Translated by George Nge
From
Claude KANA
Football historian
Doctor Ekwe !!! you’ve surely heard of the name before . With Mokube Vincent, Ngon Franklin, Nji Sunday, Simo Augustine, Ben Bola Forcha, Matthew Andongcho Mbuta, he is one of the greatest players in the history of PWD of Bamenda. He owes his nickname Doctor to the fact that he was a veterinarian by training and profession. Already in the 70s, he was one of the rare footballers to boast both academics and athletics .
In the early 80s , he was one of the most talented footballers of his generation. With Kang Wilson, Vincent Mokube, Epie Dzams, he was one of the rare Anglophones to establish himself within the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. When the national team qualified for the first World Cup in 1982, Doctor Ekwe was one of the credible contenders for the 22 spots available. Except that the story took an unimaginable turn .
Doctor Ekwe, a veterinarian, had been mandated a few months earlier by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock to monitor a major chicken breeding project with the Chinese. At the beginning of 1982, the project was lunched at the same time the Indomptable Lions were to embark for Spain for the competition . Doctor Ekwe, out of loyalty to his minister and conscious of the importance of the project for his country Cameroon, decided to decline his participation to the World Cup, so that he could stay and take care of the chicken project .
At a time when the general interest no longer means anything, at a time when distracting public funds has become the favorite sport in Cameroon, I would like through this article to pay tribute to Doctor Ekwe who continued his career for a long while busy with his animals.
Dr Ekwe is the father of our own Sr Petroleum Engineer Ekwe collins, a proud Houstonian.
