THE STICKING POINTS OF LANGUAGE

(Memories of my years as a student at Sacred Heart College, Mankon)


By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I use the term, “language” here in the broad sense, so that it carries in its wake both meanings of language as a human faculty of speech and a system of arbitrary codes. Having said that, I must state that the inspiration for this particular linguistic discussion is the five-year period I spent at Sacred Heart College in Mankon, but especially my first year at the institution. My batch entered Form One in September 1970, the 14th of September to be precise. For me this was going to be the real dawn of a new era because here I was in this strange new world doing an unprecedented number of school subjects, each of which was a language in its own right. So I had the language of English, the Language of Literature, the Language of French, the Langue of Physics and the Language of mathematics. This was a far cry from what I had experienced at St. Francis` School Bambili, more intimately known by its Agyi`I Mbelighi (the Bambili language) name, Ntse Ywi , a reference to the big stream located nearby.

Premature departure

Although I suppose it was so for my classmates, I must say that although the experience was exhilarating and exalting, it also exacted a toll on me, psychologically. The problem was that I was not ready for college when I went to Sacred Heart College. The reason is that I left Class Six straight for college without transiting through Class Seven, unlike my classmates. Before you jump to the conclusion that I was “intelligent”, let me point out that I repeated Class Six. That was because in my first year in Class Six, I started the year in the second term. Throughout the first term, I was hospitalized, firstly at the Bamenda General Hospital. As the situation worsened, I was discharged, probably “to die at home”. However, a relative told my parents that if I was taken to the Presbyterian Hospital in Acha Tugi, Momo Division.

I was received in Out Patients by three Dutch doctors, two of whom were female, unless I am wrong. After examining me for about ten minutes that looked like ten hours – for so much was I in pain, coughing agonizingly – it was decided I should be admitted. I was taken to a ward which had both children and adults. I was in hospital for a month and two weeks, looked after by mother, now of blessed memory but after whom I have named one of my daughters – the eldest daughter and child, Abu. When my father visited us at the hospital three weeks later, he did not recognize me as I played in the forecourt with other children. I had put on an incredible amount of weight and did not look like a patient. When I was discharged from hospital, it was already the Christmas break. So I had no choice than to wait to start school after New Year’s Day, in other words, at the beginning of the second term. This was how I met Mr. John Njende, a new teacher who had arrived and was assigned Class Six B. The teacher of Class Six A in that year was a Mr. Tanteh, whose nephews Godfrey Ngang Soh and Daniel Mukalah (Danny Muks) were later to to be my classmates at Sacred Heart.

I had a lot of respect for Mr. Njende. Perhaps it is because right from Day One, he and I struck a perfect note that has lasted to this day. At the end of that term, I passed my exams, but just about. When the third term came, I again passed, doing better that in the second term and was promoted to Class Seven. However the teacher called me and strongly advised that I should repeat Class Six because I had been robbed of a whole term which in his opinion would haunt me all my life if I did not rectify it. During the long holidays, he told my father with whom he was friends and my father bought his idea. As the near school year opened and I went to school, I secretly prayed that all that stuff about repeating Class Six should be only a bad dream. But it was not. The last straw came when on that first day at school, Mr. Njende sent for me and showed me to a new teacher – I believe he was Mr. Nfor -who immediately told me that it was in my interest to repeat the class. He gave two reasons which were that I was still very young and that it was necessary for me to fill in the gap created by my illness. I acquiesced. In that class I wrote the Common Entrance examination and went to Sacred Heart College.

Mr. Njende was a remarkable and outstanding teacher who had an enviable command of the English Language. I have immortalized him by making him a leading character in the short story, ONE OF A KIND, in THE WOODEN BICYCLE AND OTHER STORIES collection, full details of which can be obtained by accessing the address on Google.

