Re: [camnetwork] Jackson // Re: Mr. Owona // Re: THE BUSHFALLERS, Prologue

Instead of commenting about Toto Guillaume's Elimbi (a very good Makossa Ambassador...in fact one of the best) in the good Dokta's excellent "Bush Fallers" narrative, methinks, we should focus on the merits and demerits of the phenomenon as chronicled by the historian. It is a scholarly article which has exploitable data that could be used as reference for other research topics in understanding Cameroon Social dynamics. As arrogant and chest thumping as the author usually is, I must admit that he has a very brilliant mind, a very witty penmanship and captures the imagination of what common folks like some of us can only have in our fantasies. But I must hasten to remind everyone reading, that many other Authors have written on this same topic like the example here below:

Mishe Fon

FROM DUST TO SNOW

Traveling and living abroad can be a wonderful and rewarding experience, a dream come true for some, but it can also be a horrific and interminable nightmare. "From Dust to Snow: Bush-Faller" chronicles the true-life experiences of (Bush-Fallers) Africans (primarily Cameroonians), in Europe and the United States. Featuring more than twenty accounts from students, asylum seekers and the employed, contributors in this work of 'edutainment' ferry you through their experiences, first-hand, from the moment the idea of traveling overseas was conceived, through departure emotions, first impressions upon arrival, culture shock, hardships, comic moments, high points of each life, and even re-entry shock, including deportation. One way or the other, you should find yourself on one of the pages of this book, either as a foreigner or as a host. Prepare yourself for what is about to happen; Discover the African Dream, a Dream far bigger than Bush-falling.

This book fits into a very special class of its own. The experiences narrated are myriad yet compelling; they are enriching and inspiring. The timing is exquisite, given the craze, dreams and puzzles that adorn the now popular "bush falling" phenomenon in Cameroon and other developing countries. This is such a rare treasure that must be given its legitimate position on all personal, family and school bookshelves. (Peter Shu-Nfor Tangyie)

Go round Europe and the U.S.A. in a few hours by reading this exciting work. Written in simple, colloquial English, this easy to read but also highly educative book amalgamates on-the-spot experiences from people of all ages, walks of life, social class and sex. It is a must read to all African youths, especially UNIVERSITY students. It is worth more than every dime and calorie you spend on it. Ayu'nwi N. Nebafusi (University of Buea, Cameroon.)

The stories all sound like fiction but they are real life experiences; thrilling, funny, sad, too real to be true. FROM DUST TO SNOW is a recommendable reference for all, the young and the old, dying to "fall bush." Mrs Magarate and Dr Chemuta Banda (President of the Human rights Freedoms Commission, Yaounde Cameroon)

About the Author

Dr Wilfred and Lydia Ngwa were born in Cameroon. As Africans living in Europe and the US, they found themselves in a unique position to interact with many internationals (mostly other Africans) coming for studies, asylum and work. This book would not be possible without the willingness and openness of these people to share their experiences, however joyful or painful; foremost thanks go to them. They are the real authors of the stories.

On Sunday, January 5, 2014 11:00 AM, "ngunimicrowave@aol.com" <ngunimicrowave@aol.com> wrote:

Jackson,

I am 100% sure you are terribly mistaken. FYI, Toto G released "Elimbi" was in 1985 under Production TN label. Toto Guillaume's first album was "Dibonga" released in 1977 under Afro Disc label.

Do not confuse when he made name and when he went solo. Some artists release many song before making their first hit. Most people knew Fela R. Kuti after the release of Lady or Shakara whereas Fela had already released songs "Fogo-Fogo", "Njeun Kwoku", etc., many years before "Lady".

Many also believe that "Sweet Mother" was Prince Nico's first album whereas he had already released many SP's and LP's like "I No Go Marry My Papa", Suffer Dey", "Man Don Tire", etc., many years before the release of "Sweet Mother".

It may be surprising to you that "Elimbi" was the sixth release of Toto Guilaume in 1985. Between his first album "Dibonga" and his sixth "Elimbi", Toto released four other albums under Disques Esperance label.

