Life

1, September 2021

New coronavirus variant ‘Mu’ under close scrutiny by WHO ⁰

The World Health Organization has said it is monitoring a new coronavirus variant known as “Mu”, which was first identified in Colombia in January 2021.

Mu, known scientifically as B.1.621, has been classified as a “variant of interest”, the global health body said Tuesday in its weekly pandemic bulletin.

The WHO said the variant has mutations that indicate a risk of resistance to vaccines and stressed that further studies were needed to better understand it.

“The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape,” the bulletin said.

There is widespread concern over the emergence of new virus mutations as infection rates are ticking up globally again, with the highly transmissible Delta variant taking hold – especially among the unvaccinated – and in regions where anti-virus measures have been relaxed.

All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19, mutate over time and most mutations have little or no effect on the properties of the virus.

But certain mutations can impact the properties of a virus and influence how easily it spreads, the severity of the disease it causes, and its resistance to vaccines, drugs and other countermeasures.

The WHO currently identifies four Covid-19 variants of concern, including Alpha, which is present in 193 countries, and Delta, present in 170 countries.

Five variants, including Mu, are to be monitored.

After being detected in Colombia, Mu has since been reported in other South American countries and in Europe.

The WHO said its global prevalence has declined to below 0.1 percent among sequenced cases. In Colombia, however, it is at 39 percent.

(AFP)

31, August 2021

Buea University Sex Scandal: Cleansing the Augean Stable! ⁰

The sex scandal in the University of Buea will never be over until the Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea, Prof. Ngomo Horace Manga, orders a thorough investigation into the nasty sex scandal that is splashing very dark mud on this once prestigious citadel of learning.

The University of Buea was designed to be a beacon of hope for the country’s English-speaking minority, but the university has gradually been transformed into a brothel, with lecherous lecturers preying on girls like predatory animals do on their preys.

The good news is that Prof. Agborbechem Peter wants to talk, but there is a lot of fear within the University of Buea right now. Agborbechem is staring down the barrel of defeat and he knows he will surely be going down, but he does not want to go down alone, and all his accomplices or members of the sex ring are losing sleep over this. Members of the sex ring know that when he starts talking, he will be singing like a canary. Ordinarily, he talks like a magpie and now that he is under enormous pressure, he will surely be singing just to safe his skin.

The University of Buea is sick. It is now like a poultry being supervised by foxes and hyenas. There is a lot of impunity playing out in that university and many victims of the sex abuse are taking their pain in stride. They have been abused and the university has no mechanism for these students to lodge their complaints. The university lacks a facility that can conveniently protect whistleblowers, making it challenging for those who know a lot about the mess that is giving the university a bad name to come out of the closet.

There is an omerta (code of silence) in the university and the victims strongly hold that silence in this context is golden. They are bearing their pain quietly. The abuse of girls in the University of Buea did not start today. Under Prof. Dorothy Lymunga Njeuma’s watchful eyes, the premier vice chancellor of the University of Buea, sex criminals like Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh who is now retired and has moved to another university and Prof. Albert Azeye who plied their trade with impunity were a constant source of fear for young female students.

A former student of the University of Buea who had a very close and intimate relationship with Prof. Ngoh and now lives in the United States told the Cameroon Concord News Group that the man’s calm demeanor belies his true nature.

“Prof. Victor Ngoh who came from the University of Yaoundé could be considered as a wild wind which transported the moral decadence in the University of Yaoundé to the University of Buea. He is an iron fist in a velvet glove. He is very intimidating and when he needs a girl, he imposes his will on the girl. I hear he has moved to a private university after retiring from the University of Buea where he is plying his demeaning trade. His current university should know that he is a bad seed and will be a millstone around the neck of many young females,” Ngoh’s former student said.

“The new university must keep a close eye on Victor Ngoh. He is a dangerous element who should have never been within a university. I am not saying this to discredit him. He was simply an ill wind that did not blow any good to any girl. He adored sex and he was good at it. He could have sex all night and, in the morning, he would be looking as pale as Geoffrey Chaucer’s Squire in the Canterbury tales,” the frustrated former student said.

