What You Need to Know about Mbah Eric Motomu the Journalism Monument

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)