Micro

In a message dated 1/5/2014 9:28:45 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, jacksonnanje@yahoo.com writes:

Sir. George Owona,

Even the Great Micro is wrong on this one. Toto Guillaume last appearance on Cameroon"s musical platform was in 1984 with the Album "Elimbi na Ngomo" with songs like "Bato ba" and "Ndome" on it. We cannot and should not argue about this. I remember a schoolmate of mine, now a freshman parliamentarian, Bolive Mbanya, rushing into my hostel, on hearing me blast "Bato Ba" across hall screaming "this guy will kill me, this guy will kill me". He was referring to Toto Guillaume. I thought someone was chasing him. That is the same year, 1984, that he left for high school studies. So the year of Elimbi's release cannot be in 1985 as opined by the Great Pa Jacob, and Professor Konde's recollection date of the song's release is way off mark.

     www.nanjecreativethinking.blogspot.com

     www.youtube.com/NanjeMusicProduction

     www.nexsans.blogspot.com

     www.orokousa.org

     www.dideco.org

     www.nexsa.org

"Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping that it will kill your enemy" Nelson Madiba Mandela

"We must not continue to run away and allow our public opinions and the free expression of them become the enterprise of intolerance and incivility" Christmas Ebini

"The Oroko intelligentsia is gifted with an eloquence that does not give blessings to development". Dr. Monica Njanjokuma

  "If you should know how much money you have in your bank account, then you should consider yourself a poor man" Michael Namaya.

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people" Eleanor Roosevelt.

"Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn" Benjamin Franklin

" Creditors have better memories than debtors" Benjamin Franklin

"If the only thing you have in your hand is a hammer, you tend to see everything else as a nail" Abraham Maslow.

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do" Benjamin Franklin

"Freedom granted by the oppressor is never the same as freedom won by the oppressed" Prof. Emmanuel Konde.

--------------------------------------------
On Sun, 1/5/14, Owona Georges Jules <ogeorgesjules@yahoo.com> wrote:

Subject: Re: [camnetwork] Mr. Owona // Re: THE BUSHFALLERS, Prologue
To: "camnetwork@yahoogroups.com" <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "camnetwork@yahoogroups.com" <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Sunday, January 5, 2014, 7:30 AM

Dear Micro,
I don't think Dr Konde made a typing error
because he describes that epoch as the "waning years of
Ahmadou Ahidjo's Cameroon".
Paul Biya was only "appointed" to the
presidency in 1982, three years before Toto Guillaume
released "Elimbi".
Therefore I prefer your second hypothesis, namely
that he missed the point.

Sent from my iPhone 5S

On Jan 5, 2014, at 11:54 AM, ngunimicrowave@aol.com
wrote:

M. Owona,
You are right. I guess Dr.
Konde either made a typo
error or just missed it. Elimbi Na Ngomo
Poso, if that is the
song you guys are talking about, by Toto Guillaume was
released in 1985 and not
1975.

If Dr. Konde was already in
the US by 1985, then he
must be talking of a different song probably from
Les Black
Styl, a band that released some Makossa hit songs
in the 70's like
Mba Na Na with Toto Guillaume on the
lead guitar and
Nkotti Francois on vocals. Toto Guillaume actually went
solo in 1977 and so
could not have released any song as a solo artist on or
before
1975.

I do not know whether Bay
Hotel, Victoria, was even
still functioning (with a live band) in the 80's as it
was in the 70's. In the
70's there were a lot of clubs/bars/hotels with live
bands in the former West
Cameroon.

Victoria had Bay Hotel,
Centenary Hotel and Soul
Jungle at Half Mile.
Tiko had Airport Hotel and
Domino
Bar
Kumba had Lido Bar, Ringo Bar
and Gentil
Bar
Mamfe had Confidence
Hotel
Bamenda had about 7 live bands
at one
point.
Muyuka, Mutengene, Bali and
Mbonge had live bands as
well.

Micro

In a message dated 1/5/2014 3:52:49 A.M. Eastern
Standard Time,
ogeorgesjules@yahoo.com
writes:

Dr Konde,

Accept praises for the excellent narrative.

However, I am a bit sceptical about the fact that you
were gyrating to
the deafening blast of "Elimbi" by Toto Guillame
in Bay Hotel in 1975.

