Cameroon press honours Cameroon based Nigerian entrepreneur

Chief Kenneth Obum Obiora, president of the Nigerian Community in Donga Mantung cum Chief Executive Officer of the “Nkambe Agro-industrial Mixed farming”, has been honoured by The Eye Newspaper as the Most Distinguished Entrepreneur of the year 2012.

Chief Kenneth was amongst the over 70 laureates of The Eye Newspaper achievement awards that took place in Nkambe on Saturday July 27.

Chief Obiora (R) receiving his award from the president of the jury

Chief Kenneth Obiora’s “Nkambe Agro-industrial Mixed farming” has as principal objective to practice mixed farming using modern methods. The agro business mainly transforms palm kernels into semi finished products like palm kernel oil, palm kernel cake. It also runs a piggery and poultry amongst others.

According to Chief Kenneth, the first phase of the project was to acquire equipments and establish a factory which he did with over 100 kernel cracking machines installed in villages of the five Sub Divisions of Donga Mantung. Today, over 500 families are direct beneficiaries of the factory through employment in the Division.

The project started in 2002 where he was supplying the palm kernel to a Soap Factory in Bamenda. In 2009, the entrepreneur acquired land and started constriction of the factory in Nkambe. The transformation phase started on January 5, 2012 with the transformation of palm kernels into semi groundnut oil, feeds and other bi-products from the process, Chief Obiora told NewsWatch.

The Cameroon based Nigerian business magnet said further that the second phase of the project is to purchase some machines that will be used to transform and preserve some products.

Chief Obiora says a purchase order for the machines has been sent to his partners in South Korea and by next year, the machines would be supplied and over 100 other Cameroonians will be employed.

While expressing his gratitude to the jury of The Eye Newspaper Award of Excellence 2012, Chief Obiora said the Award is a booster for him to personally work harder and his Government. To the government of Cameron that permitted him to operate such a business in the country, Chief also was very appreciative and said “Cameroon is his home and Nigeria is his country, we are comfortable in Cameroon”, he concluded.

Chief Kenneth Obum Obiora J.P, the Egbokide 1 of Ozo kingdom Neni has spent over twenty years in Cameroon doing business. He is married and father of four. He was the lone non-Cameroonian who was recognized by The Eye Newspaper.

Other winners of the day included the man of the year Hon. Awudu Mbaya, Member of Parliament Donga Mantung Central Nkambe/Ndu Constituency, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon Philemon Yang as the Most Transparent Man of the year, Communication Minister, Issa Chiroma Bakary as Best Politician of the year, the Director General of Customs among others.

The ceremony to hand out the awards that took place at the conference hall of the Bamenda Police Cooperative Credit Union (BAPCCUL) in Nkambe was presided at by the 2nd Assistance SDO for Donga Mantung, Manshang Nicholas in the presence of political, traditional and Religious authorities of the division and beyond.

By Boungong Marc in Nkambe