Brief Background & Career
Fr. Emmanuel Nyenabone Nyong Edet, SPS, author of “Wisdom from the Hills“. is a missionary priest of St. Patrick’s Missionary Society. He was born in Oban, Ejagham East of Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. He considers himself first and foremost a missionary.
His missionary journey took him to South Africa where he did his philosophical studies and to Nairobi Kenya where he earned Bachelor’s degree in religious studies. He completed his master’s degree in Psycho-Spiritual counselling and therapy in Marist University College, a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in 2019. Fr. Nyenabone is currently a PhD student in the same discipline. Since his ordination in 2007 he has worked as missionary priest in South Sudan, Kenya and Bauchi in North of Nigeria.
Motivation to Write this Book
In 2002 while doing his theological studies in Tangaza College, Nairobi Kenya, he took some elective courses in African studies at the Mary knoll Institute of African Studies, Nairobi Kenya.
What struck him then was that the Institute was set up by an American Mary knoll missionary priest who had a lot of passion for documenting African traditional knowledge. Fr. Emmanuel was sad that a non-African was promoting African cultural knowledge while we Africans didn’t care much about our heritage. He felt challenged to research on Ejagham tradition especially his own people Ejagham Oban, and to document some of its tradition and customs for posterity.
The Message of Wisdom from the Hills
The book begins by presenting a brief historic origin of Ejagham people. It then goes on to record in some details the different cultural expressions that make up cultural identity of Ejagham community, the Oban people. The book treats traditional practices around birth, marriage, initiation, death, etc. It also looks at cultural arts such as legends, fables, proverbs, dances, and masquerades.
Ejagham people have a body of cultural knowledge and practices that guided our ancestors on how to live and relate meaningfully not only among them but with the whole universe. “If we don’t reclaim this time-tested wisdom in Ejagham tradition we cannot possibly have a voice in our world today,” he said.
Outlook About Writing More Books About Ejagham Tradition
“Since I published Wisdom from the Hills, it is clear to me that Ejagham people have got very rich cultural and religious traditions that must be further researched and brought to public knowledge. For instance, there is a whole healing system such as Obasi-njom among the Ejagham that compares to modern day psychotherapy practices,” Fr. Edet said.
Fr. Nyenabon’s Message to the Youths
There is an Ejagham proverb that says “Mone njim ebae, Mone njm esa, Mone njim jit areh nsung”. For the young people, modern technological society if care is not taken, would severe you from your traditional umbilical cord that accords you an identity in a world that doesn’t seem to know what it stands for or believe in anymore. Take advantage of this phenomenon to foster Ejagham tradition instead.
My pleas to the youth is that you be careful not to become slaves to other people stories and narratives while forgetting yours.
Brief Background & Career
Kadimo Oqua fondly called UncleKady is from Ejagham Qua. UncleKady, is of the Ika Ika Oqua dynasty in Calabar Municipality. His Grandfather, Ntoe Ika Ika Oqua II, was the revered King in Calabar Province who was in the contingent of those that negotiated Nigeria Independence in the 1956 London conference. Kadimo’s father was also a king, late Ndidem (Dr.) Thomas Ika Ika Oqua III. The Ndidem is the Grand Patriarch of the Qua Nation and Paramount Ruler, Calabar Municipality in Cross River State, Nigeria.
Academically, Kady holds a ND in Mass Communications from the Polytechnic Calabar. He further attended the University of Calabar to study Theatre Arts, the course of his choice. UncleKady had his first, second and third degrees from the Department of Theatre and Media Studies, University of Calabar, where he teaches Directing and Media Arts.
UncleKady is happily married with children
Professionally, Kadimo Oqua has directed many stage plays, radio plays and films. Kady is credited with the introduction of the multimedia directing to his Department in particular and the University of Calabar community at large. Multimedia directing is the style where stage drama is fused with film in a live theatre presentation.
He is also a prolific writer. He has written many radio. Screenplays and stage plays. Among the stage plays are Ego, We Men and I Know who I Am is the latest in his series of play.
Outlook On Writing More Books
As an academic staff; I have written several books for students, ranging from Design and Communication books, Stage Acting and Directing books. But a Beautiful Imperfection is the first autobiography
I also have plans to publish another book on the proper history of Old Calabar, as to be told by a Qua- Ejagham Man, whose ancestors first settled in Calabar during the great Bantu Migration. That also will be an interesting read.
