Two of ours, Messrs Pierre Kwemi and Adalbert Otou-Nguini, have been appointed Knights of the National Order of Merit of Cameroon by President Biya.

The award ceremony for Mr Kwemi took place yesterday during an official ceremony at the Cameroon High Commission in Ottawa presided over by the High Commissioner, H.E. Solomon Azo-Mbi. Mr Kwemi is a former president of the defunct ACQ (Association of Cameroonians in Quebec) and a member of the Permanent Council of the ACC.

Meanwhile, during the celebration of the National Day in Yaounde on May 20th, Mr Otou-Nguini, was awarded his medal by the Governor of the Centre Province at the Esplanade of the Yaounde City Hall. M. Otou-Nguini is an honourary member of the ACC, one of the founding fathers of the ACC and the first president of the Association culturelle Béti du Canada. Mr Otou-Nguini has been on retirement in Cameroon since July 2008.

We believe this is the first time that members of the Cameroon diaspora are being recognized by the Cameroon government for their work in the diaspora. These honours are, no doubt, a recognition by the government of the value of the Cameroonian diaspora. Let’s hope that they also represent a logical progression to the recognition of dual nationality that we have all be clamoring for.