Under the Cotton Tree

Author, scholar and human rights activist by day. Poet, book collector and lover of live music, after working hours. Family man, mentor and friend around the clock.

I grew up on Bushrod Island, between Duala and Tweh Rubber Farm.

Our home stood in the shade of an awe-inspiring silk-cotton tree, inhabited by bats and, according to neighborhood lore, a colony of ghosts.

I grew up in a yard filled with a variety of fruits, including mango, guava, soursop, breadfruit, pawpaw and banana. My parents operated a coffee roasting business, so our yard was constantly filled with the distinctive aroma of Liberica coffee.