(PLEASE DO READ THIS ARTICLE TO THE END TO UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE TRUTHS OF MY COUNTRY IN TERMS OF READING AND IT UNIVERSITIES)


I am Nforche Gerald, and i am a student in the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon. and i read English which also entails reading literature too, my topic of interest here. i am just from reading X_factor's article on "What Nigerian Books Are You Reading?" i read the comments and i came to the conclusion that a bread in hand is two in the bush. you should be proud, You Nigerians my brothers of your reading population, the prominence of your writers, (some of whose books we appreciate at the university) and the didacticity of their novels. the part of cameroon is very unpleasant to talk about. hundreds of conferences have been held in this country to inculcate the reading culture in people( through unfound and nonanthropological methods). i am a writer too and i am writing from experience. CAMEROONIANS DONOT READ, except they are compelled to do so (ACADEMIC). our writers are hiding in their shadows. even when known world wide, their works are just rusty. cameroonians will prefer beer to reading. we have the highest drunks in Africa and even the world, the alcoholic level of our beers is the highest in africa and one of the highest in the world. how then will we read. what then will we write. what will a drunk really write even if drinking gives inspiration?

it is a shameful thing when thought about.
NIGERIANS read this is true. its population also helps writers cope. what is the case of my country cameroon? you launch a novel and people may only buy it at the launch while the rest is left to rot at the store despite the serious theme the book is centered on and despite the books propagation.

there is this problem also of indifference in CAMEROON UNIVERSITIES. my grading has placed my university mentioned above as the worst in the world. cobwebs litter the walls of the amphitheaters. Geckos and lizards chase one another in the rooms. the rooms are filled with litter because of candies and snacks students eat and throw peelings about. the university is heavy with weed and dirt. there is so much dust in the rooms. most of the first year students attend lessons standing in the class room because of insufficient benches or stand by the window to hear the lecturer; many drop out of this university because their marks have not been FOUND! some because the tests and exams are not well set! lecturers sell marks to the highest bidder else the student repeats! how then will people read or write good books when the system wherein they are trained is dirty, corrupt and sick?

be proud you Nigerians of ACHEBE, SOYINKA, ELECHI AMADI etc. SOYINKA break the record of winning the Nobel Award for literature. ACHEBE will soon have his too. BUT A CAMEROONIAN? I DON'T THINK IN A THOUSAND YEARS IT WILL BE POSSIBLE, else he will use all the money from the award on beer and women.

i am also surprised when i could find the biographies of many Nigerian writers on the FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA (WIKIPEDIA) of which i am a contributor but could not find any of Cameroon writers. how then can they be known biographical wise? i thought o starting an article on BULE BUtake but i held back and asked myself: for what purpose? many of these men are drunkening themselves in beer parlours while i crack my head for them. the most prominent cameroon writer whom i know personally (anonymous) is a drunk, a beer borrower and irresponsible. he has gone to the best universities in the world, but a lizard remains a lizard no matter how you feed it to become a crocodile. GOD HELP US

This may not be the case in Naija. this may not be the case in other countries, but a bird in hand is two in the bush. PRAY FOR CAMEROON


[url=http://Nforche Gerald T.]Nforche Gerald T.[/url]
The FACULTY OF ARTS, LETTERS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.
THE UNIVERSITY OF YAOUNDE I
The Department of English.
28/12/11