Spotlight on some Cameroonians making it big internationally

Cameroonians have always been worth their weight in gold across the world. There are celebrated Cameroonians across every field of human endearvour, but recently, some have taken the world by storm and deserve a special mention.

Some of those who have raised the country’s flag high both nationally and internationally are Francis Ngannou, Andre Onana, Constance Ejuma, Libianca, Samuel Fosso and N.J Ayuk. This is in no way an exhaustive list.

Francis Ngannou

Cameroonian-born former Ultimate Fighting heavyweight champion Francis Nganou is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist.

He recently signed a new contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), several months after he announced he was quitting the UFC, his former fighting company.

The deal was announced on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. The ‘strategic partnership’ gives Ngannou equity and leadership roles in the mixed martial arts company while also letting him pursue outside boxing fights. Reports say Ngannou intends to fight a mixed martial arts bout in the P.F.L. in mid-2024, after competing in a boxing ring sometime this year.

It should be noted that Ngannou fell out with his former employer after failing to agree on a salary increase and other working conditions.

Andre Onana

The recently resigned Indomitable Lion’s goalkeeper, André Onana has taken European football by storm and is looking at becoming the first-ever Cameroonian goalkeeper to win the UEFA Champions League.

His route to the final of the competition has been no fluke either, as he has been the major driving force behind Inter Milan’s journey to the final so far.

André Onana has helped the team by keeping a massive 8 clean sheets so far, as he also sets his sight on a 9th in the final to break the record for the cleanest sheets by a goalkeeper at the Champions League.

Constance Ejuma

The “Black Panther” movie star, Constance Ejume, is an award-winning Hollywood actress and producer.

Despite living most of her life in the United States of America, she has remained conscious of her origins, Cameroon, where she was born.

In a recent interview with Cam10 television, she said she is passionate about African and especially Cameroonian stories being on the international movie scene.

Ejume has produced a number of shows, films, and short films, among them “Ben & Ara”, a feature film for which she won an AMAA award for producing.

She has also been concerned about the deadly armed conflict going on in Cameroon’s Anglophone Regions and the poor international visibility it has.

Libianca Fonji

21-year-old Libianca has been into music for many years now. She has to her credit a number of songs, including ‘Special Loving’, ‘My Place’, and ‘Thank You’.

Her song ‘People’ however, shot her to the global spotlight and catapulted her high on billboard musical charts across the world. The song went viral on the social media platform, Tik Tok, and the rest was history. Users of the app began to duet the song, and others acted out scenes to the audio, causing it to spread.

Many artists and promoters have since expressed their love for the project, with America’s Chris Brown and Nigeria’s Joeboy joining the queue.

According to recent statistics, Libianca’s ‘People’ has become the most-viewed music video in Africa.

Samuel Fosso

The 60-year-old artist was born in Kumba, Southwest Region of Cameroon, and grew up in Nigeria before later moving to Central Africa Republic (CAR), where he began an apprenticeship at a local photographic studio.

The renowned Cameroonian photographer recently won the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize for 2023.

He was announced the winner of the £30,000 (17.2 million francs) prize at a special award ceremony on May 11, 2023, after carrying out an exhibition at Maison Européenne de la Photographie gallery in Paris, France.

Popularly known as the ‘man of 1,000 faces’, Samuel Fosso won the award for creating “startling new identities through self-portraiture, based on social archetypes as well as real historical figures”, Deutsch Börse Photography Foundation wrote on its website.

N.J. Ayuk

N.J. Ayuk is a Cameroonian-born energy lawyer and business executive. He hails from Manyu Division and is a leading authority in the African energy sector and a strong advocate for African entrepreneurship and the indigenous energy sector.

He is equally the managing partner of Centurion Law Group, a pan-African corporate law conglomerate that specializes in energy, extractive industries, and the financial sector.

Headquartered in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Centurion has offices in five countries across the continent

He is recognized as one of the foremost figures in African business today.

N. J. Ayuk’s book ‘A Just Transition’ became #1 The Wall Street Journal’s Best-selling book, beating Prince Harry’s book, Spare. “Thanks to many of you for always encouraging me to be myself and stand strong for what I believe in,” NJ told MMI as he celebrated this achievement.

Mimi Mefo Info