I try these days to be as circumspect as I can be in participating in any ongoing conversation.
I honestly think Sessekou Ebini is 93.6% right to voice his sentiments about his "Friend" the late Microwave. I endorse his write-up intoto because as one of the closest "Actors" in the past 10 years of Jacob's life, I equally have a thing or two to say. Collective amnesia is what sometimes leads to misunderstandings and unnecessary bad blood amongst friends and even family. Ebini's piece is well written and captures the intricacies of the character of our beloved brother Microwave Nguni. By the way, Professor Dr. Ashutangtang Joyce is presently working on either a documentary (or a book) to capture the quintessential of the Microwave character for posterity. some of us have already been contacted. Jacob was a "Public Figure" and aspects of his life belong to the public domain. So let us just chill and stop casting unnecessary aspersions
Most of you may equally know the apparent "Love-Hate" relationship he had with me. If someone challenged his usually well written "Camnet Analysis" he will pick up the phone and call me "Mishe, see me badluck......" If for some reason I don't' see eye to eye with him or don't agree with his disagreement with whoever contradicted him; then I knew I was in deep trouble as at the slightest provocation, he will "cook me in his microwave". I had finally come to understand my Friend and Brother Jacob to the extent that any insults or fights emanating from his end was simply taken with a pinch of salt. Many would be surprised to know that usually after "every Fight", I will drive to Jacob's house and he will bring out a bottle of Hennessey, good French wine and the daughter Cynthia will ask "Pa Mishe, I don cook ndole, make I bring you some?". Saying that Pa Microwave Nguni was a controversial character is not only putting it mildly but it just happens to be a perfect description of the man. He was a real microwave. A man capable of blowing hot and cold air at the same time.
Jacob was also a "Man of the People". I remember "Gate Crashing" at his home when he was receiving his SASSE classmate Dr. Akabueze, Governor Fashola of Lagos State's Finance Commissioner (Minister) who was in the United States for official duties but took time off to chill with his Sasse Old Boys. We "knacked Njakri dat day until cock crow". If I have any business leads with the Lagos State Government, you can now understand how that all came about. I don't remember any day I saw Microwave on stage without him acknowledging to his fans that "Mishe FONG" has just arrived. In a small way, I was basking under and "profiteering" from his celebrity status....to the extend that I started "Gonfleying" 4 Kwata.
I remember when he asked me to drop famous Cote d'Ivoire Musician Monique Seka back in her hotel room after a concert @ Bongamis, he said "Mishe, U dey so I no trust U. Just go drop dis girl then turn go back 4 ya house. No go start dat ya lie lie smiles begin tell yi how U get office for Guang Zhou, 4 London and say you dey plant coconut for Brazil. U don hia me fain? So wuna don open wuna eyes 4 read wetin happen afterwards? Ih go hard wuna. Just know that she can sing and dance Zouk more than Rantamplan or Lady Ponce can shake Bikutsi. Go Figure.
If I had any problem with my Laptop or Ipad, I simply called Microwave who will walk me through or when he gets frustrated at my "computer illiteracy" he will simply say "If na 4
knack mop 4 Internet dem go think say Mishe na genius but smol ting so U no sabi. Bring that ya computer 4 here now now. Na so Baminda peepoo dem foolish?...AND MUCH MORE.
Sessekou captured in greater details what this our brother really represented to many. It was rather unfortunate the "Fights" he orchestrated within and between the ACCDF core members. If that group was not made up of very mature, seasoned and benevolent community builders, ACCDF too could have gone down like most other Cameroonian associations. Fortunately, they put aside all antics and below the belt considerations and gave Jacob Nguni a befitting farewell the likes of which our community in Maryland has never seen.
Tah Mfar Mishe Fon
From: "noelebini noelebini@yahoo.com [camnetwork]" <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>
To: "Herbert Boh herbertboh@yahoo.com [amacam]" <amacam@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "Herbert Boh herbertboh@yahoo.com [CAMNETWORKS]" <CAMNETWORKS@yahoogroups.com>; CAMNETWORK List <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>; Bali C. P. C. <boba-list@yahoogroups.com>; Cameroon Politics <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>; Cameroon Group <cameroongroup@yahoogroups.com>; Eyang Forum <eyang-eyang-unity@yahoogroups.com>; Mecadc <mecadc@yahoogroups.com>; "upper-bayang-usa@yahoogroups.com" <upper-bayang-usa@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 4, 2015 1:34 PM
Subject: [camnetwork] Re: [CAMNETWORKS] Re: [amacam] REFLECTING ON JACOB NGUNI
There again Boh you are wrong. There is nothing that I have written in that piece that was not written or said to Jacob directly while he lived. This difference here is that I am using the old stuff to remember him when he is no more. If you have a problem with what I have written, that will be your cup of tea and you should drink it because you do not have the powers of qualify to force me to see things your way on this. This memorial version of the issue I have presented here was carefully sanitized to show respect to the family, the public and the dead. If you were to see the exchanges that went on directed to these issues, you will see what I mean. But that will not happen because your motives may be far from being truthful.