Dr. Kadimo Oqua’s Message to Ejagham Youths
Ejagham youth should “go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. Without surrender, be at peace with everyone,” while fostering love and unity among the Ejagham people, through your conduct.
Books Authored by Dr. Kadimo Oqua
What do you do when your child is suicidal due to an illness he knows nothing about?
What do couples do when they are ignorantly responsible for the negative health ordeal of their child?
There is a saying that “Blood is life.” But what does one do when blood becomes the agent of death?
What do parents do when they are faced with a sickle cell sufferer as a child? A situation that would have been an avoidable mistake?
In most parts of Africa, sickle cell disorder is still very rampant as most couples are still very ignorant about it.
The book, A Beautiful Imperfection, chronicles the true life experience of the author as a sickle cell survivor. The book also exposes how a sufferer can survive this and adds other relationship matters by weaving the tragic story through tattoos of comic circumstances and revealing that Sickle Cell sufferers, if properly managed, can live to adulthood.
This book outlines the Principles of Graphics and Advertising for the ambulatory public chronicle and explains the principles and techniques of creating a layout for the development of Poster and Billboard advertisements especially for that type of audience always on the move. The book goes further to criticize some advert pieces and even recommends how and where to place such advertised message when created.
This is a handbook for training directors in the field of opera, dance choreography, carnival and general theatrical directing. The book takes a view of the history of acting and directing, explaining some operatic principles and techniques that can be adopted and adapted to mount an operatic performance on stage. What is more, the book goes further to chronicle some world class theatrical events and renowned dancers and choreographers.
Ego weaves a tragic love story round the incredible and incurable virus of HIV AIDS.
The play analyses the different ways of contracting the HIV virus and recommends safe play.
Ego was first performed at the University of Calabar Arts Theatre, Nigeria, for the launch of the Nigerian Youth Aids Programme (NYAP) on March 15, 1983.
This play tries to point out that most women’s inadequacies are sometimes inadvertently caused by men.
The play, through the characters, satirises the obnoxious role placed on the African women, highlighting their inadequacies and suggesting remedies.
We Men was launched for Women’s Rights, Advancement and Promotion of Alternative (WRAPA) in Abuja, Nigeria in April 12, 2001 as a sensitization drama for the launch of Women’s Right.
What do parents and guardians do when they are faced with the problem of Sickle Cell Anemia and don’t know what to do.
I know Who I am tries to chronicle the steps that triggers Sickle Cell crises in a patient and enumerate ways to remedy.
Background & Career
Ekaba Bisong is from Bendeghe-Ekiem in Etung LGA. A tribe of the Ejagham Nation. Born to Prof. Francis and Prof. Nonso Bisong in Calabar, Cross River State in Nigeria.
Ekaba is currently a Data Science Lead at T4G in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He previously worked as a Data Scientist/ Data Engineer at Pythian in Ottawa, Canada. In addition, he maintains a relationship with the Intelligent Systems Labs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada with a research focus on Learning Systems (encompassing learning automata and reinforcement learning), Machine Learning, and Deep Learning.
Mr. Ekaba Bisong is a Google Certified Professional Data Engineer, a Google Developer Expert in Machine Learning and author of the book “Building Machine Learning and Deep Learning Models on Google Cloud Platform” with Apress (Springer Nature) Publishers.
Mr. Ekaba Bisong research interests are in the theoretical and practical aspects of machine learning, the principles and algorithms that affect learning and how they are applied to specialized domains in making predictions, especially where there are rapid shifts in observable features as well as how mathematical principles, statistics and probabilistic reasoning can be applied to aid better decision making. He is also interested in researching the frontiers involving the synthesis of deep learning and reinforcement learning (what is now known as deep reinforcement learning), and how they can improve the learning task of an agent interacting in a non-deterministic, non-stationary environments (where exact mathematical analysis are no longer feasible), especially when the states of the environment are only partially observable.
Early Days
Ekaba is an old boy of Hope Waddell Training Institution (H.W.T.I), Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Hope Waddel was established in 1894 and is the oldest school East of the Niger in Nigeria.