While those who have retired will go scot free, University of Buea authorities must seek to cleanse the Augean Stable that West Cameroon’s first Anglo-Saxon university has become. Prof. Agborbechem and Prof. Ernest Molua are simply the tip of a massive iceberg that is threatening the university’s reputation. Their unusually high and uncontrollable libido has transformed them into satyrs and the girls they are supposed to empower academically have become their sex slaves.

There is a lot of rot going on in the University of Buea. University authorities must think up new ways and means of controlling the male lecturers who are making a mockery of moral decency. The University of Buea was supposed to be a “place to be”, but it has turned out to be a place to be for free casual sex.

According to a source in the university, it is being rumored that some of the university’s lecturers insist on having sex with their victims without protection. A source in a clinic in Buea has hinted that HIV/AIDS prevalence among University of Buea students is astronomically high.

Meanwhile, the Cameroon Concord News Group’s permanent correspondent in Buea has reported that there is a lot of work to be done in the University of Buea if mentalities must change. Many lecturers, both part time and full time, unfortunately hold that free sex within the university is part of their benefits package. This mentality is not good for an institution of learning that is seeking to be among the best on the continent.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Stephen Mukake

30, August 2021

SOBA UK re-elects president and Executive Team ⁰

SOBA UK renewed the mandate of its executive bureau today amid preparations for their 2021 Annual Residential Convention.

A member of the newly elected SOBA UK executive team said following the election:

“We are excited to continue with our roles. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all SOBANS including the Cameroonian community in the UK particularly those who put extraordinary passion and effort into defending our academic and social heritage. We believe that by working together we can continue to transform SOBA UK into a more organised, powerful force. It is an honour to lead SOBA UK.”

SOBA UK 2021 Executive Elections – Official Confirmation of the Results

Dear Sobans,

On behalf of the patrons, I am pleased to confirm the final results of the members who have been

successfully elected to the executive of SOBA UK for the period from 1st September 2021 to 31st

August 2023;

1) PRESIDENT – FRANKLIN EGBE

2) VICE PRESIDENT – ATEM AKOH-ARREY

3) SECRETARY GENERAL – ASMARA EBAN

4) DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL – RALPH MBUA

5) EXECUTIVE TREASURER – BENEDICT TCHANTCHEU

6) FINANCIAL SECRETARY – KOBI AKONG

7) PUBLICITY OFFICER – FRITZ ESAMBI

The detailed results and statistics have been sent to all members who voted by Big Pulse for

Verification and the above results have been confirmed by patrons and elections observers on 26th

August, 2021.

Please join me in wishing these elected members every success in their roles as they seek to move

our association forward.

My gratitude goes to all voters who participated in the elections, 103 members registered to vote out

of 123 registered members (including 8 patrons who do not register to vote). I also want to thank the

Patrons for successfully managing the elections process and collaborating effectively with the

elections system provider, BigPulse.

We are pleased to have used elections observers and greatly appreciate their time and contribution

to the process. We look forward to any feedback that they may have on the process, fairness and

accessibility of voting to members.

Yours faithfully,

Soban Joseph Foncha

Lead Patron (On behalf of all Patrons)

27, August 2021

Covid-19: Has Delta killed the herd immunity dream? ⁰

As the Delta variant continues its global surge, experts are questioning whether the long-held goal of achieving herd immunity from Covid-19 through vaccination is still viable.

Herd immunity is achieved when a certain threshold of the global population has either been inoculated against a pathogen or has recovered from infection.

But whether or not it is achievable with Covid-19, with the regular emergence of more infectious strains, is up for debate.

“If the question is ‘will vaccination alone allow us to dampen and control the pandemic?’ the answer is: no,” epidemiologist Mircea Sofonea told AFP.

He said herd immunity hinged on two basic factors.

“That’s the intrinsic infectiousness of the virus and the efficacy of vaccines to protect against infection. And at the moment, that efficacy isn’t there.”

Delta has shown to be roughly 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and up to twice as infectious as the original strain that emerged in late 2019.

The more effective the virus becomes at infecting people, the higher the herd immunity threshold becomes.

“Theoretically, it’s a very simple calculation to make,” said epidemiologist Antoine Flahault.