Again, you have your views and I have mine. On this our views are miles apart. We will have to live with that. You do not care more for the image, memory or repose of Jacob than I do. Get off the high horse.
Christmas Ebini
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: "Herbert Boh herbertboh@yahoo.com [amacam]" <amacam@yahoogroups.com>
Date: 10/4/2015 1:13 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: amacam@yahoogroups.com
Cc: "Herbert Boh herbertboh@yahoo.com [CAMNETWORKS]" <CAMNETWORKS@yahoogroups.com>, CAMNETWORK List <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>, "Bali C. P. C." <boba-list@yahoogroups.com>, Cameroon Politics <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>, Cameroon Group <cameroongroup@yahoogroups.com>, Eyang Forum <eyang-eyang-unity@yahoogroups.com>, Mecadc <mecadc@yahoogroups.com>, upper-bayang-usa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [CAMNETWORKS] Re: [amacam] REFLECTING ON JACOB NGUNI
Dear Ebini,
How could I disagree? My own write-up described these rules as "non-binding".
Where I do not agree with you is in the following sentences:
"We refrain from raising issues we had the liberty, time, and opportunity to bring up with them while they were alive but decided not to do so. We resist doing anything that could be perceived as putting the dead on trial "in abstensia".
My Dear Brother,
You had time and the opportunity to speak these truths to Jacob while he was here, including on the Internet when he challenged you repeatedly. You elected not to do any "grand deballage".
Now that Jacob Nguni is of blessed memory and unable to hold brief for himself on this forum, you say he was not a team player; that he had issues of accountability; that he smuggled his wife into the USA with you signing the paperwork...
My point was not that evil be covered up, but that if you had a chance to decry it but failed to, you became an accomplice of that evil. You become a kettle calling the pot black.
I respect your views, your friendship, leadership and activism, which is why I have never hesitated to speak truth to you. I'll not wait for you to be gone from our world first.
Boh Herbert
Sent from my iPhone
Boh most of what you have written are not rules but worldviews. You have yours, I have mine. Our worldviews may agree or even clash. The obvious reality is none of us qualify to impose theirs on the other. If I was to accept your line of thinking and knowing that I am talking with a known journalist and a man of intellect, the we should not be talking or writing what Hitler did to the Jews, we should not be talking about Watergate. We should not be talking about Judas betraying Jesus, we should not be talking anything negative about all the dead people of this world in anyway negative. Are you just trying to make up for something?In any case, I respect your worldview on this but I do not and will not subscribe to it. Thanks for sharing bro.Christmas EbiniSent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone-------- Original message --------From: "Herbert Boh herbertboh@yahoo.com [CAMNETWORKS]" <CAMNETWORKS@yahoogroups.com>Date: 10/4/2015 9:22 AM (GMT-05:00)Cc: CAMNETWORK List <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>, "Bali C. P. C." <boba-list@yahoogroups.com>, Cameroon Politics <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>, Cameroon Group <cameroongroup@yahoogroups.com>, Eyang Forum <eyang-eyang-unity@yahoogroups.com>, Mecadc <mecadc@yahoogroups.com>, upper-bayang-usa@yahoogroups.com, CAM <camnetworks@yahoogroups.com>Subject: [CAMNETWORKS] Re: [amacam] REFLECTING ON JACOB NGUNIDear Ebini,Each of us keeps memories - in writing, in our mind, in albums, etc.We capture, preserve and treasure those moments of life when we had that very brightest of smiles; not pictures immortalizing moments when we were sad or crying; and definitely not moments when we looked less than our very best.As a matter of fact, we go out of our way, smartphones helping these days, to delete pictures memorizing moments with our imperfections.We keep and cherish best memories not because we are not conscious of our many imperfections. Instead, we hope and pray that we may be remembered by the few best contributions we make in this world. We hope that at the end of life's journey that our good side, however limited, when put on the balance will somehow make up for and by far outweigh our bad side, however unlimited.We wish of the dead that they may rest in peace. We wish of their loved ones that they may find comfort in the wonderful memories we kept and share of the dearly departed.In many ways, speaking of the dead is like keeping an album. We save and review and cherish the very best moments. In speaking of the dead, we elect to evoke those moments to help numb our pain of their parting from this world. We refrain from raising issues we had the liberty, time, and opportunity to bring up with them while they were alive but decided not to do so. We resist doing anything that could be perceived as putting the dead on trial "in abstensia". Such is not only our African tradition, but it is a tradition of nearly all peoples.It looks to me - reading you on Big Bro Jacob - that you broke quite a few of the rules in that unwritten and certainly non-binding rulebook.Knowing how Microwave would have lit up the Internet on a Sunday morning with comments and critiques of your reflections on him (were he still with us), I have to imagine that Big Bro Jacob must be turning in his grave in Fiango right now.Boh Herbert
