Nzo Ekangaki (22 March 1934Profile on Ekangaki at Cameroonian government website
. – 3 June 2005) was a

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian

political figure A politician is a person who participates in policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles or duties tha ...

. He served as the Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) from 1972 to 1974.

Biography

Ekangaki was born in

Nguti Nguti is a town and commune in Cameroon. The town covers an area of 1.851 km2. Nguti once had an airstrip, used for the transport of medicine and equipment, but is no longer in use.Nguti is nestled in Kupe Muanenguba Division, Southwest Regi ...

Kumba Kumba is a city in the Southwest Region of Cameroon and the administrative capital of Meme Division. It is one of the largest and most economically significant cities in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. Known for its vibrant commercial ac ...

Division. In the 1950s he wrote the books ''An Introduction to Eastern Kamerun'', published in 1956, and ''To the Nigeria People'', published in 1958. After studying in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon in 1961, and he became a member of the National Federal Assembly when the two Cameroons were united; he was re-elected in April 1964. On 14 February 1962, he was named Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and on 25 May 1965 he was named Minister of Labor. He served in the latter position until he was elected Secretary-General of the OAU during the 19th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the OAU on 15 June 1972 in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He succeeded

Diallo Telli Boubacar Diallo Telli (1925 – February 1977) was a Guinean diplomat and politician. He helped found the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and was the second secretary-general of the OAU between 1964 and 1972. After serving as Minister of Just ...

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, who had served as Secretary-General of the OAU for 8 years. Having fallen afoul of African leaders, Ekangaki resigned in 1974.

Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister of Cameroon, Prime Minister from the country's indepe ...

, the

President of Cameroon The president of Cameroon is the executive head of state and de facto head of government of Cameroon and is the commander in chief of the Cameroon Armed Forces. The authority of the state is exercised both by the president and by the Parliamen ...

, was unhappy with both Ekangaki's independent style at the OAU and his resignation. Back in Cameroon, Ahidjo sent Ekangaki to work as Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Territorial Administration, a very minor post for someone so prominent; Ekangaki remained there from 1974 to 1985. Subsequently Ekangaki worked at the Presidency as Adviser for Administrative Affairs under President

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo, 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has been serving as the second president of Cameroon since 1982. He was previously the fifth Prime Minister of Cameroon, prime minister under Pre ...

from 1985 to 1989. Ekangaki died at

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

on 3 June 2005 and was buried in Nguti on 25 June.Walter Wilson Nana
"Nzo Ekangaki Buried"
''The Post'', 28 June 2005.

References

Members of the National Assembly (Cameroon) 1934 births 2005 deaths Cameroonian diplomats {{Cameroon-politician-stub