For the original virus, which had a reproduction rate between zero and three — meaning each infected person infects up to three others — herd immunity could have been achieved with around 66 percent of people immunised, Flahault told AFP.

“But if the reproduction rate is eight, as with Delta, that puts us closer to 90 percent,” he said.

Were vaccines 100 percent effective at stopping Delta infections, that 90 percent could conceivably be possible. Unfortunately, they aren’t.

– Waning immunity? –

According to data published this week by US authorities, the efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines at preventing infection has fallen from 91 percent to 66 percent since Delta became the dominant variant.

And studies have shown that the vaccine efficacy against infection with Delta falls over time — one of the reasons why several countries are now readying for an autumn third shot, or “booster”, vaccination campaign.

With all this taken into account, absent other health measures such as mask-wearing or social distancing, Sofonea said it would take more than 100 percent of people to be vaccinated in order to guarantee transmissions end — an obvious impossibility.

“The Delta variant will still infect people who have been vaccinated and that does mean that anyone who’s still unvaccinated, at some point, will meet the virus,” Andrew Pollard, director of Britain’s Oxford Vaccine Group, told lawmakers this month.

– ‘Mythical’ –

But even if, as Pollard termed it, the “mythical” aim of herd immunity is no longer in play, experts stressed that getting vaccinated remained paramount.

As with vaccines against other, now-endemic diseases such as measles and influenza, the Covid vaccines offer excellent protection against severe illness.

“What scientists are recommending is to get the maximum number of people protected” through vaccination, said Flahault.

Eventually, of course, all pandemics end.

Sofonea said it would still be possible that Covid would become another endemic disease over time, “just not with vaccines alone”.

He envisioned a near future where “masks and social distancing continue in certain regions” in order to limit transmission and, ultimately, severe illness.

“During the AIDS pandemic, when scientists said we needed to wear condoms, lots of people said: ‘OK, we’ll do it for a while’,” said Flahault.

“And in the end they kept on using them. It could well be that we will continue using masks in enclosed spaces and on transport for quite some time.”

Source: AFP

25, August 2021

Cash-for-marks scandal rocks Buea University, lecturers implicated! ⁰

Cameroonian Universities under the Biya Francophone regime are rife with corruption and several instances of moral turpitude. The University of Buea (UB) is not immune from this vice; a recent press release linked to the revaluation of answer sheets attests.

Under the ruling CPDM crime syndicate, lecturers who took bribes and corrected the marks of dozens of students including those who had sex with under-aged female students have often escaped with a lenient punishment or go scot-free making the mark tampering scheme to flourish in the University of Buea.

Prof Ngomo Horrace Manga, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea is leading the investigation this time around pertaining to the final-semester examination involving money being transferred via MTN services to UB lecturers.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the first step in the process is for the lecturers to humiliate the students who do not clear the exam. After that the lecturers comforts them and says he would be able to help. He eventually takes a bribe and changes the marks.

The Vice Chancellor’s communiqué made public evidence collected from several students when the irregularity was brought to light.

It is estimated that some one hundred students benefitted from the cash-for-marks scam scheme.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from Mukake Stephen in Buea

18, August 2021

Pope Francis appears in video promoting Covid-19 jabs as ‘act of love’ ⁰

Pope Francis said getting the coronavirus vaccine was “an act of love” Wednesday, as the head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics joined a campaign to boost confidence in Covid-19 jabs.

“Thanks to God and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19,” Francis said in a message for the US-based “It’s Up to You” initiative.

“They grant us the hope of ending the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we work together,” he said in the video, aimed at communities disproportionately affected by the virus in North, Central and South America.

“Being vaccinated… is an act of love,” the 84-year old said.

“And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love. Love for oneself, love for one’s family and friends, love for all people“.

Coronavirus has killed at least 4,370,427 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

Despite mass vaccine campaigns, conspiracy theories and distrust of governments or pharmaceuticals are fuelling transmission of the virus.

In the US, the worst-affected country in terms of Covid-19 deaths, the vast majority of new fatalities and serious cases are among the unvaccinated.

Francis was joined by cardinals and archbishops from Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Peru for the campaign by the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

(AFP)

17, August 2021

2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION LAUNCH ⁰

Today, SOBA UK announced the 2021 Annual Residential Convention, officially known as the SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION LAUNCH.