Sent from my iPhoneREFLECTING ON JACOB NGUNIby Christmas Ebini
If there is one gift that I know I have given to myself it would be that of coming to terms with my own mortality. I have come to see life and living with that obvious reality and the constant consciousness that I am only on borrowed time and there should not be any surprises or regrets when the bell tolls that my time is up, irrespective of how, when and where. This mental awareness places me on a healthy psychological engagement with life and the world, with a comfortable locus of control. We are condemned to live as human beings with this paradox of the known and unknown about our own lives. The knowledge that we are going to die some day and somehow and the unknown being that we may never know that some day or that some how. For those who come to this realization, they start preparing for this end of life the very moment they enter the mature stage of human development. They become aware of the vanities, the distractions and the noises that surround our world and our daily living.
For those who listen carefully and attentively, you see and hear those vanities, distractions and noises when someone dies. Immediately the deceased is elevated to sainthood, presented as someone who walked the earth wearing the sanctified sandals of righteousness. The person becomes the man who helped Jesus Christ carry the cross to his slaughter, the person who had no problems, nice to everyone in the house and streets, got along with everyone and never showed any anger or frustration. In short, this person lying there was the best thing ever created after sliced bread. As far as I am concerned Jacob Nguni should deserve better and a far better engagement and reflections on his life now that he is no longer a functional microwave. He cannot burn, he cannot bark, and he will never write back to me on the internet. Oh this life. The vanity of it all. Yes Micro-wave, I am writing about my dear friend and brother. Just like we use to do: the good, the bad and the ugly.
I had gathered a few friends of my wife at an Italian restaurant to celebrate her birthday. When I spoke I said I know some people in our community think very negatively of me. I said it will be wrong and dishonest for people to pretend to say only nice things about me when I die. I said my spirit would rest in peace if people speak truths and their honest feelings about their experiences and perceptions of the life I lived when I die. This is the honor I want to extend to my friend and brother Jacob Nguni
There should be no doubt in anyone's thinking that Jacob was a very talented guitarist. He was an all round intelligent man, with a healthy sense of humor when he wants to be funny and in a good mood but sometimes the humorous side of him could also be a cover, a way of dealing with his own anxieties and worries; to chase away that inner demon that from time to time may possess any of us.. The best moments in Jacob's life was when he was with his guitar especially on stage thrilling his audiences and connecting with people on the dance floor or crowding him on stage to show their recognition by spraying him with dollar bills. At such moments he was on top of the world, feeling himself and showing off his skills and in total control. At such moments there was no room for distractions or negative emotions. No one in such instances would doubt his mastery of his instrument and his feelings for music. He spoke to and with his guitar and the guitar responded, blasting sweet melodious sounds to the excitement and appreciation of the crowd. It is just amazing how I have come to enjoy his musical talents more at his passing , by quietly watching the numerous video footages he left with us. Yes, when Jacob Nguni was on stage with his guitar, the demons that sometimes steal our better selves, are chased away and they are no match for the positive energy that comes from his marriage or union with his guitar. They will have to wait for another day, another time and another place and those demons found great comfort to reclaim their place in Jacob being in demon breeding places like camnet.
When we started the All Cameroonian Cultural Festival, he was my production manager and sound engineer for the four years I was chairman. He was a very important and indispensable asset to the project from inception. He believed passionately in the philosophy behind the ACCDF and gave himself completely to make it successful. He worked long hours late into the night and early hours of the morning to make sure all the music to be danced to by cultural groups were cleaned up and arranged in the order of the program. He was usually the first in the hall to set up the musical instruments and check to make sure the sound system was in the right place. During his tenure as Production Manager and sound engineer, we never had any problem with the music or sound during the festival. To him I attribute and dedicate most of the success of the All Cameroonian Cultural Festival during my era as leader of the ACCDF. This project has lost in Jacob one of the most resourceful and dedicated founding member.
