Tribute: Synopsis of The Legendary Icon: Kort Mangoh Jones Tanko

By Ngwani John Nganyu

RIP Lord Mayor

Kort Mangoh Jones Tanko was born in Mbot village by humble parents who lived in the traditional sedentary society characterized by hand to mouth agriculture. He attended primary and secondary education at Mbot, Mbipgo, Binka and Joseph Merrick Baptist College-JMBC Ndu to acquire the required certifications that facilitated his desire for further education (FSLC and GCE “O” Levels). 

The desire and love he developed for the teaching profession, made him to discover that the way forward to fulfill that dream to register in a teacher training college. Kort Mangoh Jones registered at Baptist Teacher Training College Soppo-Buea where he enrolled for the Grade II Certificate and hence continued with the Grade I. Kort Mangoh graduated with credits in most of the subjects. These certificates enabled him to teach in the primary segment of the education system. Kort Mangoh Jones started his teaching career as a Baptist Mission teacher at Mbipgo village but was forcefully absorbed into the Cameroon public service where he continued on his own to study for his Advanced Level papers. I can remember him travelling from Sabongari to Taku on foot to meet me copy some advanced level notes on various subjects. He continued in his endeavour and finally acquired prerequisite papers for further and higher education. 

As we grow up in the village, we had high aspirations for further prolonged arguments and debate on various issues. Our lifestyle was characterized by prolonged arguments and debates on various topics. As head teacher of Government School Ntumbaw, he created 9 community schools that were attached to the main school at Ntumbaw where he later became a Supervising Head Teacher. As a primary school teacher, Kort Mangoh’s teaching abilities and the love for the profession earned him two distinct titles. He was honoured with the title of “Ta Nformi Mbo-nti” by seven fons of the Mbo-nti area in Ndu Sub Division when Government decided to take over the seven community schools he created and was Supervising head teacher. When he was teaching at GS Tabenken, he produced a record time result that pushed the Fon of Tabenken to honour him with the title of “Ta Nformi Nwah” meaning Ta Nformi Education.  

Despite his prestigious position, Nfor Ngala Nfor and I while pursuing post graduate programmes in Education at the Ahmadou Bello University Zaria in Nigeria, persuaded and encouraged him to enroll for a University Programme in Nigeria. 

He left the position of Head Teacher and went to the University of Ilorin in Nigeria where on graduation he obtained with Honors a Bachelors degree in History (BA Hons. History). While carrying out his research on the history of Wimbum people and questioning brilliantly the sub chief of Tamba-Taku, Fai Ndichijap and suing his knowledge of historiography to acquire the relevant facts about the Wimbum people, the Sub Chief wondered aloud whether Kort Mangoh was not an ancestral spirit sent by the gods of the land to get information from him. At the time Kort Mangoh was carrying that research, Fai Ndichijap was the oldest and living information bank in Mbum land. From the research, Kort Mangoh emerged as the most authentic author of Wimbum history. In short he was the live encyclopedia on Wimbum history. 

Kort Mangoh’s life as a politician was as controversial as the controversies that surrounded the formation of the Social Democratic Front-SDF party on May 26, 1990. As a social and political scientist, he emerged from the classroom as well as from being a GCE Examiner on World Affairs to be a visionary leader of the Mbum people, a dream of his aspirations and expectations. As the mayor of Nkambe, his contributions are immense. He lived and died as a strong advocate of decentralization and democracy.

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IFPRI Issues Release on Preventing an Ebola-related Food Crisis

October 21, 2014--As the Ebola outbreak continues to unfold, Shenggen Fan, director general of IFPRI, has released a press statement about the outbreak and the rising food crisis that is unfolding in West Africa.

Press Statement:

"While the health impacts of Ebola are devastating, this recent outbreak is triggering a food crisis that may persist for decades, posing significant challenges not just for food security in the region, but also for future economic growth. Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone were already experiencing food security issues before the outbreak, and undernourishment has long been a problem. Now, schools in Sierra Leone have closed, shutting down critical feeding programs for children. And restrictions on the consumption of bush meat, the suspected source of Ebola, have eliminated a traditional source of protein and nutrition from local diets. 

 

"In addition, the costs of staple foods – including rice and cassava – are rising precipitously in the affected areas as crops are abandoned and as labor shortages grow. Food that would be imported from these areas is not making its way to other regions, either. So, as we weigh the dangers of this dreaded disease, we must not forget the very real threats it poses to food security. The global community must come together to ensure that there are safety nets to protect not only those infected with the disease, but also those whose access to food is severely affected." 

