Januarius Jingwa Asongu

Januarius Jingwa (JJ) Asongu is a Cameroonian-American writer, academic, entrepreneur, and human rights activist.

After settling in the United States, Asongu became active in human rights and political advocacy.

Birth and early life

Asongu was born in 17 August 1970 in West Cameroon (formerly British Cameroons) as the eldest of seven children, with four sisters and two brothers. His parents, Dr. Nicholas Jingwa and Monique Nkengbeza, are devout Catholic Christians. During his secondary and high school years, Asongu led the Young Christian Students (YCS) in Kumbo Diocese. He moved to the United States in the mid-1990s and became a naturalized citizen.

Education

Asongu attended government High School Kumbo (now Government Bilingual High School Kumbo) for his secondary and high school education from 1982 to 1989. He then began his priestly formation at Bishop Rogan College, in Soppo, Buea, and continued his university studies at St. Thomas Aqunias Major Seminary in Bambui, an affiliated institute of the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree.

Following his time at the seminary, Asongu pursued an academic career abroad. In 1995, Asongu received a certificate in journalism from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and in 1998, completed his PhD in journalism while in the United States. He became the first person from the Cameroons to be awarded the prestigious Press Fellowship from the Nuffield Foundation at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Brief work history

Asongu's first job was teaching. He taught English literature, history, and commerce at Bishop Rogan College, Buea (1989/90). In 1993/94, he worked as a seminarian on internship at St. John's Catholic Parish, Kumba, and St. Luke's Parish, Nyandong. After his journalism training, he worked as a reporter in the Cameroons, where he wrote for various newspapers and co-hosted Catholic programs on CRTV. His writings brought him into conflict with the administration, and in 1997, he left for the United States. His first occupation in the US was journalism, where he worked at The Houston Chronicle as an Alfred Friendly Press Fellow.

He was the first person from the Cameroons to earn a fellowship from the Alfred Friendly Foundation. He was awarded the Press Fellowship at Wolfson College, Cambridge. Upon his return to the US from the UK, he worked as a reporter and editor for various newspapers and magazines and taught briefly at several high schools. In 1999, he transitioned into public relations where he worked for various agencies and international companies. Asongu has taught at several universities in the United States, including Rockford University, Rockford, IL; Herzing University, Milwaukee, WI; Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Rockford Campus; Franklin University, Columbus, OH. He has also started a number of small businesses in the United States and Cameroons.

Public scholarship and activism

Asongu conducted a detailed study of the Anglophone problem (Cameroon) and then wrote a thesis in 1993 on "The Problem of National Unity in Cameroon: A Politico-Philosophical Appraisal." He has also published a book on the Ambazonia war of independence entitled "Forced Unity." He was also a champion of Southern Cameroon's independence and currently chairs the Alliance for Peace and Justice (APJ) in the Former British Southern Cameroons. In November 2024, he presented the Ambazonian case before the United Nations in Geneva.

Boards

He has served on the boards of the National Association of African American Studies (NAAAS) and Affiliates, and the Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERUDEF).