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Top 10 Most Famous Cameroonian People

Cameroon people are in various works of life and some can be very influential because they have achieved so much more in their line of careers and occupations thus making them famous in Cameroon and worldwide. Some of these famous people are singers, politicians, guitarists, footballers and authors you may be able to familiarize yourself with them very well. People in Cameroon and African environs truly celebrate the achievements they brought throughout the years. Therefore, this article is going to explore more about the famous people in Cameroon to create a clear picture in the reader’s mind of how they became so influential and so famous.

1 Ahmadou Ahidjo

Ahmadou Ahidjo was a Cameroonian politician who was born on August 24^th, 1924 in Cameroon a place called Garoua. He was recognized as the first President of Cameroon who played a major role in Cameroon’s independence and re-uniting the French and English-speaking people in various parts of the country during his time in office from 1960 to 1982. During his early life, Ahidjo was the first civil servant from Northern Cameroon to perform duties in the Southern areas. He created a single-party state under the Cameroon National Union in 1966 and abolished it in favour of a unitary state in 1972.

Ahidjo resigned from power in 1982 because of health reasons and his prime minister who was never on good terms with Ahidjo and when he assumed the presidency, he sentenced Ahidjo to life imprisonment because he accused him of being behind a coup plot, in 1984. He later died of a heart attack in Dakar on 30^th November 1989.

2 Paul Biya

Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who was born on February 13, 1933, in Cameroon at a place called Mvomeka’a. He is famous for being the second-longest-ruling President in Africa and the oldest head of State in the world. He served as Secretary-General of the President from 1968 to 1982 and after that, he became the Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982. Later on, in 1982 Biya assumed the presidency after Ahidjo resigned as the President of Cameroon but became President in 1992 after he won the presidential election and was re-elected in 1997,2004,2011 and 2018. He introduced a one-party system in the 1980s, but later on, he accepted the introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. He continues to be known for his unique tact and method of diplomacy.

3 Manu Dibango

Manu Dibango was a well-known Cameroonian musician who was born on December 12, 1933, in Cameroon a place called Douala. Dibango was also a songwriter and he played the saxophone and the vibraphone using jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music as his musical style. During his early life, he developed his taste in music when he attended church every night for religious education. He learnt at his village and later on he was accepted into a colonial school where he learnt French. In 1949, Manu was sent to college in Saint- Calais, France after that he learnt piano at the lyc茅e de Chartres. He, unfortunately, died from COVID-19 on March 2020.

4 Roger Milla

Roger Milla was born on May 20^th, 1952 in Cameroon a place called Yaound茅. He is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played forward and was named the 125^th best living soccer player. He played in three world cups and scored goals in all of them and by this, he caught the world and his own country Cameroon by surprise. He scored four goals at the FIFA World Cup at the age of 38 and at the age of 42 he scored against Russia in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, thus breaking his record as the oldest goal scorer in World cup history. Currently, he is an itinerant ambassador for African causes and has remained to be recognized as a pioneer of the many unconventional and imaginative goal celebrations.

5 Chantal Biya

Chantal Biya was born on December 4, 1969, in Cameroon in a place called Dimako. She is well known as the First lady of Cameroon and wife to Paul Biya. Chantal is also a fanatic about hairstyles and her signature style is called the 鈥渂anana鈥� which is used for formal occasions. She is also known for her exotic wardrobe with her favourite designers being high-end Western labels such as Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton. She is very much interested in fashion and healthcare industries and through her Chantal Biya foundation she has sponsored many healthcare initiatives on cures and better healthcare for HIV/AIDS patients worldwide. Chantal has developed enterprises and has also established many charitable organizations in Africa.

6 Samuel Eto’s Fils

Samuel Eto’s Fils is famously known for being a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who was born on March 10, 1981, in Cameroon a place called Douala. His considered to be one of the best strikers and one of the best players in Africa because he took the world by surprise by winning the African player of the year four times that is in 2003,2004,2005 and 2010. He scored 130 goals in five seasons when he was in Barcelona, 70goals when he was a Mallorca team player, coming in third for the FIFA World Player of the Year and winning La Liga. He was named twice in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, 2005 and 2006.

He became the first player to win two European continental trebles after he had signed with inter Milan for the 2009-2010 season. He won the trophy two years in a row with different teams and became the fourth player in the champions league after which he scored 44goals in 76 leagues. He won the Golden Award in 2015, the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics and also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002. Samuel retired in August 2014 and he is currently the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation since 2021.

7 Bony Dashaco

Bony Dashaco is a businessman, chairman of Advertising and Research (ACMAR) media group which is preset in 22 African countries with over 1000 direct jobs created by them and also, he is the chairman of the African Center for Marketing. In 2016 he was nominated by the Center for Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Business Management Development as a person below the age of 40 who is influential and has impacted society. He was named one of Institut Choiseul for International Politics and Geoeconomics鈥� list of 100 future economic leaders of Africa. In 2021 he launched three Tv channels Dash TV, Dash sports and entertainment and Dash info.

8 Zacharia Perevet

Zacharia Perevet is a Cameroonian politician born in 1957 at Gouzda, located in the Mayo- Tsanaga Division of Far North Province. He worked at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Directorate of studies and projects from 1981 to 1982. He was then appointed as the Director of Agro-Economic Inquiries and Agricultural Planning which he served from 1989 to 1992 and was later appointed to the government as Secretary of State at the Ministry of Planning and Spatial planning on November 1992. In 1997 he was given a promotion to become the Minister of Agriculture which he served for almost five years then he was appointed as the Minister of Scientific Research and Technology in 2003.

In 2003, Zacharia was elected as a Vice-Chairman of the Seventh Session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, part of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He is currently serving in the post of Employment and Vocational Training in the government of Cameroon.

9 Richard Bona

Richard Bona is a Cameroon-born American multi-instrumentalist born on October 28, 1967, in Cameroon at a place called Minta. Bona developed an interest in music at a very young age because he grew into a family of musicians. He began to play balafon just at the age of four and at the age of five he started to perform at his village church. Since they were not rich, he learnt to assemble his own instruments such as flutes and guitars which he learnt to play at the age of 11. Bona performed his first ensemble in a French Jazz club in Doula where the owner recognized him and helped him discover jazz music.

He relocated to Germany to study music in Dusseldorf and later he went to France to further his studies in music. Bona held a professorship of jazz music at the University of New York and managed to open his own jazz club in New York. He continued to release several albums and even collaborated with famous artists such as John Legend in his track ‘Please Don’t Stop” which was nominated for best contemporary world music Album at the 49^th Grammy Awards.

10 Mireille Nemale

She is known as a Cameroonian fashion stylist, educator and entrepreneur who was born in 1949. She taught for many years at the CETIC institute at Doula after she graduated in 1973 as the first African woman in haute couture from the Ecole de la Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne. He founded New Fashion Academy in 1993 which is a vocational training that specializes in fashion, decoration and modelling. By May 2021, Nemale had managed to train 300 students who were able to take up a profession in Cameroon or Abroad. For his hard work, Nemale was honoured with the Cameroonian Order of Valour in 2010.