The fact that I was not psychologically ready for college affected my performance. One point is that when I sat in my classroom, Form One `A`, on a day of clear weather I could clearly see Baforkum, the small but conspicuous Baforchu village that migrated to Bambui, up at the Agric Farm, and where I was actually born and bred, despite what my national identity card and I say. Sitting at my desk on such days, I was able to make out specific spots such at the Baforkum Presbyterian Church, and sometimes, even cows grazing in the numerous cow fences out there. So, how on earth could I concentrate in Class? There were a number of direct consequences to this attitude. One was that our Biology teacher, a prince of Bafut called Mr. Achirmbi made it a point to give us a dictated test on each topic he treated. Since it was oral, passing necessitated good listening skills which I did not have because of the distraction from which I suffered. Fortunately for me, before the year ended, Mr. Achirmbi was transferred to the Regina Pacis College in Mutengene. What I missed most about him was his favorite expression, “did you get that?’ So exit Mr. Achirimbi and enter Mr. Stephen Njong, a highly talented man who made it with flying colours from the Primary school classroom to where he was. By dint of an unbendable ambition, he later went to Nigeria and Britain where he obtained a Bachelor’s, Master’s and MPhil degrees.

Mr. Njong was a welcomed relief for me because he did not test us after each topic as such. He was always prepared to explain again if there was need. He taught his lessons with rare rapture and he never raised a hand or cane at any child. His classical punishment for wrong doing was: “Give yourself a large knock on the head!” Mr. Njong was an extraordinary man with unparallel devotion to duty. Mr. Njong masterminded the school farm which became a huge success. The only problem that arose form thw farm ,as far as I know, was a simple misunderstanding between him and Francis Ngwa Njong (no relation of his) . This was over management of the yams that had been harvested from the school farm. But the misunderstanding was soon cleared up and everyone lived happily thereafter. After teaching us Biology in Form One, Mr. Njong taught us the same subject in Form Two. When we got to Form Three he taught us Geography and got us particularly carried away by his mastery of physical geography. He marveled us with aspects such as truncated spurs, the various stages in the life span of a river, sand dunes and the geomorphology of soils and erosion. Pa Njong, as we students referred to him, also taught us biology in Form Three. His biology classes were equally lively and arresting. His famous question form was, “Write short notes on…” The topic could be ocean currents, the EEC and its foundation, or stalactites and stalagmites for geography, or the heart, the eye or the digestive system, the cell or photosynthesis, if we were in a biology lesson. Whenever examinations were near, Pa Njong always told us: “Make sure you draw large diagrams!”

Miracle in class

When we got to Form Five, Mr. Njong performed what might be called a miracle in the sense that he was made to teach Economics as a totally new subject. He had four students to begin with. Then after the mock exam the principal advised me to drop Chemistry since I was an arts student anyway, and take up Economics. I did and became the fifth student. In the end, four out of the five passed, earning the teacher a clear 80 per cent pass. I feel I must strongly pay someone a tribute here because I gave him money on an outing day so that he could buy me the book which was entitled: “Economics for West Africa” which I used religiously and today can proudly count economics as one of my `O` Level subjects. That student was Valentine Vando, at the time in Form Two.

Surely, because of the time factor, I can not talk about all my Sacred Heart teachers. But I must mention Sylverius Mbuye who had a good relationship with students big and small. Obviously he was a stout man, a factor which could make one fear him without provocation. But deep inside of him, reposed a Christian and fatherly heart. That is why he was never known to have hit a student. Nonetheless, that point is not within the scope of the present study whose purpose is to reminisce about my alma mater with emphasis on the language facet. A case in point is the incident my classmate Paul Nkwawo Njofang created when one morning during breakfast, he decided to carry all the “gateaux” that were meant for his table, much to the dismay of the twelve other table members. This was in the Form Five compartment, next to the Form Two compartment which I controlled with Ngwa Emmanuel Tahmundungnji Munanjo Eugene, he as House Captain for St. John’s House and Class Prefect for Form 2A, and I as Assistant House Captain and Class Prefect for Form 2B. When Mr. Mbuye stormed into the dormitory barking: “Njofang, where is Njofang please! Where are those gateaux?” Njofang at once capitulated: ‘They are here and I am bringing them, sir!”. Njofang had a towel tied around his wait as he was just emerging from the bathroom/toilet. To this day, I can not tell whether after returning the booty, Njofang was punished for the “crime.” But I will ask him some day, perhaps any time I see him after I have published this account. Mr. Mbuye had taught History and geography in Forms Four and Five for so many years that he mastered the manner in which the London Board (at the time the GCE was administered in London as a British examination) set its questions. Consequently, he knew what to lay emphasis on and what to leave out, when teaching. The proof is that in the year we wrote the `O` Levels, the entire class passed in Mr. Mbuye`s two subjects. So Mr. Mbuye scored 100% twice.

