The Guardian Post: A baby born with teeth

By Peterkins Manyong, Publisher/Editor, The Independent Observer

Peterkins Manyong

The epic has been described by literary scholars as the greatest thing the mind of man can conceive. In terms of characters and events, the epic stands taller than all other literary works. The epic hero is a person of exceptional courage.

What is most fascinating about epic heroes is their manner of birth. They are not born like ordinary mortals. In the African epic, for instance, the epic hero is born already fully armed and ready for battle. The African epic hero does not pass through the birth canal like ordinary human beings. He tears through his mother’s bowels killing her in the process. The womb is not strong enough to contain the epic hero for long. The urgency of his mission cannot permit him to go through the slow process of vaginal birth. Shakespeare’s Macduff prides himself as superhuman having never been “born of a woman” (He was born through a caesarian operation which is the case with most oversized babies).

It may fascinate and even shock the reader that both The Guardian Post newspaper and its publisher, Ngah Christian Mbipgo, were born under very unusual circumstances like the African epic hero. Ngah’s mother died less than two hours after his birth. That was in August 30, 1975 at the Banso Baptist Hospital, BBH.

When Ngah started The Guardian Post in 2001, he had only 150.000FCFA, just enough money to publish an edition. But the first edition had adverts worth over 1.5MFCFA; meaning faith is evidence of things not seen. The fact that Cameroonians sent their messages to be published in a newspaper they had not yet set eyes on is ample proof the confidence didn’t come by accident. Ngah Christian was a household name while working for The Herald where he won the Best Reporter Award several times. If he could achieve such a feat in a newspaper with so many reporters older than himself he could do a million times better if he ran a media house himself.

Another unusual circumstance about The Guardian Post is the coincidence in the births of both the newspaper and its publisher. Ngah was born on August 30, the same day that The Guardian Post hit the newsstands nationwide!

Why so much confidence in The Guardian Post?

Confidence is like a match stick; when the flame goes out, it is impossible to light that same match stick again. The Guardian Post has been able to win and keep the confidence of its readers because of its unmatched investigated and edited stories. The newspaper has taken a middle-of-the-road position. Nobody can say The Guardian Post is for the government or for the opposition. But since the writer must be on the side of the oppressed, the newspaper once in a while takes a tough position against the government.

The reason is that government has all the power; it controls all the resources of the nation and wields most if not all the powers. It controls the military, the security forces and the prisons. Government determines how much tax we pay and should be held to account. The Guardian Post is consistent in its condemnation of corruption, human rights abuses and any other form of abuses by government.

The opposition is not spared when it goes wrong. The SDF is Cameroon’s opposition party with the largest following. It has on a number of times manifested high-handedness. The Guardian Post has been unflattering of the SDF, especially when its leadership indulges in some of those obnoxious practices which Cameroonians abhor in the ruling party like double-dealing, dictatorship, lack of accountability etc.

 The party’s hierarchy has not taken kindly to this, reason why it launched the first salvo at The Guardian Post; calling on its militants to boycott the newspaper. Any SDF mayor or official who is seen in company of The Guardian Post is considered by Ntarinkon as a Judas Iscariot!

The Guardian Post: Beyond human destruction

From the forgoing, it can be seen that forces on both sides of the political divide are uncomfortable with The Guardian Post because of its bold, critical and uncompromising stand against wrong policies and wrong-doing. Cameroonians in their vast majority see The Guardian Post as the indefatigable fearless fang, the voice of the voiceless, the comforter of the afflicted and afflicter of the malicious comfortable. They love the newspaper’s publisher because he has not allowed himself to be derailed by green-eyed detractors, some within the media itself, but is focused like every great mind on burning issues. They watch with unwavering interest at the kiosks where the newspaper appears three times a week. They have never relented in their admiration of Ngah Christian, the young publisher with an old head.

The Guardian Post which emerged stronger after a controversial five-month suspension promises to grow from strength to strength and to continue exposing the ills of society because he who keeps quiet in the face of injustice is an accomplice.

The Independent Observer, its publisher and well-wishers wish The Guardian Post and Ngah Christian the utmost best on this 13^th anniversary of the newspaper.