GHS NYASOSO EX-STUDENTS CELEBRATE THEIR SILVER JUBILEE+10 IN NYASOSO FROM MAY22nd-24th

GHS NYASOSO EX-STUDENTS CELEBRATE THEIR SILVER JUBILEE+10 FROM MAY 22nd – 24th 2009 IN NYASOSO
By
Jerry Ehabe Nnange-Masango

In the life of humans, institutions, associations, organisations and nations, there is the tradition of commemorating or celebrating certain periods. Most institutions fall in the bracket that celebrates 25, 40 and 50 years interval of existence called silver, ruby or golden jubilee. GHS Nyasoso, under the auspices of NEXSA, was supposed to celebrate her silver jubilee in 1999 but for some managerial inadequacies at the last minute. This failure had an attendant effect in that thereafter, the Association fell into inactivity. The moribund Association thus became overweighed by the debt of not celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Alma Mater. Renascent in 2007, the Association charted a road map that comprised, inter alia, the paying of the debt by organising the celebration of the botched silver jubilee 10 years after.
From 22nd – 24th May 2009, Nexsans from far and wide and from all walks of life, stormed GHS Nyasoso their Alma Mater in their numbers to pay that debt by celebrating 35years of existence dubbed Silver + 10 Jubilee. While the 22nd was for arrival and preliminary shows as showed in the programme of activities and, 24th for farewell and departure, the D-day itself of 23rd started as early as 7:30 AM when Nexsans resplendent in their uniform (“ashuabi”), processed from the village to the campus in hierarchical order of admission. 31 batches in all distinguished themselves with sign boards during the procession and photo sessions.
After the breakfast and photo session, the ceremonies officially began at 10 AM under the chairmanship of the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of the Division (Kupe-Muanengouba), while the Directors of Ceremonies were NEXSA’s Public Relations Officer, Ebong-Pende Divine and the Vice Principal of GHS, Mr. Nkwelle Alexander. The inscription on the wall “Your presence is re-assuring: your actions like a soothing balm” welcomed delegated and guests into the hall. Prayers were offered by PCC Nyasoso Rev. Pastor Ngomo Dibo and NEXSA’s Buea-based PCC Pastor Ndando Nelson. Underscoring the fact that NEXSA “has gone through thick and thin”, the duo drew inspiration from Jeremiah 31:17 “there is hope for your future says the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country” in the prayer they offered. This was then followed by pouring of libations (i.e. traditional method of praying to God) that was done by the traditional chiefs of Nyasoso I and II. They asked God to bless Nexsans for thinking of their Alma Mater with a view to bringing back the lost glories.
It was essentially a two-phase ceremony that comprised the prize-award and the Silver + 10 Jubilee activities. The prize-award was preceded by priceless speeches and discourses. Though all the talking was important to the students, of invaluable import to them were the two discourses delivered by Nexsans as well as the two presidential addresses that sandwich them; from the Home Chapter President and the National President respectively. The speech of the Home President, the discourses and the speech by the National President in that order, and like those in a similar occasion exactly one year ago, were coincidentally not only brain ticking and conscience pricking but also had a common message, DISCIPLINE, without the different authors knowing a forehand what the other prepared.
1974 (1st Batch) Class Epie Zachary Mesue, addressing the audience in his capacity as the President of the Home Chapter (i.e. Nyasoso) and host of the occasion, delivered a welcome cum history lesson cum wake up call speech. Drawing from his experience as pioneer student and 20 year serving teacher in his very Alma Mater, he made the audience laugh, sob and shed tears and as he delicately negotiated various turns and twists in his speech.
Picking the cue from the President of the Home Chapter, Diaspora Ewane James Sumelong from Botswana, who had come home purposefully for the Jubilee, presented the first discourse entitled Learning, Living and Cheating. When the physically rotund 1975 (2nd Batch) Class NEXSAN mounted the lectern and read out or rather spoke out his discourse in rsp, the rotundity of his intellect was obvious to one and all. He clinically diagnosed the why, the when and the how of cheating, exposed its nefarious effects while prescribing a treatment for it. If you have been living strictly by the adage “the end justifies the means”, this discourse debunks that fallacy. More importantly, after the discourse had hovered over the heads of the target population, the students, like a good sermon it landed on NEXSA where the phenomenon of cheating is a cankerworm.
The 2nd discourse came from 1979 (6th Batch) Class Ebong Balbina Mesue. This much more than a pretty face holder of a PhD, in a second successive time in the history of NEXSAN sponsored graduation/prize- award ceremony, invoked her Muse of creative writing, to painstakingly make available not only for the students but for humanity as a whole, a compendium of well-articulated maxims on Discipline worth having for keeps.