A secret agent in civilian clothes

Students nicknamed him, “Agent de Terre” because he was good at tracking down those who stole themselves out of the campus in order to have a good time in town. Although Mr. Mbuye did not beat, he used his good mastery of the English language to keep us students in check. He was fond of asking a student, holding out his huge fist: “Have you ever tested the weight of my palm?” He had a nephew in our class by the name Charles Bongjoh. Bongjoh was the son of his elder sister. Because we nicknamed Mr. Mbuye “Agent de Terre”, we extended it to his nephew and therefore called both of them by the same name. In the case of Charles, it was just a way of “spiting” him, a case of friendly fire, if you like. Incidentally, when I entered primary school, in Bambili, Bongjoh`s mother was my first teacher and believe it or not, Bongjoh was my class mate in that year. So our entrance into Sacred Heart at the same was a logical continuation of what we had started earlier. After our `O`Levels, we were both among those who went on to do the Lower and Upper Sixth in CCAST Bambili. Mr. Mbuye once told us that he had at one point or another taught each and every one of the Cameroonian teachers at the school. He had taught some in primary school, an example being Mr. Njong whom he said he once carried on his back to cross a bridge, literarily and not figuratively. He taught others such as Mr. Nkimbeng, who took us in history and geography in Form One, and Mr. Weriwoh who taught us French in Form Three and occasionally in Four and Five when the teacher, the principal, Bro. John Phillips was absent.

A different slant to things

One man entered the Sacred Heart scene and hit the ground running. His name was Jerome Nsom. He had an imposing physique and countenance and we were made to understand that he was once principal of the Catholic Teachers` Training College (TTC) in Tatum, Bui Division. Mr. Nsom took us in Religious Studies in Forms Three, Four and Five. He knew his subject matter well and delivered it ably. Sometimes, we politely disagreed with him. That was when we felt that a particular slant he was giving a lesson was unlikely to help us at the GCE and we pointed this out to him. He would say: “I don’t teach the GCE, I teach Religious studies.” Having said that, he would just continue along the path he had charted unabashed. He was fond of entering the classroom carrying his car keys with which he toyed while teaching. He hardly sat on the teacher’s chair. Instead, he would raise one leg and put it on the chair, lean on the knee of that leg and teach. But there was some trouble when he left the classroom and was succeeded by Mr. Ralph Awa who took us in English Literature. Speaking in general terms Mr. Awa would denounce “people who can` make proper use of furniture put at their disposal”. `We found it interesting that Mr. Nsom ranked himself among leading theologians because once in a while, and as the need arose he would say: “Some theologians say, but I say…” Mr. Nsom was a man of few words who hardly told us stories in class. He came, he taught and he left. Today, he enjoys a quiet retirement in Cow Street, Bamenda. When I ran into him last year or so, he was so exited he took me by the hand and led me to his compound. After that he took me to a drinking place and we shared a drink. We recalled the good old days and when I drew his attention to the theologianship reference; he laughed out loud and asked whether I knew that after he left Sacred, he found himself teaching English Language, which he said produced equally good results. Mr. Nsom told me that one of his students elsewhere, Dr. Nkobena Fontem and other mates of his, went down memory lane and recalled that whenever he came into the classroom, he would open the door, look in and ask the class: “Am I here?”, to which the students would chorus by responding, “Yes, sir!”. Then he would go in.

