N.N. Mbile. Cameroon Political Story: Memories of an Authentic Eye Witness | Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon | 2011 | 310 pages. Available from Amazon.com
In a 2007 article titled "Individual Memory and Collective Amnesia: Where are the Political Memoirs?", I lamented about "a long list of prominent Cameroonians on both sides of the Mungo who never bothered to write their memoirs thereby depriving future generations of Cameroonians of the right to know and understand their past."
Commenting specifically about the British Southern Cameroons, I pointed out that "of the original 13 Southern Cameroons representatives who sat in Nigeria’s Eastern House of Assembly in Enugu in 1952 (the Cameroon bloc), only one, Nerius Namaso Mbile, wrote his memoirs which were published in 1999."
The first edition of the book, which was a limited print edition by presbook quickly went out of print and was never available on the international market. This is no longer the case today following the (re)publication of the book by Langaa, which is available on amazon.com and other major online bookstores.
Product Description
The Cameroon Political Story is a long journey through the eyes and actions of the author himself. It is a mix between Mbile's memoirs, a bit of his biography and the Cameroon political story, heavily weighted in favour of that part of the Republic formerly identified as Southern Cameroons, later West Cameroon, now South West and North West Regions.
The story is told in the interest of the Cameroonian youth and scholar who have often complained of the inadequate recording by political leaders of the life and deeds of their times. It is the story of an African boy of humble village beginnings who rose to participate in the making of a modern political community. It is hoped the book provides useful knowledge on the history, growth and constitutional evolution of Cameroon, a country which after more than a century of administrative metamorphosis settled to its present statehood in 1961, a Cameroon reborn.
Reviews
“N.N. Mbile describes with great wit, humour and the power of narrative, the events that culminated in the birth of Cameroon. He describes each event with clarity and penetrating insight as a participant and observer. He raises questions in his analysis which call on every patriotic Cameroonian to reflect on how far we have come as a society and how far we have to go. This fascinating and revealing book bears significance for all Cameroonians and the world as it demonstrates that belief in a common ancestry, collective effort, the will to succeed and positive wisdom are needed in full measure to unleash our best potential for meaningful progress, peace and unity.”
Peter Mafany Musonge, Prime Minister of Cameroon (September 1996 until December 8, 2004)
About the Author
Nerius Namaso Mbile was born in 1923 at Lipenja, Batanga, Ndian Division. He obtained his Senior Cambridge Certificate in 1945. From 1947-49, he joined the Zik’s Group of Newspapers Lagos as Reporter and served as Resident Correspondent to the Cameroons. An accomplished journalist, trade unionist and politician, Mbile is widely recognised as one of the rare breed of founding fathers of the Cameroon nation west of the Mungo.
Every citizen of southern cameroons
who go to work for french cameroun
govt. Is only making him/her
self an instrument of colonialism of french cameroun
upon his/her land and people.
every primary.secondary school thats funded and own by
french cameroun on s.cameroons territory is only
an institution of control.brainwashing and
mental subjugation.
power can only be taken back from a tyrant
by more power. Be it civil or by armmament.
Posted by: dango tuman | February 03, 2015 at 02:02 AM
Mfanny
utter rubbish. Which cameroon are you reffering to?
Obviously to you as your masters you served. There is
only one cameroun ie the republique du cameroun.
Nono there is the southern cameroons still under colonialism
by republique du cameroun. And the is the latter.
the joining by federation of two state
never happened. Since no treaty was signed and
the first french cameroun president moved in
his military prematuredly and
occupied our country.
ask yourself why would any one
want to move from freedom of an in
self governance to became a mere
entity of another country?
Posted by: dango tuman | February 03, 2015 at 02:34 AM
hmmm... clear
Posted by: Ewangi | June 13, 2021 at 09:54 PM