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

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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

Biography

Ekangaki was born in Nguti,

Kumba Kumba is a metropolitan city in the Meme department, Southwest Region, Western Cameroon, referred as "K-town" in local slang. Kumba is the most developed and largest city in the Meme Department and has attracted people from the local villag ...

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 is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, 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,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. 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 Jus ...

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

, 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 served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

from 1985 to 1989. Ekangaki died at

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

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