What’s in a name

I mentioned Mr. Ralph Awa. He co-taught us English in Form One, with the school chaplain Fr. Mac Mahon, an Irishman who worked alongside the Reverend Brothers of the school, all of whom, it appears, came from Scotland. They were the principal, Brother John Phillips; Bro. Norbert the vice principal, who taught chemistry in the upper classes, Bro. Douglas who taught physics in the upper classes and Bro. Joseph who taught French. We had two Cameroonian Reverend Brothers who were Bro. Denis Ngo from Nso and Bro. Anthony from Fontem. I remember the latter case well because Bro. Anthony was fond of speaking to our classmate, Mofor Richard Njinkia in the Bangwa language. The principal was nicknamed, `Johnnie` and `Kanas` (a reference to the male genitals, for reasons which I do not know), Bro. Norbert was given the name, `Scot`; Bro. Anthony was nicknamed `Njoh` and when later Bro. Joseph arrived he was named `Whiteman Njoh` while Bro. Anthony was rebaptized, `Blackman Njoh`.

For some reason, the authorities decided that one of the staff should eat with the students in the refectory in order to set an example of good table manners for the students. The lot fell on Bro. Anthony. So while the table was being set, he would be served on the raised platform in the middle of the refectory. I remember he used to tell us: “When you eat your food, make sure you leave particles of food in your plate.” I do not remember if we actually gave Bro. Denis a name but what I do remember is that up till today, when we classmates remember him, we say: “What happened too soon?” , which is an allusion to a character in the novel by Anthony Hope entitles, “Prisoner of Zenda”, which he taught us in Form Two. The answer was, “Antoinette de Mauban cried too soon.”

I recall an incident that happened between me and Bro Joseph. This was when we were now in Form Five. I was Assistant House Captain for St. John’s House and therefore Class Prefect for Form Two `B`. The role of Form Master at Sacred Heart was down played with huge powers being instead invested in the prefects who came from Form Five. While as Assistant House Captain for St. Johns I was in charge of Form Two `B`, my long time friend (because many years later we both lived in Britain) Emmanuel Ngwa Tahmundungnji was the House Captain and therefore Class Prefect for Form Two `A`. One day when I was in “my class” supervising private study, Bro. Joseph walked in. Since I was seated at the front, on the teacher’s seat (which was what all Class Prefects did during prep time) I rose and offered to clean the board because there was some information the Brother wanted to write out. He stopped me at once and asked whether if I helped him to clean the board on that day, I would also do so the following day and the previous day. Thereupon, he grabbed the duster from my hand and cleaned the board by himself. I was not surprised, neither was the class, because we knew that was Bro. Joseph all over.

Among the students over whom I had charge in Form Two were Enow Egbe Abrams, today Governor of the Adamawa Province. In that year I appointed him my Class Monitor with Solomon Kilo as the Assistant. Later, I was carrying out some enquiry in class during which I felt Enow had responded to me rudely. So I replaced him with Solomon Kilo, and appointed Gwanmesia as the Assistant. In 2008 when I was working at CRTV Ngaoundere, Culture Minister Ama Tutu Muna arrived on an official visit. When the governor accompanied her back to her hotel, he asked the Minister, jokingly, whether she knew I was his “Monsieur” (a Sacred Heart College manner of addressing a senior student at the time). He spiced up the joke further by asking whether I knew that for all the punishment I gave him at Sacred Heart, he was now in a position to order the gendarmes or police to arrest me and lock me up. He and the minister and I had a good laugh about it. It was joke that went down well.

Other members of the class whom I can remember were John Ngale, Peter Suh, Luke Mbony, John Foncha, Tamajong and Tamajong (brothers whose first names I forget now), Henry Anye Chi, Patrick Akuma, Andreas Shinwin, Chiambeng, Fossoh, the current Fon of Bamendakwe and Thomas Amibang.

