Rogers Nforgwei Wins CNYC 2017 Man of the Year Award

Rogers' represntative (in suit) receiving Man of the Year

There is a common saying that those who do extraordinary things in a common manner are pragmatic. This is so because the most accomplished people have always been their own best ally in achieving their high standings because they do common things that command respect and admiration. Last week end Rogers Nforgwei (Representative of Cambridge University Press in Sub Saharan Africa) was voted Man of the Year 2017 by the Cameroon National Youth Council, Donga Mantung-CNYC. This is not surprising as he has also been named among the 100 Most Inspiring Personalities in Cameroon in 2017 by Yes Magazine.The award ceremony which took place at weekend at the Nkambe Community also recorded the launching of a Youth Excellence Center in Nkambe that will serve many.  What makes Rogers different from others is that he loves giving back to the communities.

If we go by the popular saying that a spirit of cheerful-giving builds trust, then Rogers embodies the values that need public admiration. The Man of the Year Award has strong connections to these ideals, which is significantly just a spur to encourage him in the promotion of youth activities and philanthropies’. It should be recalled that in 2016, Ndamnsah Blaise Nkfukuh (based in Italy) won CNYC Man of the Year while in 2015 the winner was Fai Cassian Ndi (CEO of Donga Mantung Eye Media Group which publishes The Eye Newspaper)

Synopsis of Man of the Year, Rogers Nforgwei

Rogers Nforgwei hails from Mbabi in the Wat village. At 45 years old, he is employed with one of the oldest and most prestigious multinational publishing companies called Cambridge University Press in England since 1999 (18 years). His career with that company has been prosperous during that time within the same company and today he is Director for the Mid Africa Region (West, Centra& East Africa) since the last 4 years. Interesting to note that he is the only Black man from Africa holding the level of responsibility, all the way from Mbabi, Wat!

In this capacity, he directs Cambridge business in more than 30 countries taking responsibility for market development, overall strategy, supply chain, operations and contracting of partnerships.

His God-fearing nature, his humility, his bilingualism, his flexibility and his ability to contextualize ideologies have been the strength behind his capacity to navigate through the varied cultures of both English Speaking and French Speaking African countries as well as his multitasking in many other roles:

His Trappings

He is CEO and Chairman of one of the leading local publishing companies in Cameroon, which he founded about 10 years ago and which is fast growing into a continental company.

He is the founding President of DRIMP Foundation, which in seven years has provided mentorship to Cameroonian youths nationwide through the various youth leadership and social programmes organized by the foundation. DRIMP Foundation, being a faith based organization, has also organized pastors’ conferences in Cameroon as well as they have taken on the challenge of promoting of and advocating for the growth and recognition of gospel music.

He is National President of National Association of Publishers in Cameroon. He has been aggressive in the advocacy for publishing and quality education as one of the ways to building a strong nation.

He is the Director of Finance and Administration of COHEB, an International humanitarian NGO operating in Central Africa Republic, Chad and Cameroon.

His torrential presence in the community life of Donga Mantung Division has been unbelievable. It truly attests to the fact that this man is a man with the heart for humanity, as seen in the following projects

1.     Organization of a championship tournament for boys and a heavily attended Youth forum worth 3million, 2016

2.     Donation of text books to Primaries schools and secondary schools in the Sub Division worth close to 10.2million, 2016

3.     The establishment of the Home Branch WADECA (Wat Development and Cultural Association) which is transforming the Wat village and focusing the Wat people on unity and sustainable development

4.     Sponsorship of a paint artist from Nkambe to Yaounde for the National Art and Culture Exhibition by the Ministry of Arts and culture,

5.     Lobbied for more participants and guided the proper selection of the three Youth Parliamentarians for the Donga Mantung during the first ever youth parliamentarian in Cameroon in 2016

6.     And he is main sponsor of the Women football Championship 2017 in Donga Mantung, 2017

7.     Donated 900 books to promote back to school to Primary schools in Nkambe, 2017

No doubt the President of Republic of Cameroon knighted him in November 2016 with the prestigious “Chevlier de l’Ordre de la Valeur”

When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said: “Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time” he was talking about the likes of Rogers Nforgwei, who has engaged in promoting youth talents. In fact, his contributions to building others can only be captured by Thomas Carlyle who emphasized that ‘Man is only truly great when he acts from his passions’. The name Rogers Nforgwei is gradually becoming a household name in Donga Mantung Division not only among the hard-to-reach and underserved segments of the population but also within political circles.

 Like Bill Copeland he believes that ‘the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score’ surely Rogers’ direction is to score a political goal.

 



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