Ayuk Iyok, the president general of the very renowned Sasse Old Boys Association, SOBA, is a man of few words but a lot of positive action. The SUN newspaper was able to pull out a long interview from him. He acknowledges that SOBA, being a complex and at times complicated association, communication is very vital. He talked to the The SUN newspaper on a wide range of issues two and a half years into his mandate especially his flagship project, the road from the main entrance to the central point of the school, maintaining the college’s legendary high standards, the UK infighting and the SOBA Finance, a micro finance establishment that is generating a lot of dust and of course the upcoming SOBA reunion of April 29. He was interviewed by The SUN’s CEO/Managing Editor, Norbert Wasso Binde and City Reporter, Simon Kalla.
The SUN: Mr. Ayuk Iyok, you are the president general of the Sasse Old Boys Association, SOBA, thank you for granting this interview to The SUN Newspaper
Ayuk Iyok: Thank you very much.
You are two and a half years into your mandate asthe president general of SOBA.What assessment can you make of it so far?
We think that we are on the right track. We have visited all chapters, we have re-energized the movement, the flagship project which I announced on the first day, we have gone about two third of it, so I think on the whole I am positive especially the road project, a lot of people said it was impossible but slowly and surely, we will get there.
We were to come to the road project. What has been done and what needs to be done to finish the road.How much money has gone into it and how much money still has to go into it?
It is close to two and the half yearswhen we launched the project and did the cost. Since then there has been a hike in prices in everything, so the cost of the project initially we said was FCFA 65 million and we tried to reduce the size of the road. The width from 6m to 4.5m so that we can take it.We initially thought that it can take us round the main field, but now with the price hike FCFA 65million will just take us to the principal’s house. As we speak, we have spent close to FCFA 40 million and we think with about FCFA 20 million more, we will get infront of Saint Paul which is the real objective because we went there with the Bishop and we noticed that during the rains, that part of the school front is very bad and very muddy. We thought that at least we should get there. So if we get FCFA 20million we will get there.
What is that distance from the main gate to Saint Paul’s dormitory?
From The main gate to Saint Paul is close to a kilometer, about nine hundred and eighty something meters.
Since you took over, you have made a lot of trips abroad to meet SOBANs in the diaspora, what has been the feedback?
Yes, I was in the US last year when they had the convention of SOBAAmerica in Dallas Texas, I was there with the Bishop, and it was a good trip. SOBANs were energized, we had a question and answer session and they were convinced that Sasse is in good hands because the bishopexplained and exposed so many things to them and those that were in doubts and very upset with the management of the school are beginning to feel that SOBANs can get involved in making the school better. I also went to Nigeria and we were in a convention last October in Awka in the eastern part of Nigeria and I saw alot of SOBANs who were dynamic enough and are ready to work for the betterment of Sasse college and the SOBA in general. This year their convention is in Lagos during which by God’s grace I pray to be there.
The convention for the US will be in October ending in Charlotte, North Carolina and I hope to be there as well God willing. SOBANs in Europe have a planned convention because they are weak, we want to develop it and make it stronger and so they are doing leadership training. All of them will come together in the month of either July or August. I plan to be there, Godwilling in Antwerp, Belgium.
The UK is my greatest challenge because they have been fighting amongst themselves, but we have been talking to them since I came to office. I think 75 percent of us have understood that we have to go for an election. All the three fractions have to bring out the real team to lead us. How to go for the election is what we have to put in place.
We thought the court had resolved the matter in the UK, why is it still lingering?
The court order could not because what they were fighting for in the court order was just a name, a name will not solve the problem. We have two SOBA UK and after the order, one faction went away and said they are SOBA Midlands. So you see the court did not solve any problem, the problem must be solved by them if they agree to come together and form one association with a little help from us. We cannot do anything, we cannot solve their problem, we only need to help them if they agree that they have to solve the problem.
When you took over, GCE results of Sasse College especially the year following was not very good, luckily in 2022 they picked up. What do you think should be done for Sasse College to maintain its high legendary academic standards consistently?
