Personality of The Week: Prof Victor Mbarika: ICT University Founder, philanthropist.

Little wonder, till date, most African presidents and leaders alike have been repeatedly appealing for the Diaspora to contribute to nation building.  In the Cameroonian setting, the Head of State, President Paul Biya, has been consistent in making such an appeal.

A few compatriots have been responding to such Presidential calls in different capacities, but others have done so exceptionally and putting their soul and intellect at the service of the nation in no small measure. 

In this category, names that come to mind are rare to find but given that impossibility, the say is not Cameroonian, such outstanding characters have stayed at that level perpetually.

This is where revered, renowned and erudite scholar of global affirmation, Prof. Victor Mbarika, features prominently. He is a man who has exceptionally scaled through several echelons in contributing to nation building.

This week, Prof Mbarika engaged the ICT University where he is Founder and President of the Board of Trustees, to boost the social Vaccine Programme of the First Lady, Chantal Biya. 

The historic Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, was signed on the campus of the international institution in Yaounde, on Tuesday October 15, 2024.

Through the deal, Prof Mbarika and the ICT University will put their known expertise in ICTs, at the service of bolstering the First Lady, Chantal Biya’s messages in combating HIV/AIDs among young people and strengthening the war against other emerging diseases. 

It is a robust commitment that finds its place at the centre of recurrent moves to put technology at the heart of every aspect of national life.

Across the board, there has been unending praises for the ICT University and its Founder, Prof Victor Mbarika, for once more demonstrating the contemporary importance of the institution to national development. 

For others, Prof Mbarika has simply made available to Cameroon, a genuine template to take key messages to young people on social media and coordinating them to remain committed to learning and living descend lives.

Within   and without, our readers too have been having a vital national and international reading of the ICT University in the Social Vaccine Programme of The First Lady. 

Many say Prof Mbarika, who is not new to patriotic moves, has this time around answered his name in the fame and standing that goes with this esteemed column of Personality of The Week.

The ICT University Founder, who is a celebrated global scholar, admirers say, has once more proven his relevance, not only to the globe but shining the light in enhancing national development and nation building. 

Beyond being a futurist with a fine sense of perception, foresight and projection for the future, Prof. Victor Mbarika, many say and rightly so, knows a healthy youth remains the major asset of every nation.

For opting to augment the role of ICTs in amplifying the work of The First Lady, Chantal Biya, through her social vaccine programme, the internationally acclaimed entrepreneur, researcher and builder, shapes himself to the fitting of an all-round star.

Prof Victor Mbarika thus squares into the rare portfolio of a patriot who is responding progressively to the Head of State, President Paul Biya’s call to have the Diaspora move Cameroon forward. 

Calm, principled, humble, God-fearing and ever forward looking, your Personality of The Week has been catapulted to the level of an outstanding Diaspora patriot.

The ICT University Founder is revolving on the wings of angels and the praises of men this season for what our readers say are his unstoppable impulsions, given to several national initiatives. 

He thus makes the podium of honour, distinguishing himself again and again as a productive character of the pristine value.

Prof Victor Mbarika is no ordinary patriot. He is a builder of nations which footprints are visible across the continents of the globe. 

He has continued to have a special place in the heart of Africans and Cameroonians in particular for repeatedly taking deliberate steps to push and accelerate the course of development.

Many of those thumping for him this season for giving technology a new meaning in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other emerging diseases say Prof. Victor Mbarika is a pragmatist. He says and does what he knows best without reserve.

The scholar is a man who has refused to be slowed by his achievements of yesterday. Those who work closely with Prof. Mbarika say he believes in the continuous hitting of new heights as the best way to stay relevant. 

He is not a man of one season. No! Prof. Victor Mbarika is a known standout character in everything he does and has consistently been shining across seasons. Seasons don’t define your Personality of The Week. He defines and make seasons relevant.

He hates mediocrity and laziness in all its forms. As a veritable character with several rare distinctions to his credit, this global citizen with a Cameroonian identity, many say, has done more than enough to spotlight his country and enhance the wellbeing of its people. 

The stars are glistening at the mention of the name, Prof. Victor Mbarika, at exceptional levels this season for also brightening the framework of The First Lady, in staying Cameroonian young people off harm’s way.

Many say they see the globally acclaimed scholar as a man with a heart that beats for Cameroon. He remained atop the best breeds of the nation’s Diaspora given his surpassing support for private and government ventures.

Prof. Mbarika noses for excellence and has the humility to identify things of that rating when he sees them. Little wonder he told reporters at the singing of the MoU with The First Lady’s Social Vaccine Program that: “ICT University is not starting anything new for her. We are backing her project by bringing in technology to spread the message on vaccination as well as prevention of HIV and other pandemics”.

He is being put at the apex of what makes for exceptional national honour because he is not a chaser of the cloud. Prof. Victor Mbarika, analysts say and rightly so, has walked himself to the realm of a global catalyser, such that everything he puts his hand on standouts out. Your Personality of The Week has grown from being an individual to an institution. 

Prof. Mbarika knows more than anyone else that innovation is the best way to win. He is an innovator who is imagining the future of the nation and filling the gaps, especially in the field of technology.

He is an all-time achiever and supporter of the underprivileged. Prof. Mbarika is a man of absolute golden knack and allure. He has to his credit, three Lifetime Achievement Awards in higher education. 

This eminent professor is author of over 250 academic publications in the form of books, peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters.

In 2022, the International Committee of Excellence, ICE, awarded the Mbarika-founded ICT University the Sub-Regional Award for Academic Excellence and Innovation. The same committee conferred on the scholar the 2021African Entrepreneurship Prize. 

Prof Mbarika is a man with a unique intelligence quotient. He used five years to earn a BSc in Management Information Systems, MIS, from the U.S International University; MSc in MIS from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Ph.D. in MIS from Auburn University, USA.

Across the world, he remains a highly prized scholar and model in appropriating ICTs for development purposes. He is an ICT consultant who has put his services at the disposal of several international organisations such as the United Nations, UN-Information Technology University, ITU, Harvard University, the African Union AU among others.

Your Personality of The Week is a five-time winner of the respected U.S. State Department Fulbright to train scholars from developing nations at his research center in America.

Prof. Mbarika is member of several international organisations among them; the Association of Information Systems, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE and a lifetime Member of Beta Gama Sigma International Honor Society. In 2023, he was conferred the African Achievers Award at the Palace of Westminster in the United Kingdom, UK.

Given his contributions of yesterday, today and the future to nation building, Prof. Mbarika has been weighed and approved as a vital pillar in government’s National Development Strategy, SND2020-2030. 

For selflessly prioritising Cameroon in his ventures, Prof. Mbarika stands unbeaten as a veritable pillar of national development. 

Cameroon, Africa and the world are proud of you Sir!

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3263 of Friday October 18, 2024