Bernard Fonlon

Bernard Nsokika Fonlon was born on November 19, 1924, in Djottin in the highlands of Nso. After studying for the priesthood in Nigeria, Fonlon pursued higher education at the National University of Ireland, the Sorbonne, and Oxford University, completing his doctoral dissertation on the poetry of the Black Renaissance.

Appointed to Ahmadou Ahidjo's cabinet, Dr. Fonlon served as Minister of Transport, Post and Telecommunications, and Minister of Information. In 1962, he founded the bilingual cultural journal ABBIA: Cameroon Cultural Review, championing genuine African humanism and classical scholarship. Later heading the Department of African Literature at the University of Yaoundé, he lived an ascetic life devoted entirely to youth education.