Currently in development, the 2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION LAUNCH opens in a new tab and is being directed to “Appreciating Community Spirit”.

Poised to be the first major African event in the UK after the Covid-19 pandemic, SOBANS have developed the Annual Residential Convention Launch to address systemic diversity and equity issues deep within the Sasse Old Boys.

Below is the official statement from the SOBA UK leadership

We trust that you and your family are keeping well.

We are delighted to announce the 2021 SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention to be held at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent, from 15th to 17th October 2021. St George’s Park is the Home of the England National football teams and is a magnificent venue for Sobans, their families, and guests to have a great get away and the ultimate event experience over two days.

In 2018, SOBA UK selected St George’s Park and delivered one of its most successful conventions. The feedback from our guests were excellent and we hope to surpass that experience again this year. Some facts about The Hilton at St George’s Park are in the attached 3-paged flyer accompanying this launch

Covid-19 measures

In July, the UK Government lifted all lockdown restrictions relating to social gatherings. This has allowed SOBA UK and the Hilton to proceed with this convention. However, SOBA UK will seek to provide reasonable safety measures and encourages all guests to take the necessary Covid-19 measures, in line with government advice.

We encourage our guests to take their double vaccine jabs and/or take a Covid test prior to the event. The capacity at the event will be limited to 250 places to allow for sufficient distancing and guests will have access to hand sanitisers and temperature checks at entry. In addition, the gala event will start at 4.30pm and finish at 2.30am, to adjust to the new normal.

Convention theme

The theme of this year’s Convention is “Appreciating Community Spirit”, reflecting on the difficult year we have had as a community due to the Covid-19 pandemic, those who have suffered illness or lost loved ones, and on how we have missed the company of each other. This theme also extends to our communities in Cameroon who have benefitted from our collective kindness here in the UK from past fundraising initiatives. Our fundraising focus this year is equipping the Sasse College library. We will be looking to assist where possible and we look forward to your generous support. We will supplement our usual fundraising event at the gala with a GoFundMe campaign, which will be launched in the coming week.

We have allowed free time on the Saturday 16th October up to 4pm for Soban parents to spend quality time with their families at the venue. This has been made possible by moving our Annual General Assembly Meeting to take place virtually and a week prior to the convention.

We will make available the services of a children entertainer on the day on the Saturday 16th.

We will also be making available a nanny service (for a fee and subject to demand) on the Saturday night whilst parents attend the convention ball at the Sir Bobby Robson Ballroom. Please confirm upon booking your ticket the number of children in your party.

Given the early gala start time, we recognise the need to provide dinner for our children and we will be providing each family with snacks. Please confirm upon booking your ticket if you will require the snack and the number of children in your party.

We will make available the services of a children entertainer on the day on the Saturday 16th.

We will also be making available a nanny service (for a fee and subject to demand) on the Saturday night

whilst parents attend the convention ball at the Sir Bobby Robson Ballroom. Please confirm upon booking your ticket the number of children in your party.

Ticket price

SOBA UK always seeks to deliver great value events at competitive prices to our guests. However, following the year and half long pandemic shutdowns hotel venues have significantly increased their prices but we have modestly reflected these increased costs in our ticket prices. Our price will be £100 for a standard ticket with an early bird discount of £50 to a table of 10 guests which ends on 25th September. Please contact our sales agents for more details – contact and payment details are on the attached flyer.

Hotel rooms

There are limited rooms available, and rooms can only be purchase via the link provided below. The hotel is already sold out for Saturday 16th October, except for the rooms allocated to our guests. Please book your room as soon as possible. We expect the demand for hotel rooms to be very high for those seeking to stay at the venue. CLICK HERE TO OPEN HOTEL BOOKING LINK

On behalf of all Sobans in the UK, we say a big thank you in advance for your continued support of SOBA UK.

We encourage you to buy your tickets as soon as possible and begin your planning for the convention.

We look forward to welcoming you and your families at The Hilton at St George’s Park.

Kind regards

Franklin Egbe

President, SOBA UK On behalf of the SOBA UK Event Management team

4, August 2021

Nkotti François has died ⁰

Makossa legend and leader of the renowned group “Black Styl” Nkotti François has died today August 4, 2021 in the Douala General Hospital.

