By SIMON NDIVE KALLA
The Limbe Men’s Choir recently paid tribute to one of its choir masters, the late Chief of Wovia Village, Limbe II Subdivision, Fako Division, HRM Chief Etule Martin Dikanjo, who died in 2006.
The colourful event was held at the Presbyterian Church Wovia, in Limbe II Subdivision, Fako Division, South West Region. In his speech, the President of Limbe Men’s Choir, who doubles as Vice President of the National Federation of Men’s Choirs in Cameroon and Paris, Mwambo Lyonga Paul Junior, said the honour is on the occasion of the day that the choir goes for holidays.
“So today, we chose PC Wovia, and we are honouring one of our old pioneer members who was also a choir master, HRM Chief Etule Martin Dikanjo.” He added that in spite of the rain, they decided to come out to honour one of theirs.
He strongly believed God had heard their prayers. “We want to tell the family that despite the fact that their father, grandfather, and our choir master died some years ago, we’re still thinking about them. I know they’re also thinking about us, and they will send their sons to join the choir,” Mwambo Lyonga added. He encouraged potential Limbe Men’s Choir members to join them, even if they don’t know how to sing.
“We’re going to teach them how to sing,” Mwambo said. He opined that singing is praying twice and also expands your lungs and activates your vocal cords.
The national President of the Federation, Tho Mboule Jaques, was represented by the assistant national Secretary General, Basil Eyoum Eyoum, who appreciated the massive turnout of the members in spite the rain, and encouraged the Etule family to send their son to fill their late father’s position in the choir.
He equally urged other potential members to join the Limbe men’s choir in glorifying God with their voices. Basil Eyoum Eyoum went on to read the national President’s speech in which he gave a brief summary of the activities of the federation and wished all the choristers to stay blessed and safe with their families and friends during the holidays.
Speaking earlier, the Chairperson of the Organising Committee, James Kottoh Molungu, said they selected Wovia Village this year to carry on the event because the ‘Wovia man’ is a good singer, and going to Wovia was also an opportunity to recruit more members into their choir.
“We also want to tell the entire Wovia Community that our late grandfather was highly respected, even at the level of the Federation in Cameroon and France,” James Kottoh said.
James Kottoh added that late Chief Martin Dikanjo was a legend of Hendelic music. “To this day, his songs are outstanding, and each time we sing some of his songs, it seems as if he is beside us.”
James Kottoh recalled some of his virtues: “He was a soft-spoken teacher, always calm and always smiling. Indeed, we’ll meet him”, he said.
It should be noted that Limbe Men’s Choir was created in 1990 and affiliated with the Men’s Choirs of Cameroon in 1993.
Mwambo Lyonga Paul Junior was, in February 2015, installed as the first ever Anglophone to occupy a post in the executive after the federation.