President Buhari Charges Security Agencies To Crack Down On Nollywood Movie Pirates

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed law enforcement agencies to step up their efforts to curb the menace of pirates in Nigeria's entertainment industry so that artistes can enjoy the fruits of their labour.  

President Buhari gave the directive after receiving a briefing from the  Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan and her Directors Tuesday in Abuja. 

Some Nollywood stars 

“Nollywood is making progress. We should work with them. Unless they are backed, they will be ruined by pirates who want to reap where they have not sowed.

"They have built an industry with their own sweat. It is therefore incumbent on us to give them the necessary support,” President Buhari said.

He charged law enforcement agencies to identify the perpetrators of copyright piracy, their sponsors and collaborators, and bring them to justice.

President Buhari also charged the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) to tap into the opportunities presented by their wide reach to shore up their revenue profiles.

Councilors Decline Gift from North West Senators

Councilors Decline Gift from North West Senators

courtesy, The Eye

Councilors of Nwa council in Donga Mantung Division have declined transport allowances offered to them by North West Senators. The incident happened today July 13, 2015 at the Nkambe community hall when visiting North West senators led by Senator Achidi Achu Simon stormed Donga Mantung in what observers described as a marathon thank you visit. Some of the councilors threatened to block the senators from leaving the hall, but were halt by the timely intervention of the mayor of Nwa, Ngomfe Loma David who pleaded that he will take care of their transport fare. 

“We cannot spend FCFA 13.000 each to come here and receive FCFA 10.000”, one of the councilors was heard fuming in anger. Another councilor described the incident as a slap in the face given that even the FCFA 200.000 promised them during senatorial elections in 2013 were all paid.  The Mayor of Nwa, Dr. Ngomfe Loma David said it was really a pathetic situation.

 “I have begged them and I will borrow money to complete the deficit. In fact I cannot allow my councilors to be stranded here in Nkambe”, he concluded. “I think we will no more vote people from space to the position of senators. A list that will not have councilors, we will not vote it. We have learned a bitter lesson and we are waiting for them to come to us for votes again”, another councilor of Misaje council vomited. 

On the other hand, the mayor of Ako said they received a telephone call which announced to them that all the councilors should report in Nkambe today to receive a motorbike each. “You know we are the closest neigbours to Nigeria and we thought Government has realized that they could promote councilors with a means of movement. But surprisingly, we came here to meet Senators. I thank them anyway for giving supporting us with a motorbike”, he concluded.  The councilors of Misaje were also heard threatening their mayor that if they are not all paid mission allowances for the trip to Nkambe, they too will boycott all meetings summoned by the senators given that they are all ingrates.

Bikes donated to councils

 

The former mayor of Misaje, Nkenda Simon Sunde exploded that though it is better to be late than never, “I was to ask them why they have forsaken us. And I was also going to ask them whether they are very comfortable to see councilors being taxed on the small sitting allowances. “I think I will also support the idea that councilors should henceforth vote their colleagues into senate or councilors who are mature people”, Nkenda Simon concluded.

 

Bunyui Emmanuel Nyugap, Mayor of Ndu said the senate is there because of the councils and it is normal for senators to show appreciation to the councilors after being elected into office. “I want to appreciate the senators for the bikes. However, the mayor of Ndu disclosed that senators are seemingly very comfortable when councilors and mayors who voted them into office are without salaries. “Mayors are threatening to stage a sit-down strike as from August 1, 2015” Bunyui said. He also wondered why Anglophone senators are quiet about issues related to bilingualism in this country. “Bilingualism is on paper and the Anglophones are largely marginalized. We need to talk about the Anglophone issue”. He regretted that the senate has been silent over a Private Members Bill on the protection of water catchments whereas water is becoming a problem. He also lamented that the senate may-likely be another rubber stamp like Parliament. “Cameroon will not attend emergence by a decree. If decentralization is not effective, we may still end up as the laughing stuck in Africa”, Bunyui Emmanuel concluded.