The Voice of London

Let us return to Mr. Ralph Awa, our English teacher in Form One. He struck us very strongly by bringing life into the English language class. He brought to us real life situation captured by records which he played, giving us the chance to hear English spoken by native speakers. Many of us particularly remember the one about a boy watching his grandfather fly off in a plane:

“Far up in the sky
Far up in the sky
Grand father’s flying away
Far up in the sky!”

There was also the one about Innocent and his orange. What interested us most in that recording was the liaison made between the letter `s` of `his` and the `o` of orange to give: “Innocent has eaten his orange already”. Mr. Awa told us interesting stories
Including one in which he said in order to survive in London while he was training as an English teacher; he had to wash dishes in a kitchen. His stories drove our imagination wild in terms of imagining what London looked like. Mr Ralph Awa was wild. He could beat. Throughout my five years at Sacred Heart, he was the one who gave me the beating of my life. This happened when those of us who were members of the choir failed to turn up for practice on a Saturday. It would appear that when Mr. Awa as the teacher in charge got wind of things, he fetched a whip and beat us as we arrived. I remember running to the stairs leading to the Form One dormitories from the Main Building, and sobbing for long, hoping I could leave school and go back home, for never in primary school or at home had I ever received such a thrashing. Unfortunately, that decision did not depend on me. So, I had to swallow my pride and nurse my wounds. In later years at the college, I was to learn that Mr Awa was my in-law because his sister, Ma Theresa married my uncle, Peter Mokom Ngu. But all along, Mr Awa knew that relationship.

French with a difference

Perhaps the teacher who marked me most at Sacred Heart was Mr Weriwoh Godfrey who is today a Doctor-Colonel and Inspector of the Armies in the Cameroon Defence Forces. Although a science students, Mr Weriwoh was very good at French when at Sacred Heart. My batch did not meet his batch though. It seems that his batch graduated in June 1975 and we came into Form One in September. After that he went on to CCAST Bambili for his `A` levels. After he obtained them, he returned to Sacred and taught for some years before going to train in Yaounde as a medical doctor and an army officer. At this time we were in Form Three. He took us in French in that class, thus succeeding Mr Kingsley Ndi who had taught us in Form Two. Mr Weriwoh gave us a very solid grammatical background in French. In fact, when I later became a French teacher myself, I used his methods in class. That was at the Bui College of General Education in Kumbo, Province Comprehensive College in Bamenda and the City College of Commerce in the same time. Later on, I taught French at Aylestone High School in London, the John Loughborough School, in London, and Halyard High School in Luton, still in England.

At some point while still in the United Kingdom, I learned Spanish, won a scholarship jointly offered by the European Union and the Government of Spain, which enabled me to travel to Salamanca in Spain along with 25 other Teachers of Spanish for whom Spanish was the second teaching language. My first was obviously French. Even so, there were some colleagues whose first was either Italian or German or Portuguese or even Russian. I have found Mr. Weriwoh`s modern language teaching methodology quite useful in my Spanish classes as well. When we got to Form Five, the same teacher taught us Human Biology, a subject in which we scored a hundred per cent at the GCE. One other thing that amazed me about him was the fact that he usually did not come to class with prepared notes. He taught from his head. Today I am in close touch with the Colonel-Doctor. In fact when I traveled to Cameroon from London in 1988 as an invitee of the Head of State to cover the presidential and legislative elections of that year, he gave me a rousing reception at his residence in Maroua where he was working at the time. On that trip, I traveled with three journalists from Paris, also invited by the Head of State for the elections. We spent about ten days here in Cameroon, during which we visited the Centre, Littoral, South West and Far North Provinces.