Ekaba went on to complete his Bachelor degree in Computer Science at Babcock University in Ogun State, Nigeria. He later obtained his Masters Degree in Computer Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
The Message of the Book
This book seeks to equip the reader from the ground up with all the essential principles and tools for building learning models. Machine learning and deep learning is rapidly evolving, and often it is overwhelming and confusing for a beginner looking to delve into this field. Many have no clue where to start. This book is a one-stop shop that takes the beginner on a journey to state-of-the-art theoretical understanding and practical mastery without assuming any pre-requisite. Although this book is written with the beginner at heart, it is not ridiculously verbose and repetitive, but written in a direct and succinct manner that will appeal to experts and serve as a refresher for the core concepts.
Author’s Message to Ejagham Youths
We must be encouraged to persevere and to take personal responsibility for ourselves, our families and our communities. We persevere in hope and with courage because our efforts is not an effort in futility and our courage is not dialectical.
This notion of concrete hope and courage with meaning is firmly etched in the Christian worldview of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In all of history, there is no man that died and toady remains alive. All the central figures of all worldviews are dead or mythical. Only Jesus is alive. This is the anchor of our hope and our courage and our perseverance. So we live and move and have our being in Christ, by Faith, through Grace, on the Authority of Scripture, and to the Glory of God.
Background & Career
Mr, Ita Akuku is from Ishi Ibohr (ISHIBORRI) in the Nkim nation of the Ejagham Bakor extraction in Ogoja in Cross River State of Nigeria.
His primary and secondary education were in St. Benedict’s Catholic School, Ishi Ibohr, Ogoja and St. Augustine’s junior Seminary, Ezzamgbo, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
While he got his National Certificate in Education, NCE in English/History in the College of Education, Uyo and Diploma in Journalism from the Institute of Journalism, Ogba-Lagos respectively, Ita bagged his BA, in Communication Arts from the University of Uyo.
He has seen service with the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC in Port Harcourt, New Nigerian Newspapers, NNN, Kaduna as a journalist and a teacher of English in the secondary school.
As a writer, to his credit, are some of the following titles: Nje – a literary text; The Anger of Atam – the Cross River State politics of marginalization of the minority; Nkim Tradition and Culture – The celebration of life (septuagenarian celebration of Ishig Akub-a-ngon); The Thorny Road to Succession; The Paramount Ruler; and The History of Ishi Ibohr (Ishiborri) and the Catholic Church at 100 Years.
The Message of Ita Akuku’s Books
“The Paramount Ruler” is prominently the biography of Chief George Nsor Ibembem and his grim determination to mounting the headship saddle of the Ogoja government created traditional rulers’ council.
This is a story on the practice of witchcraft in the traditional African society, particularly where Christianity is to make an inroad.
The plague: This is an investigation on members of the Nigerian publics, particularly those males holding responsible, positions who sexually exploit needy females for favour. This immorality, at times, culminates in deadly diseases, among which is HIV AIDS.
This book is a lamentation of the degradation of academic excellence in schools on account of Exams malpractice. It proffers a solution for a regeneration of this lost scholarly option through swotting.
The Anger of Atam: The book features a social cultural organisation – The Atam Congress, seeking liberation for the people of Northern Senatorial District of Cross River State from the political grip of the South and Central Senatorial Districts.
Nkim Tradition and Culture: This is a reminiscence of the tradition and culture of Nkim people which Christianity is trying to erode to the detriment of posterity. One of the life cultural celebration which has stood the test of time, the septuagenarian celebration Akub-a-Ngon Age Grade of 2013 is vividly captured.
This book discusses the reason for the separation of Agboja and Ishi Ibohr into two sub kingdoms of the Nkim nation and the rites of making an NTOL (King).
Outlook On Writing More Books
The urge is very strong in working on the (i) the Ejagham youth consciousness and their identity as a people (ii) cultural revival and the detrimental impact of the Western culture on the natives of Africa.
Ita Akuku’s Message to Ejagham Youths
The youth must imbibe an unblemished patriotism with passion to enhance posterity with better tools for greater Ejagham tribe.
Bakor Ejagham Cultural Dance: Moni-a-Nkim dance. Initially, dancers were restricted to virgins.