Media guru, Chief Nzohngandembou, bows out.

Chief Nzohngandembou’s Limbe-based Eden Media Group, which comprises Eden Newspaper, Eden Radio and EdenXtra Magazine, has groomed many journalists, who are now excelling in the print, audiovisual, online media, the corporate world and other walks of life.

Tributes galore

Tributes have been pouring in since the sad news about the death of the media colossus broke.

Rose Obah, National President of Cameroon Community Media Network, CCMN, who once worked at Eden Media Group, described Chief Nzohngandembou’s demise as “a bitter pill to swallow”.

“RIP my very first boss, the one who tested my practical abilities in journalism after my undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. You remain an outstanding media icon across borders,” she wrote on her Facebook page.

On his part, another media heavyweight, Bonny Dashaco, CEO of Dash Holdings, also commenting on his Facebook page, wrote: “You contributed enormously to the growth of Media Development in this country. We shall celebrate you. Thank you for all you did. Forever in our hearts. Adieu Great Media Soldier. My sincere condolences to your wife, kids and to the media world”.

A rare breed

Another journalist, Solomon Amabo, who also once worked at Eden Media Group, described Chief Nzohngandembou as “a rare breed”.

“He gave everyone the opportunity. I remember while still a student, I reported for his newspaper from Buea, without ever knowing him. I just covered events and reported and some of my stories made headlines in Eden Newspaper, which he owned and managed...One day, he rang my phone and invited me to Limbe. I was surprised at the VIP treatment I received. He lodged me over the weekend and gave me all the encouragement a Publisher can give an aspiring reporter,” Amabo wrote.

“…I met a very knowledgeable and inspiring publisher…It became a matter of father and son! From that day, I was put on a salary as reporter for Eden Newspaper,” he added.

Amabo continued that: “When Equinox Radio in Douala was shut down on February 25, 2008, and the Biya regime created fear, hunting journalists, I again returned to Limbe. Chief Nzohngandembou gave me again a chance to work with the News Department of Eden Radio. We kept the radio alive…he was there always and coaching”.

“In 2020 when I needed recommendations to apply for the Swedish Institute Scholarship, he was one of those who stood by me. I remember he had to leave his house to his office at about 8:00 p.m. just to have the reference letter signed and stamped. And he did all these without blowing his trumpet. How happy he was, when I informed him, I was finally awarded the scholarship,” Amabo disclosed.

“Chief, I will not mourn but celebrate you. I wish to thank you for all your support, encouragement, and guidance and for the opportunity you gave me. I will always remember your professional and wise fatherly counsels…,” he said.

On her part, the president of the South West Chapter of CCMN, Geraldine Fobang, extended “condolences to the bereaved family, especially his daughter, Ntube Nzohngandembou, who represents Eden Media Group in CCMN”.

The president of the Limbe Chapter of Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ, Kuma Honore, regretted the passing away of Chief Nzohngandembou.

“The late ace journalist was one of the founding fathers of our darling association,” he said in a statement.

Chief Zachee Nzohngandembou the man

He was born in Boka Bajoh, a small village in Bangem Sub-Division, Kupe-Muanenguba Division of the South West Region, on August 13, 1958.

After primary school at Presbyterian School Ekanjoh, he attended Presbyterian Secondary School, PSS, Besongabang, after which he moved to Government Bilingual High School, Buea, from where he obtained the GCE Advanced Level in 1978.

Thereafter, he studied at Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, Nigeria, obtaining a certificate in Sub Editing. He then studied at the School of Journalism and TV, Berkshire, England from where he obtained a Diploma in Mass Communication.

His next stop in his academic pursuit was at the University of Jos, Nigeria, obtaining an Advanced Certificate in Journalism. Nzohngandembou then returned to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, obtaining a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism.

Other professional trainings Nzohngandembou undertook include a Certificate in Rural Development Management (University of Reading-United Kingdom), Certificate in Social Forestry for Sustainable Development (University of the Philippines-Los Banos), Quality Management for Africa (AOTS-Japan) and Writing Skills for Distance Education (University of Nairobi, Kenya).

Chief Nzohngandembou worked for several Nigerian newspapers including The Democrat and New Nigerian.

Upon returning to Cameroon, he worked at INADES Formation before quitting in 1990 to form a Non-Governmental Association known as Centre for the Environment and Rural Transformation, CERUT. He was Executive Director of CERUT.

In 2004, EDEN (Environment and Development News) was born as a communication subsidiary of CERUT.

He was also Coordinator of African Forest Action Network, AFAN, an umbrella Institution of African NGOs working in the field of conservation and sustainable management of forest resources.

Very widely travelled, the hard-working, brilliant and down-to-earth Chief Nzohngandembou attended several international seminars, workshops and meetings in USA, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, Central African Republic, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Japan, Philippines, Dominican Republic, Belgium, Ghana, Burundi, Gabon, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Senegal, The Gambia among others.

The affable Chief Zachee Nzohngandembou was Chief of the Bakossi Community in Limbe, Fako Division of the South West Region. He was also councillor of the Limbe I Council.

He leaves behind his wife, children, media practitioners, friends and well-wishers to mourn him.

His funeral programme is yet to be made public.