We are already doing it. You know when the result was so bad the bishop called for a meeting of parents,staff, SOBA and all stakeholders and we had anexhaustive meeting which at the end of the day put down the poor results as a consequence of indiscipline, academicstaff, school facilities and all those things. The first main thing that came out was that it was surprising and shocking that Sasse College did not have a science lab, whether for biology, chemistry or physics, so that day the bishop asked them to give him a plan and an estimate how much it will cost to get the labs open and working,which they did and he paid for it. So now we have all the three labs so you could see that the next year they had those labs which could make them move forward in performance.
And then SOBA America has a program which they do every year, but they had not done it the last two to three years because of COVID-19. The program is basically on academic scholarships from Form one to Sand even. But they insist that those in Form Five and Upper Sixth, any person in form five who has eleven as or in upper sixth that has five as will have a million francs CFA. So, with that, it is pushing them to work hard and the bishop too has brought in a lot of academic staff to improve on the academic aspect. The PTA too is doing some work in terms of academic staff like giving them small remuneration to make them work very hard for the results.
The perception out there is that the college is really going down as concerns discipline, do you share this view?
No! Apart from being president general of SOBA, I am a parent, my son is there and the first thing is that, because we moved Sasse away and came back, because of the security situation that we have, a lot of students have left Sasse college. It has just a little above 400 students now, it used to be 1000 before and the school administration is trying to maintain the standards.
Because if you don’t have students, you cannot run the school because there won’t be enough revenue to run the school so they try to open it up for a lot of visitations for parents so that the children don’t feel left out. And because of that, since every day you see your child, you feel like ” o he is not feeding well, he is been beaten,” so all these things make them feel there is a problem of indiscipline. It is the same, I have been there, I have two sons who have gone through Sasse. It is the same thing, so I don’t think there is any discipline problem. If there is a problem it is normal. If you go to any Boys’ school or any school you know there are going to be children who are mischievous, and children who need to be disciplined. Once they get that problem they are dismissed. It is always like that, so there is no problem of discipline.
At one point the health situation was really a call for concern has it stabilized now?
The first thing which we said to solve the problem for health is water. Now they have water which is fine. Next thing was sanitation and the bishop has finished one set of toilets and the other two are ninety percent completed. There are brand new toilets for the three dormitories in the central school. When we inaugurate them, he will try to challenge parents, SOBANs, well-wishers to try and help him complete the other. If you go there the toilet system of those that have been done is very good. So once you work on water and sanitation there will not be any problem again.
Last time you talked about having a system where we will have a team of doctors coming on regular bases to check on the students. Has that project been put in place? We see alot of students coming out on permission due to ill health.
It has not been put in place but they have a nurse there, there are some SOBANs who are doctors, who told me they will be willing to go there from time to time. some do but it is not regular and it is not planned. But I think the next thing we have to do is plan it. Make it regular, make it planned so that they can solve the problem of the students.
Some of the students, let me tell you the honest truth. 50 percent of the students who come home that they are sick are not sick. Yes! They may have a little malaise here or there but it is not something that can bring them home. They just want to come home. I know and I tell them that come home and eat, then you go back. It is not that the health situation is bad, it is just that they just want to come home.
First, we heard of SOBACCUL and now we hear of SOBA Finance finance, a branch of which was recently opened in Buea. How involved is SOBA general general or is it a business run by some SOBANs?
SOBA Co-operative Credit Union was a project or is a project by SOBA Yaounde chapter. They conceived it, sold it to SOBANS. Some SOBANS accepted it, most SOBANs refused. So those who accepted are members like me.Alot of SOBANs are not and then what we are saying is that, because it could not move ahead, because of the financial requirements it was opened up for other members who are not SOBANs to move it forward.
Now I tell most SOBANs wherever I go that what we have to do is come in as SOBAN Sen masse, buy shares and take over the company so that we dilute the non SOBANs, so that it becomes a pure ninety-five, ninety-six percent SOBANs’ affair. That is the only way we can have it as a SOBAN thing.
Is it still open for shares or it is closed?
On the 29th of April when we have a SOBA reunion in Sasse, that is one item on the agenda. We shall have a presentation from SOBACCUL. So all questions from SOBANs about SOBACCUL, how to buy shares, how to be a member, how to open an account will be answered that day.
