Speech by George Ngwane World Book Day April 23rd 2008

Speech by George Ngwane,Chairman National Book Development Council, Cameroon, on the occasion of the World Book Day April 23rd 2008 at Imperial Academy for Arts and Science (IMPAAS) Tiko.

The Lord Mayor, Tiko Rural Council,
The Proprietor, IMPAAS, Tiko,
The Principal and Staff of IMPAAS, Tiko,
Distinguished Personalities,
My dear students,

On behalf of the National Book Development Council Cameroon, I feel honoured to make a stop at your institution in pursuit of our “Mobile library or books on wheels project”. The main purpose of this project is to promote a book culture among the youth with more emphasis on the girl child and to equip libraries that would provide access to education and literacy to youths.

Through this project two main activities are carried out.

(i) A bi-annual mobile vehicle reading campaign (books on wheels) for girl children and rural youths in the South West Province
(ii) Distribution of books to key libraries, Women Empowerment Centres, and Youth Development centres of the South West Province of Cameroon.

Our journey has taken us to the Multi-purpose Youth Center in Buea, the Bishop Jules Peters High School, Likoko Meamba, the Idenau Rural Council and today IMPAAS Tiko. IMPAAS Tiko marks the last stop for Fako Division as we prepare to journey into the heartland of Kupe Mwanenguba, Lebialem, Meme, Manyu and Ndian divisions.
It was Richard Crabbe, the Ghanaian Publisher who said if education is the road out of poverty then books are the wheels needed for the journey.

The exercise today at IMPAAS Tiko which began with a Radio Quiz this morning at Mt Cameroon F.M Buea and the students’ book parade from the college campus to the Tiko town square is both significant and special.  Significant, because the event is taking place on April 23rd.  April 23 is a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.

Also of significance is the fact that the idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, Saint George's Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. On this day therefore authors, publishers, teachers, librarians, public and private institutions, humanitarian NGOs and the mass media are mobilized in each country to work together in this world celebration of books and authors.

Our collective presence here today is to respect this tradition and to energise the epileptic indigenous book sector especially in the face of cultural imperialism and the revolution of the internet industry.

Of special concern today is our donation of two different cartons of books; one containing books of diverse subjects from the global market made available by the National Book Development Council and the other containing fifty titles by Anglophone Cameroon writers made available by the National Book Development Council Cameroon, Chief Charles Achaleke Taku, Sammy Oke Akombi, Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, Dibussi Tande and Peter Vakunta Wuteh. The carton of Anglophone writings shall be placed on a special shelf or shelves that shall be called “Cameroona (E)”. The climax of this occasion shall be the inauguration of the college library which the college authorities have gracefully accepted to name after our fallen visionary Bate Besong. The library shall now be called “the Bate Besong Memorial Library”.  Apart from the fact that the library will serve the academic community in Tiko and its environs, we hope that the library shall serve as a Research centre to those interested in the works of Bate Besong in particular and Anglophone Cameroon writers in general. The next step would be for book lovers to donate any literature on Bate Besong and any book by Anglophone Cameroon writers to this library. We shall allow the modus operandi of this library to be eventually worked out by the IMPAAS college authorities.  Any idea that would sustain the memory of BB, the momentum of this library and the magnitude of the book culture in Cameroon shall be deeply appreciated.

The Lord Mayor, your instant acceptance to commune with us today is testimony of my personal conviction that the writer and the politician are partners of development even if they are rivals of ideologies.  We appreciate the readiness with which the college Proprietor and his staff accepted to pay homage to the Obasinjom warrior the same way the world commemorated the death of Aime Cesaire last week.

And to you my dear students, this ceremony is for you.  It is to encourage your quest for knowledge, it is to satisfy your ambition to be successful in life; it is to shape your values and visions of a new society that our generation has loaned from you; indeed it is to celebrate and immortalise the written word for in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

God bless us all.

Comments

[George Esunge Fominyen]

Nwalimu,

Little bits of stick form a bundle of firewood. More power to your mind, limbs and more. It is easy to listen to radio and watch TV. Very exciting to scribble e-mail to e-mail (often in self created short-hand). But ultimate power comes from reading. Reading allows us to learn from others in a way that is impossible to comprehend. The views and perspectives of others allow one to build on one's talent and intelligience hence achieve the highest seams.

It is important to promote reading! It is not only about knowledge and power it is about keeping our culture. That is why offering a selection of books by Anglophone Cameroonian writers is immeasurably relevant. Bravo!

Again someone from the civil society is taking the lead where our political leaders are faltering. Does it need several tolling bells for some Mayor or Minister to name a street, a hall, a school after Bate Bessong? Well, you have named a small library after the sage. I am sure as he peers from the World Beyond - he shall be pleased at the choice. But we expect more from others!

Keep the reading flame burning!