My records may not be very correct and I would not
like to start an
argument with a Professor of History on a historical fact.
Were you really
dancing "Elimbi", by Toto Guillame in 1975? It
seems I danced it much later
when it was just released.

Sent from my iPhone 5S

On Jan 5, 2014, at 8:48 AM, Emmanuel Konde <ekonde07@yahoo.com>

wrote:

THE
BUSHFALLERS
____________________________________

Rise of a
New Breed of Cameroonians

Emmanuel
Konde

Prologue

A new
kind of
Cameroonian, either derogatively or approvingly
designated as
bushfaller in his native land, was conceived in
the 1970s by a
variety of social forces that intersected and then
converged to give
social birth to this formidable breed in the early
1990s.
These forces, mainly political and economic,
also contributed to
the inauguration of a quasi-multiparty political
system in the erstwhile
single-party state of Cameroon, and, accordingly
unleashed a new ethos of
aggressiveness among Cameroonians hitherto known for
their passivity as a
people who were always seen but seldom heard.
Bushfallers, the
human product of these forces of social change, are
not only smart,
determined, daring, calculating, enterprising, at once
assertive and
aggressive, but also seemingly
unstoppable. There seems
to be nothing that this edition of bushfallers
cannot accomplish if
they set their minds on it. These
are the new exports
of Cameroon to the world. They are
out to make money,
the one thing that sets them apart from many
generations before, and the
one and only thing that compelled them to venture out
of the Land of
Promise into foreign lands far and wide.

Markedly different
from their antecedents who traveled abroad for various
reasons, the
driving force behind this driven breed is money.
Again, unlike their
antecedents, bushfallers never forget their
roots.
They are first and foremost Cameroonians,
nationalists of sorts,
and totally devoid of tribal sentiment; they love
their country, eschew
tribal affiliations, are determined to make an
indelible mark on the
history of Cameroon, and to that end are making magic,
literally, by their
own exertions. This new breed is
transforming Cameroon
from the coastal town of Limbe through Kumba to the
Bamenda
hinterlands. Former shanty towns
are being remade by
the remittances of bushfallers.
Here and there
marvelous buildings sprout from the soil like the corn
crop. Indeed, even
in the Bassa quartier Nkong Mondo in Douala,
Francophone
bushfaller wealth filtering into Cameroon from
Gabon, Côte
d'Ivoire, France, etc., is wreaking wonders there to
the utter amazement
of Bamileke merchants who once thought of the Nkong
Mondo Bassa
youths as lazy and un-enterprising.

Never before has Cameroon beheld
a marvel like the one being wrought almost everywhere
in the country by
bushfallers. It is
improbable that such a
breath-taking marvel could again be fashioned in the
future; neither shall
the country ever again behold a breed in the likeness
of
bushfallers. This newness,
this
transformation of the Cameroonian being is
novel as it is unique
and epochal.