 

Ngabir Paul Bantar in his welcome speech had earlier decried that the plight of Donga Mantung people. In his speech, the mayor of Nkambe wondered why Fons who are only auxiliaries of the administration while councilors and mayors are not paid salaries. He also raised the issue of the Ring road which has ended in Kumbo, adding that the tarring of Kumbo-Nkambe-Misaje stretch should be anticipated. The mayor of Nkambe council also said that it is regrettable that Nwa which is the oldest and largest sub Division has not been considered in the decentralization process. He requested that Nwa should be raise to a full Division.

 

Matters came to a head when a councilor for Nwa asked the Achidi Achu led team whether late senator Jikong Stephen micro grants have been handed to them. In a desperate attempt to respond to the question, senator Fon Teche said that when a senator dies, his micro project grant dies as well. Tempers almost flared when he (Teche) said that the clause was omitted in the constitution. Donga Mantung councilors immediately sense the rat and murmuring took the central stage.When this reporter accosted Senator Achidi to find out from him why the FCFA 200.000 they promised councilors during campaigns have not been paid, he (Achidi)  responded that some people think that senators have alot of money but that is not the case. " I borrowed alot of money to use during the senatorial campaigns and right now the bank is threatening to seize my assets", Achidi said.

It should be noted that the senators donated a motorbike each to the five councils that make up Donga Mantung Division.

My Agency Does Legitimate Clean Business – Sponsor of Cameroon Girls to Kuwait

John Egyawan, a minister of the gospel operates one of the agencies in Buea that sponsors young Cameroonian girls for work in Kuwait. Last week, CRTV magazine program – Cameroon Calling, opened a can of worms with some of the girls testifying to being tortured, enslaved and abused. The program then accused Egyawan and his organisation mainly, of trafficking the girls who end up abused and tortured in Kuwait and Lebanon.

The Cameroon Journal set out to get Egyawan’s side of the story on how he conducts this business. He was very categorical that the case of the abused girls has nothing to do with his agency. He actually feels like his is a victim when he said he is being singled out because they cannot identify the other agencies.
“I am very visible. I have an office. We are a legal entity in Cameroon. The problem is that there are hundreds of agents in Cameroon but they cannot be identified, – they operate illegally. I am just the drop in the ocean of people from Cameroon doing this. I operate clearly, orderly and with transparency. Egyawan spoke to Chris Anu. EXCEPTS.

For how long has your agency been operational and where is the office in Cameroon located? 
My office is located in Mile 16 Buea. The details of my office are on my website. My organization started in 2012. I started sending people to Kuwait in February 2015. 

John Egyawan, “I work with a registered agency in Kuwait”

 
We realized that you advertise in both Cameroon and Nigeria. Approximately how many Africans/Cameroonians have you resettled abroad? 

I have sent over 50 Cameroonians and some Togolese and one Nigerian.

Which countries have the highest intake of the clients that you move abroad? 

I send all my workers to Kuwait because there I have an agency that works with me to take good care of the girls. I have no other knowledge of my sponsored workers going anywhere else. I learned through friends that I have in Dubai that some people go there. But that has nothing to do with our organization.

Your advertising suggests that everything is free including air ticket, visa – in fact, even the entire period of their outing/contract. How are candidates that travel under your agency qualified? 