For more information or if you would like to speak to Shenggen Fan, call 202-627-4310.

 

Best,

Deborah Horan

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Lassin Wins Noni Unity Cup (Euphoria in Pics)

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Wache Francis Performing Njang Dances with Populace at Noni Unity Cup Football Final (in pics 3)

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Fanfare at Noni Unity Cup Final (fanfare in pics)

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

The Fanfare at Noni Unity Cup Football Final (in Pics)

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Wache Pulls Thousands at Noni Unity Cup (Event in Pics 1)

Arrival of Laasin supporters

Mayor Wache sitting at the Grandstand (Trophy) 

SG of Nkor Council

Traditional rulers present

Spectators 

Players on the pitch 

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After Spending 367 Days in Office: Wache Francis Faces the Press, Empowers Councilors (Twin Event in Pics)

Mayor Wache Francis flanked by his two Deputies and councilors 

Wache Francis flanked by his Deputies

Wache Francis flanked by journalists 

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Mama Mboutchouang, née Ndongo Mengolo Rosette Marie Laid to Rest

The mother of Cameroon's First Lady has been laid to rest. Mama Mboutchouang née Ndongo Mengolo Rosette Marie (Mama Rosette) has been laid to rest in Mvomeka. Hundred of thousands are said to have travel to Mvomeka to pay their last respect to the workaholic mayor of Bangou. Mama Rosette left an indelible mark of greatness in Bangou council as mayor. Here below are the pictures of yesterday's funeral service. 

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Sarepta Is Surging After Good News For Its Ebola Treatment

REUTERS/Frederick Murphy/CDC/Handout

Some of the ultrastructural morphology displayed by an Ebola virus virion is revealed in this undated handout colorized transmission electron micrograph obtained by Reuters on Aug. 1.

Sarepta Therapeutics could become an even bigger part of the Ebola trade.

On Thursday, the company announced that two studies involving its Ebola treatment candidates, "demonstrated no clinical or toxicologic safety concerns with the company's drug candidates for the treatment of Ebola."

In premarket trade on Friday, shares of Sarepta — which has a market cap a bit over $900 million — were soaring, gaining as much as 11%. 

In a statement, Michael Wong, senior medical director at Sarepta said: "We believe these promising early clinical safety results, coupled with the strong safety and efficacy data generated from animal studies for all four PMO compounds, reinforce the use of our PMOplus ® chemistry platform to pursue potential treatments for deadly infectious diseases such as Ebola and Marburg."

The results of the study  are set to be published in the November issue of the  American Society  for Microbiology's journal " Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy."

Sarepta is engaged in the development of treatments for rare and infectious diseases and has been part of the "Ebola trade" that has taken place since the summer and includes stocks like Tekmira Pharmaceuticals and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, as well as the protective-gear-makers Lakeland Industries and Alpha Pro Tech.

Back in July, shares of Sarepta plunged after results from a trial involving the company's drug  eteplirsen for the treatment of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy disappointed. 

Year-to-date, Sarepta shares are up about 9%, and just this week the stock was up 18% before Friday's premarket gains.

Here's Thursday's full release from Sarepta:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2014-- Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (SRPT), a developer of innovative RNA-based therapeutics, today announced the publication of results from two single ascending-dose studies that demonstrated no clinical or toxicologic safety concerns with the company's drug candidates for the treatment of Ebola and Marburg virus, respectively. The study results are to be published in the November issue of the American Society for Microbiology's journal, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and are available online at dx.doi.org/10.1128/AAC.03442-14.

AVI-6002 for the treatment of Ebola is a combination therapy of two phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs AVI-7537 and AVI-7539), which target the viral matrix proteins VP24 and VP35, respectively. AVI-6003 for the treatment of Marburg is a combination therapy of two PMOs, (AVI-7287 and AVI-7288), which target the viral proteins VP24 and NP, respectively. These drug candidates use Sarepta's advanced and proprietary PMOplus®chemistry, which is also the basis of the company's clinical-stage influenza drug candidate, AVI-7100. Results from previous viral challenge studies of AVI-6002 and AVI-6003 in non-human primates demonstrated prevention of disease development and death following exposure to Ebola or Marburg virus. Subsequent animal studies demonstrated that for each combination therapy, only one oligomer contributed to efficacy, and therefore, the lead drug candidates for Ebola and Marburg have since become the single compounds AVI-7537 and AVI-7288.