Bushfaller wealth is also transforming the
lives of many in
their respective families, clans, tribes, and the
entire country. Because
of the special qualities of bushfallers, this
breed constitutes the
wave of the future of Cameroon. What is not clear at
this time, however,
is whether this new wave of change represented by
bushfallers
portends good or ill for Cameroon.
Admittedly, the
ultimate end of "bushfallerism" in Cameroon is a
prognosis too premature
to make at this juncture. Time
will, however,
tell.
The
emphasis on
bushfallers should not be misconstrued as a
denigration of
non-bushfaller achievements; for, we recognize
that
bushfallers were assisted by their older
brothers and sisters who
either preceded them to Mbengue Europa and
Mbengue Amerika,
or labored in the Fatherland to ensure the advancement
of their
brethren. But the visible
achievements of the
Cameroonians who first ventured abroad simply fade
into insignificance
when compared to those of bushfallers. On this
conclusion I stake
my reputation as an observer of social change in
Cameroon..
I write
as a social
philosopher and student of history, whose task is to
interpret and explain
the workings of the social order as accurately as
possible. I examine how
individuals and groups behave in society; I analyze
the actions of
individuals and aggregations and draw general
conclusions from these about
society. From this vantage point, I
am able to discern
a striking social phenomenon that has been unfolding
before our very own
eyes during the past 16 years or so.
This phenomenon is
now taking concrete form. Its locus
of incubation is
the Fatherland, Cameroon. Although
there was in fact a
commingling of variables that ushered in this
bushfaller
phenomenon, I have decided to isolate a few pivotal
ones that influenced
the making of this new breed.
My last
teenage
escapade in Cameroon happened in Victoria, present-day
Limbe, in
1975. We were in Bay Hotel one
Sunday afternoon dancing
to Makossa during "Tea Time" when a scuffle ensued
between one local boy
and a military man over a girl. I
was inside gyrating
to the deafening blast of Toto Guillaume's
Elimbi and did not
witness the scuffle. The soldier
carried a pistol,
which he pulled out. He did not
fire a single
shot. But the mere sight of a small
gun sent more than
100 civilians running helter-skelter for dear
life. I
was one of those civilians, and those were the waning
years of Ahmadou
Ahidjo's Cameroon when some contemporary
bushfallers were either
toddlers or yet-to-be-born. Fast
forward to 1991,
sixteen years later during the teenage years of our
bushfallers now
come of age. We behold them
battling armed soldiers
with fists and stones during "Operation Ghost
Town" under the auspices of
John Fru Ndi. From all apparent
indications, a lot had
happened in Cameroon that created something of a
generational gulf between
my teenage years and those of our
bushfallers.
It is that something, which distinguishes the
new breed of
Cameroonian, that this work promises to unravel.

The
years between
1975 and 1991 something happened in Cameroon that
transformed the
generations after into creatures radically
different from the
before generations. This
work is about the
generations after. It traces their
development through
the prism of Cameroon's political history. As the
first generation of
Cameroonians born under the United Republic of
Cameroon, their character
reflects the political changes of their
country. They
attained maturity with the political maturity of
Cameroon.
When in the early-1990s Operation Ghost Town
released Cameroonians
from the dictatorship of the Cameroon People's
Democratic Movement (CPDM),
an offshoot of Ahidjo's Cameroon National Union
(CNU), the children of the
Unitary State were the foot soldiers of this struggle
and contributed to
the making of the new epoch President Paul Biya aptly
called the "New Deal
Society". Born in chains, these children were
released from their chains
by the promises of Biya's New Deal Society, which
opened up the closed
society of Ahidjo's "Old Oder" and gave vent to
Fru Ndi's "Operation Ghost
Town".
If
Operation Ghost
Town provided them freedom domestically, the forces of
globalization
extended this freedom internationally. By the late
1990s the would-be
bushfallers were looking outward to the larger
world for those
things that the sagging Cameroon economy could not
offer them.
Once abroad, their intermittent visits to
Cameroon, which revealed
behaviors, attitudes, and showmanship until them
unseen in Cameroon won
them the sobriquet bushfallers—those who fall
bush (chappia bush),
work (plant), and after harvesting come home to show
off their newly
acquired….
The
Bushfallers:
Rise of a New Breed of Cameroonians is the story of their origins,
growth, and
transformative power. As chronicler
of the compelling
story, that follows, I cannot help it but echo the
sentiment of American
sociologist C. Wright Mills: "I will try to be
objective; I do not claim
to be detached," for, I am an offspring of Cameroon
and can therefore not
pretend detachment by any stretch of the
imagination.
This
exegesis is an
exposé of bushfallers cast within the context
of some defining
moments in the history of Cameroon from 1960 to the
present. It does not
attempt to pass judgment on this new breed because
they defy social
conventions and their proper place in the social order
is yet to be
defined. The narrative style
employed in this expose is
the motif, drawn from music, whereby certain
musical patterns recur
time and time again throughout the piece.
In the case
of this work, instead of musical patterns the focus of
emphasis is on
ideas, which are reiterated over and over again at
different points and in
different chapters of this work.
This narrative
strategy is adopted in order to drive home the
significance of the rise of
bushfallers and the role that history seems to
have pre-determined
for them. But, will they defy
historical imperative?

Emmanuel
Konde
Albany,

Georgia

"The problem of power is how to get men of
power to live for the
public rather than off the public." Robert F.
Kennedy

<THE BUSHFALLERS -
Prologue.docx>