Yes, for house maids the visa and ticket is paid for by their sponsoring employer through the Agency in Kuwait. That is why we charge only 150,000 FRS which takes care of their medicals and their administrative activities to facilitate their travel.
Can you tell us where your agency in Kuwait is located? What is the name and is it registered to do legitimate business in Kuwait?
No, I don’t have an agency that I own in Kuwait. But I work with a registered agency in Kuwait. Mr. Hagos Burhane is our representative in Kuwait. I will need to get his permission to give you his address there. But you can talk to him. I am very visible, I have an office. We are a legal entity in Cameroon.
Your agent Mr. Burhane, is he African or Kuwaiti citizen? Does he speak English?
Yes, he speaks English. He is Ethiopian and again, he speaks really good English.
This is certainly a business that you do, how do you benefit from this?
When I successfully send someone to Kuwait and they reach there and pass a second medical and go through a probation period I am rewarded for my job.
And how long is this probation period?
Three months.
Your ad also states that your agency guarantees the security of your clients throughout their stay in Kuwait. How do you actually do that? 
We have agencies in Kuwait in three locations with vehicles. All the workers and their sponsors’ information is left in the office. And our office works almost round the clock. If any worker calls that they do not like the house they are in, the agent calls me and informs me and he goes to that location or orders the sponsor to bring them to the office and we change them.
We have relocated some, even four times just to get them a work location where they are comfortable. When they say they are okay then that is where they stay. They like to work where they feel good and with families where they feel loved and safe.
Most of the times they move because of language barriers. Whatever the case, if they make any complains that they do not like the house, we move them. I had a case were one of them was stealing in the house, I have videos and confession and audio which I will not provide for the privacy of the person. We ordered the sponsor not to touch her. My agent quickly went there and took her and she was deported.
Everyone deported for one reason or the other is asked to pay a penalty for breaking the contract. But because our agency is caring, most of them cannot pay. So that is deducted from my money. Meaning that I have paid for all of them just because I care about their well-being.
 
Many Cameroonians are now being enslaved as we have learned recently in these countries, what do you know? Can you vouch to the families of clients you have sent there that they are all doing fine?

It will interest you to know that I have only a little fraction compared to the thousands of Cameroonians who are there. I cannot speak for others. But I can tell you that most of my families – I mean the people I have sent there who want to talk to their family members, if they do not hear from them, I do everything possible for them to speak to them. Some of those families can tell you how their children are doing. I even have a friend who is a police officer. He calls his sister in-law that I sent there on weekly bases. I have my own younger sister too there. We talk to her almost every day on Facebook, skype or WhatsApp. I just sent her and her friend a phone.
So, I can tell you that yes, we take care of our workers and everyone who went there and did their job is fine. With the exception of five who came back and two who ran away. One of them had illegally used her master’s phone to call Cameroon and the bill came up to over $300 and she refused to admit it. She was taken to the police, but she was released eventually and her passport given back to her. But she refused to come back to the office. The other one changed about three houses and the last house she worked, she ran away and is working somewhere else in Kuwait and I am still in communication with her. Her complain is has been hard work.
The other girl about the police said that she does not work in their house. So I asked her if she knew what she was coming to do. She said yes – because she signed the contract. For her, because I know it was laziness, I allowed her to call her family to send her air ticket back but she ran away.

And have any of your clients been a victim of social injustice abroad?

Not that I know of. I have handled all their complains to the best of my ability.

Can you provide us with at least 10 contacts of some of your clients who can testify to their treatment in Kuwait? 

Yes, I can, but I will do that to you personally. I would not like their names or numbers to be published except they give you that right. I will mix theirs with numbers of family members you can also call. And some that came back from Kuwait who still wish to go back there. (We note here that John Egyawan actually provided us with a handful of phone numbers for both Kuwait and Cameroon to call for further investigations.)

You are now under investigation by Cameroonian authorities, can you vouch that your dealings in this business have been very clean and according to the laws? 

Very clean. I even fired my administrator because of bad dealings in my back. I have fired most of my agents because they tell lies and charge too much fees from people. My administrator and some of the agents working for me decided to recruit people in my name and then sent them out through another Agency in Kuwait. I only came to know when one of my younger brothers told me and when one girl returned from Kuwait and came to our office to ask for a 550,000 FRS she was charged. Come to find out she was processed through my administrator behind my back and she did not travel through my channel. We made that known to her clearly and she understood. The authorities will only see clean business. And they will see that we care about the girls we send over there.

Are you suing CRTV as we’re learning?

No!

Cardinal Tumi’s Mother posthumously hounored again at burial

By Njodzefe Nestor 

Yaa Catherine LahkaTumi fondly known as ‘Yaawo Jos’ and ‘Mami Cardi’ was posthumously decorated during her final farewell at the Kumbo St Theresia Cathedral on Saturday June 27.

Before the Medal of the Officer of the Cameroon National Order of Merit was affixed to her casket by North West Governor Adolph LeleLAfrique, the mourners were entreated to a military parade, from elements of the National Gendemarie usually reserved for important state and official events and burials.