"We believe these promising early clinical safety results, coupled with the strong safety and efficacy data generated from animal studies for all four PMO compounds, reinforce the use of our PMOplus® chemistry platform to pursue potential treatments for deadly infectious diseases such as Ebola and Marburg," said Michael Wong, senior medical director, infectious diseases at Sarepta Therapeutics. "We are particularly encouraged to see results such as these in the healthy human volunteers to what we have learned to be the effective agents, AVI-7537 and AVI-7288. These compounds have protected up to 80-100 percent of the non-human primates to Ebola and Marburg virus challenge infections, respectively."

The two Phase I clinical studies were randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials designed to characterize the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single doses of intravenous formulations of AVI-6002 or AVI-6003 in healthy adult volunteers. In each study, 30 subjects were enrolled in six cohorts receiving up to 9 mg/kg of the combination drug candidates (4 active:1 placebo per cohort) for a total of 60 subjects. Results showed the compounds to be well-tolerated with no dose limiting level demonstrated. No clinically significant or dose-dependent effects were observed at any of the safety endpoints evaluated. The safety and pharmacokinetics of the four PMOplus® compounds comprising the two combination therapies were similar, regardless of the target RNA sequence.

A previously reported Phase I MAD study of AVI-7288 for the treatment of Marburg found no clinically significant or dose-dependent effects on any of the safety endpoints evaluated when tested at up to 16 mg/kg/day for 14 days in healthy adult volunteers. The results of these clinical studies add to a growing body of evidence supporting the safety of Sarepta's PMO-based chemistry platform across a broad range of disease targets.

This work was conducted under contract with the Joint Product Management Office of BioDefense Therapeutics (BD-Tx).

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Nigeria, Boko Haram reach ceasefire deal, kidnapped girls to go free, official says

CNN) -- The Nigerian government has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist terror group Boko Haram that includes the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, a Nigerian presidential spokesman said Friday.

The agreement was reached Thursday night after a month of negotiations with representatives of the group, said Hassan Tukur, principal secretary to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

"We have agreed on the release of the Chibok schoolgirls, and we expect to conclude on that at our next meeting with the group's representative next week in Chad," Tukur said.

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Governance: At Public Hearing Fundong Mayor Gets 8 on 10 from Populace

After spending 367 days in office as mayor of Fundong Council, Awoh Ndang Denis has broken records to give an account of his stewardship. The local governance meeting dubbed “Public Hearing” which was massively attended by people from all walks of life took at the ABASSAKOM Hall in Fundong. As the moderator of the event Choves Loh puts it: Public communication is generally absent in most council set ups in Cameroon whereas it is very important in the drive and achievement of local development as an instrument in good governance.

Awoh Ndang Denis in Blue suit and the Moderator Choves Loh

To impressionists, October 16, 2014 marked the opening of a new chapter in Fundong council’s communication which is very crucial in setting records straight, checking rumours and misinformation. As hundreds stormed the meeting hall to listen to their mayor gives a vivid account of his one year in office, expectations were also high at that the forum will create a permanent bridge to enhance interaction between the council and the population. Facing the population has been one of the major problems in councils in Cameroon given the corrupt nature of some elected officials. Fundong Council mayor took the challenge to tell the people who elected him into office what he has been doing and his vision for the municipality. 

When Awoh Denis Ndang moved to the rostrum to present his activities, he revealed that when he took over office, the Fundong council had FCFA 53.000.000 unpaid bills, an overdraft of FCFA 12. 000.000, FCFA 19.000.000 unpaid salary to staff and FCFA 15.000.000 unpaid taxes. Yet he has cleared almost ¾ of the debts in one year but regretted that revenue that is located locally is very insignificant and that the council is working towards its improvement.  Even though he met a heavily indebted council, he did not fold his arms.

Harping on his major realizations, Fundong Mayor said that his first action was to carryout feasibility studies on some projects which have been forwarded to PNDP and FEICOM for funding.

However, Awoh Ndang Denis disclosed that waste management in town was one of his preoccupations. “We were able to acquire 20 trash cans to the tune of FCFA 1.2 millions and place them on strategic positions in town”, he continued. The council he announced also acquired two tricycles to transport waste in Fundong town. In the domain of hygiene and sanitation, the mayor said that a sanitation office was created in the council since he met none and that within one year; he was able to provide the town of Fundong with a public modern toilet constructed which cost the council some FCFA 4 million.  

