Activists push for Ruben Um Nyobé's monument to be erected in Dla

Cameroonian activists want at their expense the erection of a monument of their national hero, Ruben Um Nyobè. "We want to erect the building in the place of the Monument du Général Leclerc or even at the Salle des fêtes Akwa. The monument has been made in bronze and brass and it measures 2metres10 and weighs 170 Kg," explains André Blaise Essama, an activist.

According to these citizens, André Marie Mbida, Ruben Um Nyobé, Ernest Ouandié, Ogogo Afana and many others are heroes forgotten in the history of Cameroon thus they would like to build their monuments; which would be sited in the ten regions of the country.

Moreover, the statues of Ruben Um Nyobè, drawn on paper and proposed by André Blaise Essama, shows a nationalist visionary who sacrificed and gave his life for the birth of the Cameroonian Nation.

The said monument designer designed an Um Nyobé who brandishes a tree of peace on his right hand and the left a bundle of lances (symbol of weapons of war or hunting).

Ruben Um Nyobè known for his vehemence was at the head of the UPC in November 1948. He is characterized by his outspokenness and his many writings. He opposed the french colonial power and calling in his words "total independence" while raising national awareness and causing the decolonization process that followed in 1960.