The posthumous decoration brought to two, the decorations the deceased had received from the state in less than three years. The first was on May 20, 2013 in Kumbo during which she was awarded the medal of  Knight of the Cameroon Order of Merit.

From English to Latin and French, Christian Cardinal Tumi, who was chief celebrant at the final funeral mass at the Kumbo Cathedral made the Eucharistic Celebrations more edifying.

In his close to 27 minutes homily, Bishop George Nkuo of Kumbo said the decease loved the church with passion and was united with Jesus in the Sacraments of the Church. He explained the church in thanking God for her life is burying her in the part of the Cathedral Cemetery reserved for priests, religious and early Christians. This he indicated was the execution of the wish of the decease, which his predecessor, His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua handed to him.

Bishop Nkuo told Cardinal Tumi it was a blessing for him to bury his mother and not otherwise. He said Yaa Catherine’s age was extra-ordinary and a gift from God. The prelate described Yaa Catherine Lahka Tumi as someone, who did not listen to news but, whose conversations were often with vivid personal details.

At the close of the Eucharistic celebration, which was void of the usual tears of sadness, which characterize funeral masses, His Grace Samuel Kleda, President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, NECC and Archbishop of Douala reminded Christian Cardinal TumiYaa Catherine Lahka was mother for all. He said the presence and participation of the Douala Archdiocese at the funeral is testimony of their attachment to the decease.

Christian Cardinal Tumi, who spoke on behalf of the family said he received the news of his mother’s passing onto glory from His Grace Samuel Kleda while attending a meeting in Ghana. He said the first thing that came to his mind was to thank God for life and death of his mother.

The Cardinal expressed gratitude to the Holy See and President of the Republic of Cameroon and wife for their condolence messages and concerned. He told the mourners President Paul Biya was the first to send him a message of condolence. He said contrary to what people think, he and President Paul Biya are not enemies. He explained he has always told the president what he thinks is right whenever they meet.

Among the sixteen Bishops and Archbishops that took part in the Eucharistic Celebration was Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, PierroPioppo, former Arch Bishop of Yaounde His Grace Victor TonyeBakot and the retired Bishop of Mamfe, Mgr Francis TekeLysinge.

The Social Democratic Front, SDF National Chairman, Ni John FruNdi, the Special Adviser of Cameroon’s Prime Minister, Francis Fonye, local administrative, municipal and traditional authorities and a cross section of the population also came out in their numbers to bid farewell to the decease.

Before the burial, the state did not only make security dispositions but had also rehabilitated the stretch from Kimbo Squares through St Augustine College, SAC Junction to Kikaikelaki. Unfortunately, the heavy rains that day rendered the road mud-cursed.

The authorities of ENEO had also dispatched a huge contingent of technical team not only to avoid power cuts but most importantly to install streets lights in Kikaikelaki during the vigil Mass Kikaikelaki Parish.

In a close to thirty minutes homily at the vigil mass, Bamenda Auxiliary Bishop MgrAgapitusNfon said Yaa Catherine was the Mother of Cameroon by virtue of her faith and age and given that she was the oldest Catholic Christian in the country. Her diverse background, he said could be responsible for her long life on earth. North west Governor and wife attended the vigil among other dignitaries.

Biography

Yaa Catherine was born in 1897 around the Kikaikelaki area into a polygamous family. She was last in a family of seven; four girls and three boys. Her father was a migrant from Bamoun and a descendant of Royal Family and her mother was from Nkor in Noni Sub Division. In the 20s she married to ThomasTumi. They gave birth to their first daughter OdiliaGhaila as pagans. Yaa Catherine was baptized December 17, 1926 together with her daughter.

After Baptism, Catherine and Thomas got married as Christians on December 20, 1926. After their marriage, the husband left for a business trip to Nigeria and after a long wait she decided to join him there. In Nigeria she gave birth to three children all girls. Of her seven children, only three are alive including Christian Cardinal Tumi’ who is the first to be baptized in the Kikaikelaki Catholic Church. Yaa Catherine lives behind three children and over 150 grand, great, and great, great grandchildren.