Ace musician, Ndedi Eyango has spoken out on the crisis that rocked the Cameroon Authors’ Rights Corporation, SOCAM, a few weeks after he won the elections that catapulted him to the post of board chairman of the corporation- a position he sat on for less than a month, owing to controversies over his dual nationality status.
Eyango held spectators spellbound for about 30 minutes when he took the rostrum at a concert at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, organised by the Cameroon Association of Female and Male musicians of integrity on Sunday December 7. He was made honorary president of the association during the event.
Eyango who was in 2013, refused the right to head SOCAM after winning its general election, told spectators that he is doing just fine after the crisis and that he got into the struggle for leadership of the corporation because he had a vision for Cameroonian artistes who up till now are unable to make a living out of music.
“Cameroon music is not functional and the country’s culture is dying as foreign music has overshadowed local genres” he said.
“Cameroon is the only country that lacks concert podiums for shows, and big companies to produce and promote musicians. Even small countries like Gabon, Benin and Equatorial Guinea” he said, “have great cultural centres”
Eyango explained that he gave up the fight for the SOCAM chairmanship because he realised that he was fighting against fools. “I would have been a bigger fool to continue fighting with fools” he stated.
“I created Preya Music in 2005 to help young Cameroonian musicians and I have come to realise that I can still continue helping them even out of SOCAM”
Acknowledging the presence of a representative of Raymond Tchenga, a business tycoon and music producer who reportedly sponsored the manoeuvres that led to his sacking at SOCAM, Eyango said that they are present at the event because they have decided to unite and look for solutions that will help upcoming artists and the music industry as a whole.
He revealed that Tchenga had apologised to him, but stressed that he owes an apology to all artists who voted him as board chairman for SOCAM, because he believes they were the most disappointed.
The artists he said voted for a vision and today there seem to be no way it would ever become a reality. “I forgave because I believe that being made in God’s image is not enough and that we need to behave in a Godlike many. Whenever one asks us for forgiveness, we should forgive because a wicked man would never beg for forgiveness. Though I don’t know what motivated him to do the things he did, I forgive him and permit me reiterate that he needs to apologise to artists who voted for me.” Eyango said.
A visibly still disappointed Eyango told the crowd that he feels Cameroonian whatever the case may be and that he has a family and village in Cameroon, called Kongsamba. “I do not have a village in the USA and I am comforted by the love shown me in Cameroon”
Eyango who lives most of his life in the U.S.A, said that so many people had asked him why remain indifferent despite criticisms in the media.
“I told them that I have a limited budget and time for music production and shows and nothing to spend on bribing the press. Some of them were sponsored by the Ministry of Arts and Culture to throw dirt on my name but I have always had one thing in mind; a good piece of music will last forever while a paid write up in the media could be forgotten sooner than one may think.”
Cameroon lacks good production studios, promoters and marketers. To Eyango, this is what musicians should concentrate on, because authors’ rights are at the end of the channel and contribute only ten percent to their income as artists.
“It’s unfortunate that in Cameroon, more are interested in royalties rather than music itself. A post of responsibility is not a career” He urged artists to do good music and use the media for promotion instead of insulting people over radio stations.
He doled out FCFA500thousand for the launching of an album presented at the concert by the Cameroon Association of Female and Male musicians of Integrity. Contributions also came in from Raymond Tchenga, Bochong Sam Francis Cho of Christ the King Anglo-Saxon boarding College, among other patrons and matrons of the association.
The association’s President, Adeline Mbengkum, in her keynote speech, thanked Eyango, noting that he was the one who supported them and facilitated the recording of the album of 26 songs. Some 25 musicians participated in the recording of the double CD which contains rhythms from all ten regions of Cameroon. “The album is Cameroon in miniature. We have Njang of the North West, Benskin from the West, Bikutsi, melodies from the Northern regions and elsewhere, as well as a blend of contemporary gospel and traditional music.”