My relationship with the French language has evolved in a rather interesting manner. When we arrived in Form One, Ngwa Emmanuel Tahmundungnji who has become a lifelong friend and brother could speak French which he had picked up while in the South West Province. I remember he spoke French often with Christopher Chwingum Tangie (then in Form Two) whenever they met. I failed in French when we moved from Form One to Form Two, perhaps as a result of the nostalgia from which I suffered. But something revolutionary happened while I was in Form Two. In that year, I had moved from one of the two Form One dormitories to my main House, St. John’s dormitory. One day in the dormitory I stumbled across a copy of the NEW SIMPLER FRENCH COURSE belonging to my Big, Agha Mathias Manoji who was then in Form Four. This was the set text book used in Form Five. When I went through it and read Section Five which was on grammar, I suddenly realized that I could speed up my learning of the language by acquiring as much grammar and vocabulary as possible. That was what I did and by the time I got to Form Five, I had beaten Ngwa Emmanuel in the subject and grabbed the first prize in French when prizes were being awarded to Form Five students.

Despite this glowing report about French, my story about Mathematics is a different one. While in Form Two, I tried surrendering my meat in the refectory to classmates who were good at the subject to teach me. It did not work. Then in addition to the meat I paid money. It still did not work. By the time I got to Form Five, I had dropped mathematics. In this encounter with mathematics, the comforting words that “mathematics is a language just like any other language”, certainly did not work for me. But then, there is the saying that in life, “you win some and you lose some”.

School roll in the academic year 1970-1971

Below is a form-by-form list of the students I remember were at Sacred Heart, when we were in Form One. The list is bound to contain omissions because I have simply written it from memory as I remember the names.

FORM ONE

1. Charles Awasom Ndeh
2. Charles Bongnjoh (Agent de Terre)
3. Akoh Christopher Azenui. (Akoh A.)
4. Akoh Christopher Fon. (Akoh F.)
5. Charles Mengale (Zaire}
6. John Ebong (Jones, from the novel, ANIMAL FARMby George Orwell)
7. Christopher Tamasang
8. Joseph Mubang (Zoss)
9. Geore Keka Atanga (Papi}
10. Charles Mbah (Charlot)
11. Gilbert Fondufe
12. Isaac Tah (Background)
13. Johnson Konfor
14. Emmanuel Chinkam (Chinky)
15. Romanus Tatah Shey
16. David Apana Akaragwe (Denkus)
17. Emmanuel Matike (Alui)
18. Henry Tayong
19. Robert Azonga Mbah (today, Tikum Mbah Azonga) [Doh]
20. Michael Tandiba
21. Celestine Ndifor (Bismark)
22. Charles Nyinying Ful
23. John Talie
24. Valentine Fortingo
25. Richard Tse Mbuh
26. Godfrey Ngang Nsoh Old Chanka, fromEkwensi) the novel, BURNING GRASS, by
Cyprian
27. Joseph Tibui (Joe Lewis)
28. Paul Nkwawo Njofang
29. Ngwa Emmanuel Tahmundungnji
30. Ambrose Mado
31. Gabriel Okorezi
32. Tima Donald (Fish)
33. Daniel Mukala (Danny Muks)
34. Rudolph Anukwe (Sokugu)
35. Jacon Bella Takom
36. Atuh Bernard (A Tout Casser)
37. Jospeh Ntalabe (Animals Without Backbones)
38. Raphael Obi Ndubuisi
39. David Chiawa Sama
40. Cuthbert Ambe Fontein (Chinese)
41. Emmanuel Abingwo Amuntung
42. Anselm Viyof (Ansco)
43. Michael Ndefru
44. Christopher Nche (Taboo)
45. George Asafor (1500, pronounced as `One Five`)
46. Henry Joko
47. Gaston Pufong (Pufs)
48. Philip Acho
49. Philip (later, Terence) Gwanmesia
50. Tiku Etchi
51. Francis Angwafor Ndeh
52. Cyprian Cho Tidzem
53. Richard Ghogomu (Ghogs)
54. Ngoh John Ngoh (Django)
55. Francis Konsey (Adamo, after the French musician who sang, `Mademoiselle,
attendez, vous emportez mon Coeur dans votre sac à main)
56. Protus Mabu
57. Joseph Tamamkag Ndeh
58. Samuel Nji Ngang (Slim)
59. Nicodemus Awasom (Nicks)
60. Denis Nchituh (Kemba, after the character in Practical French Book One by
Sam Pratt and Bhely Queenum)
61. Julius Gana Fofang (Sly)

