameroonians never introduce themselves without adding their titles. You always hear people introduce themselves as I am Dr, Chief, Justice, Prince, Pastor, Mr or sister this and that, na wa oh Cameroonians! The irony in all this is that, you do not find these titles on their birth certificate, so why insist that your name must be prefixed with a title? It has even reached a point where people who no longer hold posts cannot let go off their former titles even when retired. They claim that the title remains for life, that once a principal or mayor M. le Maire, always M. le Maire till you die! Cameroon, you too strong!

Even at work or school, people carry titles such as chef de service or directeur adjoint, dare you call a Prof, Dr in Buea University, scandal or you do not introduce someone as a master or PhD student, lecturer or try and refer to a DO as DO and not chef terre, you have violated and disrespected hierarchy.

Go to CDC, Delmonte and do not call Mr M or Mr B as supervisor, manager, field assistant or Dokta, you risk being suspended. Go to the ministries, banks, DO's office, hospital and don’t call those women as madame, tu ne sera pas servir.

It is also very common with the judiciary, just try and call Mr M instead of Maitre or Maitre M or Mr B instead of justice, president or procureur, commissaire, commandant or chef, you risk spending a night at the brigade, try and don’t greet a policeman or gendarme at control ‘chef’, you will pay 1000 instead of 500frscfa. Try and refer to Mr M without using M le comptable, M. le doyen, M le vice doyen, M le recteur or M l’ingenieur, M le Senateur.

It is the same phenomenon even in our churches, mami elder, papa elder, man of God, sister B, brother M, Reverend ministers, Prophets and Prophetess, Messiahs, Deacons, Elders, Fathers and combinations of two or more of these titles. You would have committed the greatest sin if you forget to add the title(s) of a person when addressing them.

Something I find amusing is an accumulation of titles, like M le maire maître, chief Dr, Chief Professor, Dr Mrs, Reverend Mrs or Reverend Dr, chief justice, His excellency, Honorable Doctor, Chief Mayor, Honorable Lamido, Honorable Fon, Honorable chief Dr.

Honestly, all these titles amuse me and I don’t quite understand the importance. Is it for necessity or mere pride? The actual value or importance in possessing several titles within the life of an individual beats my imagination and comprehension. I think either it is to increase the societal gap between the privileged and the underprivileged or just a means for them to force respect from other people. 

I find that imposing such titles on oneself sometimes creates a bridge between you and others. It does not make you very approachable and sometimes instills some fear in others.

What do you think?