Leading Oroko-USA In Challenging Times
Ba Iya na ba Tata, bana bua ba Oroko,
It is once again a moment of immense honor for me to provide a summary of our Oroko organizational activities you entrusted in my care and where my team and I intend to take the organization to in the years ahead. I cannot fully express my sincere gratitude to you, for having given me the unique opportunity to serve as your National President. Your trust and patience have been an enormous source of strength and encouragement on which I have relied upon to lead our great Oroko family in the United State. I will divide our activities on two fronts: United States and Cameroon.
Activities or accomplishments in the United States in 2018
My administration has only been in existence for a year, but we have scored some major victories despite all that has inflicted our divisions of Meme and Ndian in Cameroon.
- My administration took over from Prince Fred Mediko at the Oroko Boston Convention in 2017. The Oroko Cultural Association had previously lost its 501(c)3 or its Federal Non-Profit Status during the presidency of his predecessor however, it only took my administration five (5) years later to reinstate the lost status. Today, I am proud to report to you that OCA-USA is again an accredited non-profit organization with a 501 (C) 3 status under the US tax code. Going forward, all expenses incurred in the service of OCA-USA shall be itemized and deducted from your federal income taxes. It has also opened the window for OCA-USA to raise funds again from individuals, donor organizations and other foundations to finance all its projects.
- We are also engaged in growing our organization by opening new chapters throughout the United States. Chicago made us proud in 2018 not only because a new chapter was formed led by Tata Ebenezer Ekoi, but they equally hosted one of the most successful national conventions in the history of our organization. We are hoping that Alabama, California and Iowa shall all be constituted come the 2019 convention in Atlanta.
- In line with our tax-exempt status, OCA-USA now has an official seal of authority to serve as an administrative symbol for all OCA-USA administrative documents. This seal will be handed to every subsequent administration upon taking office. To create a synergy with all Oroko sons and daughters, OCA-USA has created a social media portal on WhatsApp which is a platform for ideas and discussions on issues affecting the Oroko nation. Membership is opened to all Oroko sons and daughters.
- My administration equally created a Think-Tank group, bringing together past National Presidents and people of measured value, to find solutions to the most difficult problems afflicting the growth of the Oroko people.
- In order to succeed in all our undertakings, we have invited the Lord in our daily activities by creating a Prayer line under the reverend leadership of Dr. Charles Misori. The prayer sessions ask of the Lord to be in the presence of the Oroko people and to guide then to be prayerful.
- In Boston (2017), the out-going President, Prince Fred Mediko, presented to the General Assembly a plea to help two of our sisters in Atlanta who were battling the dreadful disease of cancer. My administration heeded to the decision of the General Assembly to help the two ladies and generated funds using two different GoFundMes. I am glad to announce that your financial contributions helped one of the ladies to celebrate and rejoice because, with the help of the Almighty, she’s cancer-free. The other lady is equally making a tremendous progress towards recovery. We should continue to be each other’s keeper.
What we have been doing in Cameroon.
While we shall continue to address some of the issues we have in the United States, we felt compelled to start addressing some of the problems in Cameroon as well. The current Anglophone crisis which started in 2016 has hit our people the hardest and, Oroko USA has therefore decided to commit a lot of its resources to bring humanitarian supplies to the Internally Displaced Population.
This past year has been very eventful and therefore needing our intervention. The ongoing violence in our homeland has brought an untold burden to our people who have been hit hardest leaving, a heavy load of humanitarian burden for us to address. And as the threat on our communities remains on the rise, the gaze of our brothers and sisters, caught in this quagmire, remains fixed on us to take action. Whether or not we understand the enormity of the dangers they face, the unbeatable truth remains; we are the last hope of our people as they wallow in what is fast becoming a human catastrophe.