Our community has a terrible way of treating talented people like Jacob Nguni. We lack the ability to sustain quality appreciation for talents and creativity. We use them up and leave them bare. Jacob was a victim of our lame appreciation and shallow comprehension of what people like him represent in society. This pushed Jacob into a hole where he had to be distracted to get himself out of and I can tell you that it can be very painful.
As I sat in church listening to the sermon at his funeral services, the priest's comments opened my eyes to see some reality I had not taken the time to think of in the way he put it. He told a simple but profound message with humor and depth. He told the story of a certain man in his village called Jacob who was known to limp all the time but able to run very fast when the tax collector came to his village to collect taxes. One day the tax collectors had come to the village and loaded in their truck a truck full of villagers who did not have their poll tax. When Jacob saw that, he started running. All the tax collectors started running after Jacob. He ran for a distance and stopped. Then he asked why they were chasing him. They asked him why he was running and asked him to produce his tax. He showed them his taxes, even with those they did not asked for. They left him alone but by the time they returned to their truck, all the people they had arrested had escaped. The rationale of the story he said is that people blessed with musical talents like Jacob Nguni are placed here to entertain us and help us escape from our worries and life concerns. How profound. True Jacob Nguni from time to time used his musical gift to entertain us and helped us, even temporary, escape from our daily worries in a very demanding and stressful world.
It is the practice and culture of the living to talk only of the good of the departed. Thus those chosen to speak of the dead are those who can say only good things and project the strengths in eulogizing the dead. It is like the norm of giving a character reference for a person seeking a job or entrance into a club or school. The bad and weaknesses are only whispered or materials for background gossips. But we all know that the dead lived through the temptations and excesses of life we are all subjected to and Jacob Nguni was no exception.
Jacob Nguni with all his good qualities could be a very difficult person to work with or relate with in some instances. I had a good feel of his dark side as a friend and as Chairman of ACCDF. Although he was a great resource for the cultural festival, I had difficulties getting him to be a consistent team player and providing required accountability over issues related to his committee. Knowing the festival needed his expertise and services, I had to enlist the help of someone who knew him better, could work with him better and provide to the association the required updates and accountability. This is how Mr Ivo Tasong, who later became the Chairman, was co-opted into the production committee. Then came a proposal from Jacob Nguni for musicians to be brought here for the festival. The musicians would not be granted visas if the ACCDF Chairman did not sign the documents inviting them and requesting the embassy for their visas. I worked with Jacob on the documents and signed them. They were granted visas, only for me to realize later that there were people on the list who were not musicians, one of them being Jacob's wife. Jacob realizing that I noticed what had happened, preemptively started attacking and insulting me on the internet. That went on for a while. That did not deter me from being appreciative to him for the work he had done and the sacrifices he made with the production committee of the festival for the four years I was chairman. So when his wife had his son, I went to his house to see the baby. He was very happy and warm. He took his son and gave me to hold and said to his son that is your father for without him you will not be here. I went to see him with Pa Joe Bonie Chungong. He brought a bottle of champagne and said this is for my chief. I gave the drink to Pa Joe to take home for me because I was running late for a Boba meeting. When I got to the meeting, I apologized for coming late because I was visiting Jacob Nguni's baby. Someone blurted out if I really mean to say I can still visit Jacob Nguni and I asked what has Jacob done to me that I will not visit him. I told him Jacob is and remains my friend.
Then came the death of Lapiro. Jacob came to an ACCDF planning meeting and announced the passing of his friend, requesting that we do something. I suggested we arrange a bus ride to Buffalo to attend his funeral. That bus ride took place and we attended his wake and funeral service. Upon leaving Buffalo we agreed that the ACCDF will collaborate with the musicians and Lapiro's village organization to have an event in honor of Lapiro and raise some money for the family in the Washington metro area. When we returned a committee was put in place to plan the event. Things went wrong between Jacob, the organizing committee and Lapiro's family. The communication between Jacob and the organizing committee got so bad that there were toxic exchanges. The event ended up with two partisan and feuding groups. Jacob Nguni with some of the musicians on one side and the organizing committee and Lapiro's family on the other. We ended up having two very separate events for Lapiro and I was one of the very few people who attended both. Jacob even bought me a drink at the one he organized at Crystal with the musicians. The night leading to the event I stayed up all night waiting on Jacob to confirm to me that the event will hold and to give me the venue because I had Dr Peter Vakunta who needed confirmation that the event will hold before boarding the plane. That is how confused
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Posted by: noelebini <noelebini@yahoo.com>
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