Until September 3, 2023, the Yaoundé Retrospective exhibition traces the history and evolution of the Cameroonian capital through rare photos, sometimes dating from the First World War. Presentation.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Yaoundé, Richard Onanena
A photo exhibition retraces the 100 years of the city of Yaoundé, until September 3 at the Hilton hotel in Yaoundé. It is organized by Lawrence Chi and Fabien Ngon, the coordinators of the photography department of the Ministry of Culture.
The Yaoundé Retrospective exhibition thus presents rare photos of the Cameroonian capital, sometimes dating from the First World War.
” I went through these different shots with a lot of emotions »
These photos arouse the smiles of visitors. On a painting, an image of Charles Atangana Ntsama, leader of the Ewondos, leaving mass in 1917. Further on, two Europeans pose next to a vehicle during the Yaoundé car race. We are in 1951.
Religion, trade, transport or even habitat: the entire history of the Cameroonian capital is traced. Lawrence Chi explains: This is to say that photography has existed in Cameroon since the 20th century. When Mr. Goethe [George E. Goethe, NDLR] moved to Cameroon in the early 1915s, he came with photography and since then photography has existed in Cameroon… »
More than a hundred years of history told with rare images, sometimes recovered from private individuals. The event attracts many people. Tandji, a young photography enthusiast, has just browsed the dozens of photos on display: “ I went through these different shots with a lot of emotions, to see what the places we go through today were like 50 years ago… really nostalgic. As I speak to you, I have goosebumps. »
After visiting the exhibition, Emmanuel, cultural manager at the office of the governor of the central region, said he was marked by the evolution of the Cameroonian capital over the past century: “ We have reviewed almost 100 years of the history of the city of Yaoundé, all of which makes us believe that we have come a long way with the new infrastructures that have been established in the city. »
As the photos attest, since the last century, the city of Yaoundé has grown and modernized.
“We went from a relatively formal city to a totally informal city, to a big mess”
Yaoundé has modernized over time. Like the majority of African capitals, the city is very busy with its population of nearly 6 million inhabitants today. It is growing, new neighborhoods are springing up like mushrooms. For Stéphane Akoa, researcher and teacher at the Cameroon School of Architecture, the urbanization of Yaoundé does not respect the rules in this area: “ At the start of the 1980s and even more so in the 1990s, a great anarchy prevailed in the modes of establishment on the one hand, but also effectively, by the directions that the city was taking, both the absence of compliance with construction standards, lack of compliance with a land use plan with building formats, limited or regulated heights, for example, the alignment of buildings along the roadways. ” He concludes : ” All this ceased to be respected and to be sanctioned when there was a breach of the rule. And we have gone from a relatively formal city to a totally informal city – including in the sectors allocated to public service and administration – to a great mess. »