Desto as he was often referred to by his colleagues and fans all over the world, celebrated his 50 years of musical career recently and published an autobiographical book that traces his long and rich musical career with the likes of Toto Guillaume, Emile Kangue, Ake Loba, and Monie Miller.

Nkotti François was one of the patriarchs of Makossa who successfully recorded several albums with more than 150 songs.

He created the national song contest which has become today “Mutzig star”. He was also an economic actor with the Musical, Artistic, Industrial and Commercial Fair of Cameroon (Fomaric) of which he was the boss for over twenty years.

A multidimensional man, Nkotti François was also a militant of the ruling CPDM party and was elected mayor in (2002-2013) of the Bonalea district, Moungo Division in the Littoral region.

By Fon Lawrence

4, August 2021

Man dresses as a woman to sit exams on behalf of girlfriend ⁰

A Senegalese student was detained Monday after he disguised himself as a woman in a bid to sit for national examinations on behalf of his girlfriend.

The student, enrolled in a university in the north of the country, and his girlfriend “were placed under arrest on Monday evening.

They will be tried on Thursday with his girlfriend for “exam fraud”, their lawyer said Tuesday.

“The couple is to be “tried on (Thursday) August 5 for exam fraud and complicity in fraud”, by the court of Diourbel,” the prosecutor said.

The student, whose age was not disclosed, had moved to Diourbel to take the exams for his girlfriend, a student in a high school in this city, according to the prosecution.

Photos posted on social networks depicted him wearing a red dress with black patterns, wearing a veil with the same colors and a black shawl, to deceive the invigilators.

He was surprised on Saturday, the third day of the exam, during the English test, by the supervisors, who according to the press, noticed that something was wrong with his attire.

They then reported him to the police who arrested him and his girlfriend who was waiting for him in a hostel in the city, according to the same source.

Source: Africa News

1, August 2021

Kassav: Musicians worldwide mourn passing of Jacob Desvarieux ⁰

Tributes are pouring in for Guadeloupean musician Jacob Desvarieux, co-founder of the band Kassav’ who died at the age of 65 on Friday after catching Covid. He shot to fame in the 1980s with the invention of ‘zouk’ – bringing the fast, catchy sounds of the Caribbean to the world.

Local media in the French territory of Guadeloupe announced his death late on Friday, prompting an outpouring of grief.

“A giant of zouk music. An unparalleled guitarist. An emblematic voice of the West Indies. Jacob Desvarieux was all of these things at once,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

In poor health after undergoing a kidney transplant, the singer and guitarist was taken to hospital in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe’s largest city, on 12 July after catching Covid-19.

“The West Indies, Africa and music have just lost one of their greatest ambassadors,” tweeted Senegalese music star Youssou N’Dour.

“Jacob, thanks to your art, you brought the West Indies and Africa closer together. Dakar where you once lived mourns you. Farewell friend.”

A successful experiment

Desvarieux told French daily Liberation in 2016 that his band Kassav’ started out in Paris as an experiment.

“We wanted to find a soundtrack that would combine all the previous (Caribbean) traditions and sounds, but that would be exportable everywhere,” he said.

And so zouk was born, rising to global fame, particularly in France and on the African continent where people partied to its festive rhythm.

“We questioned our origins through our music,” Desvarieux told Liberation. “What were we doing here, we who were black and spoke French?”

Kassav’ rose to prominence along with the increasing popularity of world music in the 1980s.

Modern twist

The brainchild of Guadeloupean artists Pierre-Edouard Decimus and Freddy Marshall, the band was founded in 1979 with Desvarieux, who was born in Paris and had been influenced by guitarists Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix.

The band’s base style is gwo ka, a kind of Guadeloupean drumming music, topped up with ingredients from all over the Caribbean and a modern twist.

Kassav’s first album was released in 1979, and the band reached its peak popularity at the end of the 1980s.

It signed a contract with the multinational CBS record label, and was praised by jazz legend Miles Davis.

Since then, zouk music’s popularity has waned but Kassav’ continues to attract crowds at its concerts.

Source: RFI