The National President’s address concluded speeches from Nexsans while going ahead to expound on the meat of the occasion. It is a speech that touched on all the nooks and crannies of our Association and pricks our conscience about our duty to ourselves instead of rendering lips service. Here it ties very well with Ewane James’ discourse on cheating.
These speeches and discourses are attached here for you to relish. Requests are rife that these “papers” should feature in the 3rd edition of the NEXSAN Magazine; the 2nd edition called Special Edition as it was dedicated to the Silver +10 Jubilee was launched during these ceremonies.
The S.D.O’s address came at the hills of the National President’s speech. He said he was pleased and happy to be part of these ceremonies and wished he was a NEXSAN. He talked of the change of budgetary head from construction of classrooms to renovation of buildings and the execution of the renovation which was evident on the chapel, administrative block and refectory. He however said there was much to be done and called on Nexsans continued partnership because Cameroon has moved from “l’etat qui fait tout to l’etat entrepreneur”.
The other speeches by the Principal, the PTA and the Girls Senior Prefect will be posted online after you have digested the first batch of speeches mentioned above.
As it has become the tradition of GHS Nyasoso, the award of prizes kicked off with the award for Discipline and the novelty in it this time around was that there was a prize for discipline for each of the 5 first cycle classes instead of one for the whole school as was the case last year. A curiosity about the laureates of the prizes for discipline was that they were all girls! As far as the other prizes were concerned, another novelty this year was that there were only the first prizes unlike last year where there were first, second and third prizes. A third novelty this year was that instead of pooling all the prizes like last year, special prizes were awarded according to the wish(es) of the donors. These special prizes ended the prize-award exercise. These special prizes were:
From Mme Tembe Anne: Best economics student Form V.
From Mrs. Gladys Inoni:50.000 FRS (Fifty Thousand Francs) CFA to the best all round Form 5 male student that did 5 years in Nyasoso.50.000 FRS (Fifty Thousand Francs) CFA to the best all round Form V female student that did 5years in Nyasoso. Also,100.000 FRS (One Hundred Thousand Francs) CFA was given to best all round Upper Sixth student that did 7 years in Nyasoso.
NEXSA did award prizes of NEXSAN ashuabi (uniform) to members of staff too as follows: the Principal, the Vice Principal, the Secretary Grand Jimmy and the longest serving academic staff member. NEXSA equally awarded ashuabi to the chiefs of Nyasoso I and II. Meanwhile, Bume Ada Olive Ngolle redeemed her pledge at the fund raising gala by donating a brand new Pentium 4 computer to the school. On the wall of the chapel was a promise the students had for NEXSA. It read: “With marvellous prizes from NEXSA, we shall be responsible future leaders and ‘the sky is our limit’”.
Various stages of the ceremonies were lightened with pauses ballets, choral singing and traditional dances during which Nexsans, overwhelmed with joy sprayed the actors with banker notes.
At the end of the ceremonies in the chapel, the S.D.O. led the planting of the tree near the administrative block to symbolize the green recovery of the lush greenery of the school. It is worth noting here that though in a penultimate preparatory meeting in Nyasoso, the Nat’l Exec earmarked 100.000FRS (One Hundred Thousand Francs) CFA planting of trees and flowers, Ewane James upon arrival from Botswana and in the ultimate preparatory meeting he attended in Buea donated 100.000 FRS (One Hundred Thousand Francs) CFA cash on the spot and asked that the previously earmarked money be put back to the coffers to assist in other aspects of preparation for the jubilee! In Nyasoso during the Jubilee celebration, he equally donated 6 packets of beautiful flowers seeds to the school.
In the football match that followed suit, the staff again edged NEXSA by 7 goals to 6 after penalty shoot outs following a full time 60 minutes virgin draw. The NEXSAN team had one female player on the squad in the person of BUME ADA OLIVE NGOLLE; she even missed scoring two goals, one in the early first half and another in the early second half.
The occasion wrapped up with a gala dance in the newly renovated chapel which the NEXSA National President, Lt. Col. Sone Ajang Joseph, had on a personal note transformed to a semi-modern night-club with gadgets he hired all the way from Douala.
24th May saw delegates bidding farewell and departing to their various destinations while being hopeful that since we have gone thus far, the celebration of the ruby in five years time would be a possibility. But Great Nexsans, why don’t we think of transforming the celebrating of the ruby from a possibility to a probability! How? By ceasing to be ceremonial Nexsans and refraining from paying lips service.


Secretary General –Nexsa