FORM TWO

1. Gregory Cheo
2. Gregory Chefor
3. Venantius Ngwanya
4. Paulinus Jua
5. Joseph Atowo Asafor
6. Joseph Aziah
7. Christopher Chwingum Tangie
8. Innocent Forbin
9. Jacon Mbah
10. Henry Bongwa
11. Rudolph Nguti
12. Julius Awuba
13. Christopher Ngwasiri (Bob)
14. Joseph Kom (Jang Tong)
15. Francis Ngwa Njong (Dara Ngwa OR Dara Jing Jang)
16. Tangie Emmanuel
17. Gaston Mofor
18. Gha`a Nchotu
19. Francis Sama (Joker)
20. Dingha
21. Augustine Tuma
22. Justus Fofung
23. Tima Charles
24. Nwankwo
25. Abongwa Mathew
26. Mathias Tambe Eno
27. Jumbam Denis
28. Roland Kangkolo
29. Gabriel Anyigwi
29. George Achini
30. John Atanga (Trap)
31. Christian Awa
32. George Ntum
33. Clement Nusimbang
34. Apollo Lenjo Kilo
35. Peter Lebaga

N.B.: The names numbered 34 and 35 were kindly forwarded to me by George Ntum, a member of that class, after he read my account.

TMA

FORM THREE

1. Johnny John Che (JJC)
2. Kwende Achu
3. Ban Blaise
4. Robert Angu (Supreme)
5. Peter Nche
6. Charles Bello (Brokis)
7. Gwanmesia
8. Nforbekoh
9. Martin Cho (Krobo)
10. Kamnga Robert
11. Fomunyam
12. Maranga Gabriel (Jones, still from the novel, ANIMAL FARM)
13. Peter Nche
14. Michael Agangu (Mike Hammer)
15. Bartholomey Tanyi
16. George Boma
17. Visas Patrick
18. Edward Sakwe
19. Pius Tondio
20. Fabien Suh Fomanji
21. Ayuk Augustine Ayuk
22. Robert Sama (Bob)
23. Justin Fomanka
24. Maxwell Jing
25. Venatius Fon Atang (Vena)
26. Michael Fossuh
27. Ndifornka Pius
28. Asanji Charles
29. Fontem Peter Tegwi
30. Nwana Martin
31. George Akwa Kijita
32. Eric Bungo
33. Samuel Bujang
34. Ali Sule
35. Jude Diyen
36. Robert Kamga
37. John Ntum (Wool)
38. Jospeph Okenyi


FORM FOUR

1. Ngang Frederick (Man Mountain))
2. George Angwafor
3. Eric Tamajong
4. Agha Mathias (Poche)
5. Eric Fogham (Otis)
6. Appolo Tchalla
7. Aloysius Bongwa (Mokoko)
8. Mokom
9. Ngenge (Wild)
10. Sebastian Tangwe (Background)(Canoe}
11. Akwanka Joe Ndifor
12. Melone Francis Mbe
13. George Atanga
14. Thaddeus Fon (Torture)
15. Denis Bangu
16. Charles Ndikum (Afeh)
17. Thomas Ngang
18. Enongene
19. Enongwa
20. Fon Felix
21. Charles Ntah (`Put me down`, a reference to words allegedly spoken by Vice Principal, Bro. Norbert, when angered by something he did, Charles lifted him with the intention of throwing him down)
22. Jude Mua
23. Charles Sine (Sine, pronounced like `sine` in the mathematical notion, `sines and co sines)
24. Patrick Nkimbeng
25. Valentine Patcha
26. Chuwa Isaac
27. Martin Abongbong Chungong (Marshall)
28. Galega Junior
29. Peter Nfonte (Quiet Please)
30. Ngwanya Senior
31. John Mawo
32. Thaddeus Wule (Bob)
33. Nanji Christopher(Bob)
34. Martin Mbanga
35. Ebai
36. Asanji the man in charge of the water tank
37. Sango John
38. Martin Chaffah
39. Samba (The left hander)
40. Anthony Atabong
41. Richard Chin
42. Robert Ghogomu
43. Felix Mbayu
44. Thaddeus Ndiyob
45. Anthony Pasiah
46. Ralph Mofor
47. Simon Tamutan
48. Charles Tangie
49. Azeh Blaise Nkwenti.