I was just coming to the reunion of April 29. There has been some controversy that why is it not an AGM, why call it SOBA reunion? Can you clear the air on that?
Yes! a lot of people have asked that question. SOBANs should not ask that question.
Because if SOBANs ask that question it means they have not read the constitution. There is no AGM in the SOBA constitution. Elective general assembly is every three years. There is nothing like AGM. So, what we have always done as SOBANs is that we have our Saint Joseph’s feast day, which is our own day when we go to Sasse and take stock of SOBA, take stock of what we have done in the school and ourselves.
This year, I had planned doing it on the 19th, the Saint Joseph’s feast day, but the bishop advised that we cannot be going and celebrating during lent so we should move it after lent. So immediately after lent, we wanted to do it but he said on the 22nd of April and he said it was not possible because that day he is hosting the Episcopal Conference Cameroon. Buea is hosting, so it is not possible.
So, we took the next week which is 29. Interestingly, that day too coincided with the principal of Sasse doing his 25th anniversary as a priest, so we had to talk with him and he accepted that he will move his own date. So I told him thank you very much. That is why I am calling on all SOBANs that the day he is doing his 25th anniversary, we should go there en masse to support him because he gave up his date for us.
Mr. President General how difficult or easy has it been to carry SOBANs along in your vision since you took over? Has it been a difficult task, has it been easy?
You know that to be a leader some people are with you, some are against, it is normal. I am not a president to win a contest. I went there as president, I knew what I wanted to do, to develop SOBA and that is what I am doing. Whether people accept it or they reject it, that is what I am doing. But it is good. Some people in the beginning were against. A lot now are moving with us in our vision. I have realised that most of the time what is missing is communication. When you visit chapters, they ask questions and you talk to them. I was in Tiko three weeks ago, I sent some executive members to Yaounde last weekend. Next week some will do Kumba, Buea and Limbe. So, once you open up and communicate to members, they know what is happening, I think everything will be fine.
So, are you happy? Are you having mixed feelings, or what is your mood, two and a half years in this mandate?
I am happy but not very happy to be comfortable. There are so many things we still have todo, a lot of SOBANs are talking about the constitution, I think if I run for the second mandate that is what I will try to let us do a universally accepted constitution. Not everybody anyway, but all chapters. So that everybody gets a clear road and an understanding of how the organisation is supposed to work and what the organisation is for. It has been challenging because Sasse is next door and everything that happens in Sasse I am called. I have to go there, it is challenging but serving my fellow SOBANs and serving Sasse College I am happy doing that, I love doing it.
Sometimes even if they don’t call me, like every re-opening day I go there, my son goes with the driver, but I go there because you interact with a lot of SOBANs and other parents and they give you alot of ideas on how to improve. So that is why I go there, sit down, move around and talk with parents, they give you ideas and so in the nutshell I am happy but not 100 percent.
Are you assuring SOBANs that before the heavy rains, the road will be completed?
That is what we are trying to do, as we said we have done 2/3. We want to atleast get to the hill before the rain starts. So we need to raise about FCFA 10 million francs again. I am calling on all SOBANs that they should not get tired, we should just continue and I am so grateful for the president emeritus President Ngwafor who has always supported me. Every time I say we are running short he always chips in something even if it is small. I am so happy that I have somebody like that supporting me. That what was he said he will do and he has kept to his word. So I am so happy for that.
How is April 29 going to look like?
Well April 29 is a reunion and our SOBA day. We will have mass as usual by the bishop.
We will do our normal signature march past by the college ban, then we will go to the hall, in the hall that is where we will do, SOBACCUL, SOBA projects, the treasurer and the financial secretary will give financial accounts of the project so far and we will open up for those who want to contribute more to finish. Then we will have a meal with the staff and students at the refectory. I think that will conclude the business of the day.
Any last word, anything you will want to say that we have not asked?
I just want to call all SOBANs here and even those in the diaspora, Nigeria and the US who can come on the 29, let all of us meet in Sasse and develop Sasse college and then develop our SOBAN brand and develop ourselves as individuals.