Cameroon: Manu Dibango Crowned Honorary Citizen

December 31st, 2007 | EthioPolitics.com |

Cameroon’s celebrated musician and lord of soul makossa, Manu Dibango, who began celebrating the Golden Jubilee of his musical career last week, was December 18 crowned Yaounde’s honorary citizen.

The Government Delegate to the Yaounde Urban Council, Gilbert Tsimi Evouna, crowned the artist in a solemn ceremony he organised in his honour at the City Council.While handing over a symbolic key to the Yaounde City to the musician, Tsimi Evouna saluted Manu for walking tall as a giant musician and ambassador of Cameroon’s culture for 50 years.

“Grand Manu Dibango, your music has continued to show light to many generations of Cameroonians because of its high quality,” the Government Delegate remarked.It was in this perspective, he said, that the Yaounde City Council was joining the nation under the patronage of President Paul Biya to celebrate the musical Golden Jubilee of someone who has for 50 years projected the image of the country abroad through music.

“Manu, I hereby make you the honorary citizen of the City of Yaounde. You are now a Grand Yaoundean”, Tsimi stated while handing over the key to Manu.In response, Manu Dibango said he was very happy with the honour and recalled that he wrote some of his early songs in Yaounde in 1964. He paid homage to Biya for inviting him to come and celebrate half a century of his career at home.

During a press conference, Dibango granted shortly after his arrival in Yaounde, December 17, he avoided answering any questions on the crises he went through when he was Board Chairman of Cameroon Music Corporation, CMC.

He said he was looking forward to pushing his music to a kind of a world pedestal so as to keep promoting the country’s image.After projecting a film of his concerts in Paris to journalists at the Hilton Hotel, Dibango said his music carries with it many messages of culture and piety.

Shortly after his arrival in Yaounde, the musician was received in audience by the Minister of Culture, Madam Tutu Muna and Prime Minister Chief Ephraim Inoni.Grand Manu also visited the Chantal Biya Foundation in Yaounde. On December 22, and later performed a grand musical concert at the Yaounde Conference Centre.