The Life and Times of a Cameroonian Icon: Tribute to Lapiro De Mbanga Ngata Man

Wuteh Vakunta

Description

This book is the celebration of one man's vendetta against a cancerous regime that thrives on the rape of democracy and human rights abuses. Lapiro de Mbanga, born Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger on April 7, 1957 was a conduit for social change. He fought for change in his homeland and died fighting for change in Cameroon. Lapiro believed in the innate goodness of man but also had the conviction that absolute power corrupts absolutely. He was noted for contending that "power creates monsters." His entire musical career was devoted to fighting the cause of the downtrodden in Cameroon. He composed satirical songs on the socio-economic dysphonia in his beleaguered country. In his songs, he articulated the daily travails of the man in the street and the government-orchestrated injustices he witnessed. As a songwriter, Lapiro de Mbanga distinguished himself from his peers through bravado, valiance and the courage to say overtly what many a Cameroonian musician would only mumble in the privacy of their homes. Lapiro's anti-establishment music led to his arrest and imprisonment in September 2009 for three years. Released from prison on April 8, 2011 he was later given political asylum by the USA. On September 2, 2012 Lapiro relocated with some members of his family to Buffalo in New York where he died on March 16, 2014 after an illness. His revolutionary music and fighting spirit live on.

Sujets

• Autobiography
• Biography

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 02 mai 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 10
• EAN13: 9789956791354
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

social change. He fought for change in his homeland and died fighting for

devoted to fighting the cause of the downtrodden in Cameroon. He composed

September 2, 2012 Lapiro relocated with some members of his family to Buffalo

music and fighting spirit live on.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A CAMEROONIAN ICON T RIBUTETO L APIRO D E M BANGA N GATA M AN

Peter Wuteh Vakunta

The Life and Times of a Cameroonian Icon: Tribute to Lapiro De Mbanga Ngata Man Peter Wuteh Vakunta Langaa Research & Publishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookcollective.com ISBN: 9956-791-94-6 ©Peter Wuteh Vakunta2014

DISCLAIMER All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.

Dedication To Lapiro de Mbanga, a fallen hero

Table of Contents Acknowledgement……………………………………..vii Preface………………………………………………….ix Chapter 1: Theorizing Orality and Human Rights in Cameroon and Africa………………………………….1 Chapter 2: Lapiro Parle: Entretien avec le Professeur Vakunta………………………………………………...7 Chapter 3: Entertaining Political Dissent in Cameroon………………………………………………41 Chapter 4: Lapiroisms: Tool of Resistance in Lapiro’s Songwriting…………………………………………….61 Chapter 5: Anti-Establishment Lyrics of Lapiro, Valsero and Elwood…………………………………………….69 Chapter 6: Fictionalizing the Rebel Art of Lapiro de Mbanga………………………………………………...87 Chapter 7: Eulogies and Obituaries for the Fallen Hero……………………………………………………107 Chapter 8: Epilogue…………………………………... 153 Works cited…………………………………………….171 Discography……………………………………………177 v

Index……………………………………………………183

vi

Acknowledgement No intellectual endeavor is free of humps, obstacles and barriers to be scaled. One can never get into the correct track on one’s own initiative alone. In June 2012, I made a fortuitous trip to Cameroon with the intent to meet with Lapiro de Mbanga and talk about his travails in the wake of his release from the notorious New Bell prison. Though totally unannounced, Lapiro granted me not just a warm welcome but also an insightful interview that lasted over an hour in his palatial home in the town of Mbanga in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. This is an appropriate forum for me to express my deepest gratitude to a departed magnanimous man who seemsed to have been more maligned than eulogized at home and in the diaspora. The onus is mine also express my gratitude to various print and e- journals for permission to reprint portions of the present manuscript that originally appeared under their auspices. Friends have been supportive during the preparation of this work. I owe them a debt of gratitude. My spouse and kids have provided more indispensable support than they will ever know. I remain forever indepted to them.

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Preface Revolutionary ideas tend to outlive their originators. It takes a selfless hero to change a society. Lapiro de Mbanga, born Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger on April 7, 1957 was a conduit for social change. He fought for change in his homeland and died fighting for change in Cameroon. Lapiro believed in the innate goodness of man but also had the conviction that absolute power corrupts absolutely. He was noted for contending that “power creates monsters.” His entire musical career was devoted to fighting the cause of the downtrodden in Cameroon. He composed satiricalon the socio- songs economic dysphonia in his beleaguered country.In his songs, he articulated the daily travails of the man in the street and the government-orchestrated injustices he witnessed. Initiated into the pro-democracy movement of his own accord in the early 1990s in the wake of the launch of Ni John Fru Ndi’s Social Democratic Front (SDF) at Ntarikon Park in Bamenda, Lapiro remained steadfastly committed to his crusade against misgovernment, politics of ethnicity, tribalism, corruption,culture of impunity,influence peddling, electoral fraud and gerrymandering. Lapiro was laureate of many prizes, the most prestigious of which is theFreedom to Create Award, conferred on him byFreemuse in November 2009 at a ceremony in London. The Life and Times of a Cameroonian Icon: Tribute to Lapiro De Mbanga Ngata Manis the celebration of one man’s vendetta against a cancerous regime that thrives on the rape of democracy and human rights abuses. Paul Biya, Lapiro’s pet- peeve, symbolizes inhumaneness, misgovernment and the abortive democratization process with which Cameroon has come to be identified. The leitmotif in this book is the ix