High Risk Anglophone Publishers Meeting In Limbe

By IO Fossung

There are no doubts that Anglophones are marginalized in Cameroon. Even within the press domain, the discrepancy is total. It is common to read English messages/advertisements in French language newspaper, even though English language newspapers exist in Cameroon. Worse still, last year’s gratification of media houses after the October 9, 2011 presidential was limited only to the French media. What crime therefore has the Anglophone press committed in a bilingual and competitive Cameroon aura? This has been the preoccupation of Anglophone newspaper publishers, and moreso, those based in Bamenda. On Friday August 3, 2012 therefore, a team would be put in place in Limbe, to champion the Anglophone newspaper plight. Yet, Bamenda based publishers who long nurtured the idea to fight marginalization see themselves further marginalized in the wordly setup.

It was Christian Mbipgo Ngah, publisher/editor of the credible Guardian Post newspaper who hatched the idea of an Anglophone publishers’ conclave. Yet, he seemingly banked on the delay of Bamenda-based publishers in malting their intensions concrete. But by press time, Chronicle is aware that North West publishers had authenticated the existence of their association.

Chronicle is aware of the fact that North West publishers would be attending the August 03, Anglophone Publishers Association in Limbe, not on a begging-end. Accordingly, their association, which was born and legalized even before Christian Ngah’s ideas, had since had its constitution and executive.

The North West (Anglophone) Publishers Association has as its executive: Edward Chifuh of Vanguard (President) with Tim Finnian of Life Time as Vice; the Secretary General is Ezekiel Dotta of Watchdog; his vice - Richard Ndeh of The Herald Tribune. The Treasurer is Eric Motomu of Chronicle, while the Financial Secretary is Peterkins Manyong of The Independent Observer. Fai Cassien of The Eye and Martin Fon Yembe of Frontier Telegraph are Special Adviser, while Rolland of World Echoes is the Public Relations Officer.

North West based publishers were irked by the fact that when the Ngah-led team came to Bamenda, they were merely dictatorial. Worse still, Ngah led a crew to CRTV to project the fact that it was merely a Yaounde-based affair. Many Bamenda-based publishers detested the fact that Ngah did not mention the name of any Bamenda based publisher, but simply gave the impression that it was a Yaounde affair.

Limbe definitely would be a melting pot. An executive is expected to be put in place, not necessary to represent a geopolitical balance, but then an equitable representation of North West based, South West based and Yaounde based Anglophone publishers. What Chronicle subsumed was the fact that should the North West be negated, they would storm out to embrace their association long kept in reserve.