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| Eric Motomu |
Ace Journalist, Publisher of Chronicle
Newspaper, Mbah Motomu was born on October 6, 1966, in Batibo, Momo Division
into the family of Mbah Adolph(late) and Abid Sophie, Eric was 3rd in a family
of 6.
From 1973 to 1980, he attended Presbyterian
School Guzang where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate. The quest
for Eric to know the whitemans’ book took him to PSS Batibo and later Nacho
Comprehensive College in Bamenda he obtained the GCE O Level certificate in
1986. He then moved to GBHS Mbengwi where he obtained his A Level certificate.
It was at GBHS Mbengwi that Eric’s flare for journalism exploded. He alongside
Randy Joe and a host of others created the journalism society with Eric as
kingpin. Within the family circles, Eric was nick named “Toguene” for his
astute abilities in making sport commentaries. This time-tested media
professional \after a B.A in English in 1992, a post graduate diploma in Mass Communication
(University of Lagos, Nigeria) traveled to Israel where he underwent a capacity building training in mass
communication. When he returned back to Cameroon, he worked with Witness. After
futile attempts to work at the state owned media outfit CRTV, his zeal pushed
him to create his own media enterprise, The Socialist Chronicle. He later
abandoned the idea of Socialist Chronicle when he realized the SDF no more
needed his services to put in place Chronicle newspaper. Eric's Chronicle
newspaper has made it mark in the media landscape in Cameroon.
He was the most
generous man one could find in the entire region. All those who have worked and
collaborated with him including this reporter know that Eric was a man of his
own words. And now one would have captured Eric’s generosity more than John
Menkefor who rightly puts that “as a newspaper publisher, he made sure that
those who worked for him had their dues and that respect, he stood out as a
rare specie in the world of Mister-Eat-For-All-Of-You media investors. Like any
other human being, he would flare out any reporter or collaborator who could
deliver his assignment in time. Dateline for him was a menu never to be
postponed. Dateline was dateline. He had the one of the best organized newsrooms
in the entire Anglophone Cameroon. As Colbert puts it, Eric was a very
organized publisher. “When he called you in to do a piece of work, he would
virtually provide you all the material, from pen to all imaginable reference
documentation to writing material and the bank notes. As you settle down in the
next office to place together the material he has given you, you hear him shout
across the phone, first to Teneng, second to the (very) Peterkings I just told
you they were not on talking terms, and then to Fai Cassian and Michael Ndi
that if in the next five minutes they are not there to complete their assignments,
they would forfeit their (gombo) pay package. Whether nailing or panegyric, you
hand over the script to him, you cease to have any proprietary right over it. Dare
not identify with his newspaper again until such a time that he needs you. The battle
became his, Joe Tan, Musa Isa, Tetuh Mbah, IO Fosung, Sidiki and the rest. He
fell out with thise who collaborated with him more for identifying in public
with Chronicle than for refusing to do him an assignment. He was more in the
courtrooms than the newsroom”
Eric was such a
refined writer that when told anyone to read “Manawa” the person would have
sleepless night till Monday comes.
Eric got married
with Stella in 2004 and the marriage lasted for 8 years as she passed away in
2012. They were blessed with two daughters, Treasure and Stelric. He was a
lovely father, caring and responsible.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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