As a family, we have resolved to tackle that which we could with the limited resources we were able to raise in 2018. To alleviate the dehumanizing conditions our people are caught in as a result of the Anglophone Crisis, we dedicated much of the proceeds of our recently-held Oroko National Convention in Chicago to address the humanitarian catastrophe in our Oroko land. I want to personally thank all the Oroko people and non-Oroko people who contributed to this cause. Your contributions remain one of the bravest moves that this union has ever committed to as it has directly contribution to the effective mobilization of funds for our Internally Displaced Population (IDP). Our first phase of the humanitarian effort was concluded with the provision of food and personal care items of several villages and communities across Oroko land, amounting to the sum of $8,000 or (4,640,000FCFA). In partnership with the L.M Nanje Foundation, OCA USA has shipped a $20,000 (11,600,000 FCFA) worth of consignment of medical supplies for our displaced populations. In the days ahead, my team will be providing you with updates on our mission in Oroko land, bringing with them the voices of those you chosen to help. We shall publish our activities on our website, www.orokousa.org
In this regard, I cannot help but continue to solicit your unflinching support to do even more towards redeeming our community from distress. We will continue to stay in solidarity with our people and encourage more charitable contributions. We will not relent! The existence of GoFundMe links and other channels of contribution are there to make this possible for us. This is the moment that our people need us the most. That is why it is my greatest desire that continue this mission in our next National Convention.
My Executive and various stakeholders of our family have recently decided to galvanize and expose the Oroko culture beyond the ambits of its people unanimously voted to bring an Oroko artist of choice to our National Convention which is to be held in Atlanta. If we do not encounter visa problems at the American Embassy, Betondi James, Nwan’a Mboka, will be our guest artist in the Atlanta Convention in 2019.
I want to take this unique opportunity this pristine office has given me to encourage Oroko associations in the diaspora (United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, Finland, Ireland and others) to galvanize their activities to showcase the Oroko culture in their respective areas. They should concentrate their efforts to raise funds towards humanitarian contributions now considering the dreadful crisis in our regions. Like we say in our dialect, Itongi basusu isa retaka (many hands do light work)
Finally, on behalf of the OCA National Executive and the great Oroko family in the United States, I offer our deepest condolences to all those who lost loved ones to death during this passing year. We remain united with you in all your moments of grief and are determined to lend you the most support we possibly can. In like manner, we offer our hand of congratulations to all who welcomed new members into their families this year. It is always a thing of great joy for children to be born and meet a world willing to support them in their growth.
On the appointment of the New Prime Minister from Ndian division.
Never in the history of Ndian division and of the Oroko people have we ever been blessed with a very high-profiled appointment as that of Chief Dr. Dion Ngute Joseph from Bongongo I. He was appointed Prime Minister and Head of Government by President Paul Biya on Friday, January 5, 2019.While all of Ndian and the rest of the Oroko people should be grateful for this gift by the Head of State, I urge the Oroko people to rally behind the Prime Minister to ask him the question: How can the Oroko people be of help to him to make his job easy. At the same token we cannot be blind of our expectations of him. Equally, our expectation is for him to put a stamp on development in the Oroko land before he makes his exit on the national political scene.
To members of the Global Oroko Nation, listening or reading my monologue, I say the time is now for us to unite as one family and light the beacon of our land’s development. For ages, we have witnessed the scourge of retardation, not because we do not have the license of growth but because we have sought for it in division. I have been adequately elated by the spirit of Oroko unity that I see from across the continents: in Europe, Asia and the Americas. I look at the enormous work that you all do, especially currently that our community needs you most, and my hope remains resolute. Keep it up!!! For I know that the dawn of Oroko awakening has finally come. There is so much we can accomplish if we work together as one man, one family. I therefore call on you all to think about this and remain determined towards bringing us together for a common purpose, in service to our great Oroko family.
The days ahead will be decisive, and OCA will brave them not by words but by action in unity. The projects we will undertake and how we execute them will be the only measure of our determination to remain stronger than ever and to take the name of Oroko to its deserving heights. And do not be ashamed to call yourself Oroko wherever you are. Because it is such pronouncements that we make ourselves known in world.
Long live OCA, USA
Long Live the Oroko Nation.
Iya Dr. Clementine Ebenye Nanje