N.B: The names in Form Four numbered 40-49 were kindly forwarded to me by Dr. Azeh Blaise Nkwenti who was a member of the class, after he read my account.

TMA



FORM FIVE

1. Joseph Sango
2. Foma Benedict
3. Simon Acho
4. Cletus Acho (Speedie)
5. Bernard Ngoh
6. Zukumbia (a Sudanese)
7. Patrick Tayong
8. Ernest Anomah Echu (Echu)
9. Joseph Ngu (Wool)
10. Vincent Ojong
11. James Tafon
12. Joseph Akumawah
13. Emmanuel Bongwa
14. Francis Kume
15. Thomas Nuza
16. Charles Ful
17. Ben Natang Jua
18. Pius Sinkep
19. Theophilus
20. Gabriel Ngiliwi
21. Ebua
22. Eric Ngwa
23. Vincent Mfonfu
24. Njeke Ngwa
25. Tangiri
26. Lucas Fon (Ante)
27. Peter Oben
28. Galega Senior
29. Jude Fokum
30. Nkwadi
31. Nchotu Sylvester
32. Nchotu Francis
33. Nkwadi
34. Jude Fokum


Fast forward to Form Five

Here below for what it is worth, is the student Government as it looked when we got to Form Five (1974-1975). Again this is from my memory.

1. Senior Prefect (SP) – Joseph Tamankag
2. Assistant Senior Prefect (ASP) – John Sanjoh Aloh
3. St. John`s House Captain- Tahmundungnji Munajo Eugene
4. St. John`s Assitant House Captain – Robert Azonga Mbah (today, Tikum Mbah Azonga)
5. St. Francis House Captain – Hyacinth Nkuo
6. St. Francis Assistant House Captain- Charles Awasom Ndeh
7. St. Thomas House Captain – Johnson Konfor
8. St. Thomas Assistant House Captain – Isaac Tah Mukoro
9. St. Peter`s House Captain- Gilbert Fondufe
10. St. Peter`s Assistant House Captain – Charles Mbah
11. Sanitation Prefect – Ngoh John Ngoh
12. Refectorian – Charles Mengale
13. Sports Prefect - Sama David Chiawah

N.B.: Some of the people listed have departed from this world. However, since I could not determine the exact number of the departees, I decided not to publish some without the others.

CORRIGENDUM: My Classmate, Dr Kuma Nkuo has written to draw my attention to the fact that I mistakenly assigned his role as House Captain of St. Francis to his Assistant, Charles Awasom, and assigned Charles Awasom`s own to him. I realized the error and have accordingly reversed the roles as you can see in the STUDENT GOVERNMENT above.Apologies to Hyacinth, today Dr Hyacinth Nkuo (medical), just like Dr Charles Awasom.For more on our classmates as medical doctors, visit the following link on my blog: http://tikumazonga.blogspot.com/2010/03/disciples-of-chemistry. These changes were made today Sunday 21-03-2010 html

Epilogue

When my year in Form One ended, I stopped being a fox because my tail had been cut by those who were in Form Two while we were in Form One. I was now a “Semi Fox”. If all went well, the following year I would be and Intermediate. In Form Four I would be a Semi Finalist, and in Form Five, a Finalist. For now though, I had to wait and take things step by step. After all, there is time for everything.

Copyright 2009