Cameroon:Chief Foanyi Nkemayang raised to“Commander of Order of Valor” at Death

By Christopher Ambe

 Thousands of mourners, from far and wide, Saturday July 25, attended the requiem of Chief Foanyi Nkemanyang Paul, publisher of The Star Newspaper at the St. John of God Catholic Church in Bonadikombo-Limbe, to pay their last respects to the fallen media practitioner, generally described as a committed crusader of social justice and media rights.

The State of Cameroon  at the  funeral mass ,which was  officiated by the His Grace, Archbishop of Bamenda Arch Diocese Andrew Nkea  with the assistance of the Apostolic Administrator of the Buea Diocese,His Lordship Bishop Michael Bibi ,and attended among other national dignitaries  by Minister-Delegate Paul Tasong and Senator Charles Mbella Moki,  decorated posthumously  Chief Foanyi   as “ Commander of the Cameroon Order of Valor” for his valuable services to the nation.

 While alive, the deceased had earned several other decorations and awards. For example, he was an awardee of the National Order of Merit.

The posthumous decoration, during the funeral, was pinned on the deceased’s casket by Dr. Mohammadou, Secretary-General at Southwest Governor’s Office on behalf of the State, after Mr. Ngenbane Daniel Ekole, Inspector-general at same office had presented the condolences of Southwest Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai (who was absent), to the bereaved family and media corps.

Archbishop Nkea, in his homily, described as huge loss the transition of late Chief Foanyi, whom he said was a devout Christian and passionate advocate of social justice and human rights. He noted that the deceased had defended the pride of Lebialem and the Bangwa culture with all his might at all time.

He said the death of a Christian has a lot of meaning since there is the second chance to live again(resurrection hope),and urged Christians to always prepare for the inevitable.

Late Chief Foanyi was buried at his Mile 4-Limbe residence.

Chief Foanyi, aged 61, got married to Clara Elangwe 23 years ago and both were blessed with three children.

Chief Foanyi, a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) since 1981, had practiced journalism for several decades and held several executive positions in national and international journalism associations before his death.

He had served two terms as national President of the Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ); was pioneer President of Commonwealth Journalists Association-Cameroon; in 2016, Chief Foanyi was elected Vice-President for Africa of the Commonwealth Journalists Association.

 In 2004, Chief Foanyi was appointed by President Paul Biya as member of the National Communication Council and he served one term.

According to excerpts of his biography on his funeral magazine, “The Late Fua Foanyi Nkemanyang was not just a man of many parts; he was a journalist to the core, a stickler for justice, a leader par excellence, a traditionalist and human rights activist. For this he suffered several detentions but remained unbowed. Long before he was crowned traditional chief in his native Fontem, Lebialem, he had been honored with the traditional title of ‘Osari Maribo’ in Manyu.

“Foanyi was a socialite, a free mixer and completely detribalized Cameroonian whose friends cut across every tribe and region of the country. He was extremely generous and helped bring up many of whom were not related to him by blood”

Late chief Foanyi  was born on March 8,1959 at Efusap-Fontem in Lebialem Division ,Southwest Region to Mbeh Nkemanyang(Chief Forfusap) and Anyi Njilefac of blessed memory .

The deceased attended primary school in Mamfe and Mbindia,Fontem.Later did his secondary education in Cameroon College of Commerce,CCC  Kumab and upon graduation, he was recruited as a cub reporter of “Cameroon Times”.He also taught at New Era Commercial Institute, Half Mile-Victoria.

In 1979, he gained admission into the Nigerian Institute of Journalism and graduated in 1981 with a diploma in journalism.

Back in Cameroon, Nkemanyang worked with Les Brasseries du Cameroun as the Southwest Chief of Publicity, but would abandon the job to become Editor of the “Sunday Times”; later, he became a founding member of “Day Dawn” newspaper ;then in 1991, he joined “The Herald” Newspaper of Dr. Boniface Forbin, his former  Mass Communication teacher. He worked with The Herald as advertising agent and reporter for a while.

Parting ways with “The Herald”, Nkemanyang set up “The Star Headlines” which later was renamed “The Star Newspaper”.

Amongst his academic qualifications, the deceased had a diploma in Management from Pan African Institute for Development (PAID-WA)Buea.

In 2011, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in journalism by a university in Britain.

Chief Foanyi, who died on 18 June 2020 in a hospital in Limbe after suffering from a malaise, has left behind family members, colleagues and friends to mourn celebrate and remember him.