Allegations of fraudulent admission:

Tambe Tiku delivers Patrick Ekema & UB to the judges

-The SW representative of the Human Rights Commission is praying the judiciary to take its responsibility and prosecute Mayor Ekema

-But Ekema’s partisans say Tambe’s whistle-blowing may just be a wasted effort, as he might just be making a mountain out of a molehill

By Boris Esono in Buea

Tambe Tiku has gone whistle-blowing and calling for Patrick Ekema to be investigated
 and prosecuted. But will that happen?

Documentary evidence revealed by the GCE board have given further credence to allegations that went viral on social media to the effect that the mayor of Buea, Patrick Ekema Esunge, might never have passed the GCE ‘A’ levels.  The evidence was presented to the public at a press conference called on Friday by the SW permanent representative of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, NCHRF, Christopher Tambe Tiku. Tambe told the battery of pressmen at his Buea office that because Ekema has never passed the GCE ‘A’ levels, he was never qualified for admission into the University of Buea.

                The fire-spitting Human Rights activist and crusader extrapolated from the evidence that because Patrick Ekema was a staffer of UB at the time of his admission in 2003, he might have colluded with some workers in the admissions department to fraudulently infiltrate his name in the list of those admitted into the  department of history.

                Reason why Tambe Tiku is not only advocating a thorough judicial investigation into what he describes as blatant fraud by Patrick Ekema and UB authorities, he is also praying the criminal judge to take his responsibility and punish Ekema and all persons found to be concerned in the fraud that is, if ever they are proven guilty as accused.

                As if that is not enough, Tambe is also urging the authorities of UB to withdraw the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in history that they awarded Ekema and for President Biya to withdraw the knighthood he conferred on Ekema only very recently. As if that is not enough, Tambe is also calling on the councilors of Buea to rise up and pass a vote of no confidence on Mayor Ekema.

                Yet, as the very damning revelations continue to animate popular debates and discussions on social media and in political milieu and street gatherings, Ekema has yet to react. Many say Ekema must make a strong and urgent rebuttal if he must save his head and cleanse the bad image that the allegations have invited on his person.

               

Tambe Tiku has gone whistle-blowing and calling for Patrick Ekema to be investigated
 and prosecuted. But will that happen?

But this is not to say that the no-nonsense and dare-devil Mayor of Buea has conceded defeat in what can very easily be seen as battle no 2 of an ongoing and long-drawn war between he and Tambe Tiku. And Tambe has begun hostilities for this second battle even as the dust is yet to settle on the first, that had to do with his (Tambe’s) denouncing of what he described as the “inhumane and discriminatory treatment Ekema reserved for some staffers of the Buea council, whom he (Ekema) considered as disloyal to him.

                Yet for the ever-battle-ready persona that Ekema is known to be, one will not be wrong to say his phoney silence may not last for too long; he will certainly ripost sooner than later.

                And this was the impression this reporter took home, after trying in vain to get Mayor Ekema to react to Tambe’s rather damning and inculpating revelations.

                “Mr. Journalist, you may not be unaware that ever since i took over the mantle of this council, I have known no peace; I have been the target of all kinds of attacks and intrigues all aimed to distract me and lead me on to the wrong path. But i thank God these attacks have not only strengthened and invigorated me they have also afforded me the wisdom and experience to know when to talk and when to act.... Mr. Journalist, as for the reaction you want from me, I can only crave your indigence to be patient and wait until when I will decide to talk. I have no comments for now. Please bear with me,” said Ekema, who still would not talk even when this reporter reminded him that his silence may be mistaken for acquiescence.

Ekema’s partisans rush to his rescue

                As the revelations on Ekema’s GCE results continue to animate debate on social media, and in political circles in the South West region in general and Fako division in particular, Ekema’s supporters have not conserved any iota of energy in their effort to defend their role model and mentor.

                “Why are people so worried and concerned about Ekema’s GCE results as to overlook his sterling achievements? Why are they so overworked by the GCE results of somebody who has meritoriously earned the Bachelor’s and Master degrees and is now pursuing the Ph.D?“ questioned one of Ekema\s partisans, who noted that even if it turns out that Ekema never obtained the GCE A levels, he is not the first in Cameroon and he will not be the last.

                “Mr Journalist, what about those government ministers whom you people have cited time and time again as having fake certificates? Why have Tambe Tiku and the NCHRF not opened investigations on this ministers, some of whom even claim to have University degrees even when their peers and school mates say they never went beyond form 3 in secondary school? Let Ekema’s detractors leave him alone,” quipped the Ekema supporter in unconcealed vexation.

                Another Ekema partisan said: “even if Ekema did not pass the GCE, he at least had a pass in history and it is in that history that he has furthered his studies up to Master’s degree level and is now researching for the PhD, so why the so much noise?”

                Yet another Ekema supporter simply dismissed the revelations by the GCE board and Tambe Tiku as the handwork of Ekema’s political adversaries, some of whom have also recently claimed to have bagged the Ph.D, which PhD can also be put to question.

                “Why would the GCE Board authorities so readily reveal Ekema’s GCE results if they are not out to destroy Ekema and his otherwise promising political career?” wondered the young worker of the Buea Council, who said many are those who fear that because of Ekema’s wonderful performance as mayor and given the admiration he now draws from Yaounde following his courageous fight against the Anglophone agitators, the President could even consider him for a more exalting job, why not?

                But be it as it may, the onus of proof as to whether or not Ekema is guilty of fraudulently gaining admission into UB rests with Ekema himself, and perhaps the Buea Varsity authorities.

                And Tambe Tiku being a well grounded jurist, could not be oblivious of this, reason why he concluded his scripted preliminary remarks at Friday’s press conference by urging Ekema to do a rebuttal sooner than later, and for UB authorities to clear the air over what can now be easily referred to as the Ekema-GCE-gate.                            “After haven established this genre of fraud from an authority, it is now left for the University and the Judiciary to take their responsibility,” concluded Christopher Tambe Tiku.

                Lets watch how the battle unfolds.