In order to give a facelift to the Divisional Headquarters, the mayor said some major streets were graded to the tune of FCFA 8 million. “We also carried out some minor repairs at the Funding Grandstand and extended water into the main market with a public stand tap”.

Awoh Ndang Denis Talking to Journalists

On the controversy that surrounded the non-reception of the Fundong Council Hall, the mayor revealed that the issue has been laid to rest. “To solve the problem, FEICOM instructed us to create a new contract giving all the stakeholders their pride of place”.

In the domain of education, Awoh Ndang Denis disclosed that in order to provide a suitable learning environment to students in rural areas, the council donated solar lamps to GSS Adok and also recruited two teachers. “With the support of Tom shoes, we provided shoes to some school which students used for 11 February 2014”. And FCFA 2.5 million was also used in the acquisition of text book for teachers with support from PNDP. The council he revealed also paid school fees to 15 young trainees, donated bundles of zinc to GSS Melin and GS Bomam. He also noted with satisfaction that during the summer holidays 127 students were recruited for holiday jobs in view of supporting them at back to school. While he is currently making a tour of the municipality to distribute scholarships to meritorious students and the underprivileged estimated at FCFA 3 million.  In order to amplify the minimum package to schools which the mayor says it is too small, the Fundong council he revealed added a supplement of FCFA 1million to give more impetus to it. “We also decided to put to use our council forest, we are actually fabricating 160 benches with wood from our forest to share to needy schools in the municipality and we also acquired textbooks for Primary Six pupils to the tune of FCFA 1.2 million with the support of our two senators” he added.

In its fight against rabies, the council he said also bought 200 vaccines to enable the vaccination of dogs.

In the domain of ICTs, the council also installed internet services to improve access to information technology for youths. Besides that the mayor also told the population that the council also allocated the sum of FCFA 20.000 monthly allowance to the Boyo Community Radio to sustain its functionality.

“I met a council where all the documents were typed in a public secretariat in town and to me, it is unfair. We tried to equip our offices to the tune of 10.7 million”.

Considering the fact that the Fundong council depends mainly on agricultural activities to generate revenue, the mayor said that the council bought 30.000 coffee seedlings and distributed them to farmers to boost the sector.

Need to move within the municipality, 127 holiday makers and the process of handing scholarship to the tune of 3 million. Minimum package is very small and we put in close to a million as supplement.

Mayor Awoh Ndang Denis also said that the Fundong council also partnered with AES SONEL to create a 5000 seedlings eucalyptus plantation in Fundong.  Extended water to the funding market and rehabilitated the meat sales slab.

“We tiled the meat sales slab to the tune of 4.1and we reinforced the cattle market. Fabricated 120 benches and we need 160 benches.” And in the domain of farms to market roads, he cited the clearing of road sides, the ongoing corrections on the Alim-Mbam road and the FCFA 13.8 million from the Ministry of Public Works to work on the Ajung-Fundong road.

In his conclusion, Awoh Ndang Denis said as mayor he wants to make the difference through governance. He said one of his main preoccupations is to disenclave the municipality. He told the story of his trip to Mbenka which he has to pass through four other sub Divisions and two Divisions to get enter into his own municipality. We spend over five hours trekking including 40 minutes in a canoe. “I need to do something to link these five villages that are cut off from us”, he ended.

Worries

Even though the population applauded and gave him a tick for his level headedness to organize the first ever public hearing, some of the worries raised included amongst others his collaboration with SDF councilors. More so, they population also wanted to know what happened to the FCFA 5 million from MINFOF to plant trees in the municipality. I his reaction, Awoh Ndang Denis said he is working with everybody and not a group of people. “I am the mayor of Fundong council”. On the financial mishaps, he replied that he is not an auditor but exploded that he discovered that the funds meant for tree planting were withdrawn from the bank in September which to him is not normal. “I have seen reports that a million was used for fire tracing but if we have proof that the trees were planted there is no problem. You know that since I took over the council, we had many court cases and I have seen that it is a waste of resources and time. I have negotiated for the withdrawal of the majority and I am sure next time I will tell you all the cases have been withdrawn.

On whether he will leave the council with debts as he met it, Ndang said his dream is to level a free of debt council.

In rating the mayor’s performance, social critic Gwain Colbert Fulai said that the mayor touched almost every sector, with education, hygiene and sanitation, roads and farming taking a larger proportion while the health sector was completely ignore. The mayor received an 80% positive note for his realizations and vision for the municipality. 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)