News: the Cameroonian series Adamu & Goni adapted into a comic strip

The Malo Pictures team gathered the press on Monday 7th February 2021 at the Muna Foundation in Yaounde to present two comic strips. Adamu & Goni and Sobajo. The first, adapted from the eponymous series broadcast since 2019 on Cameroonian national television and YouTube, is a graphic novel so the direct target is the youth of the far north of Cameroon affected by the harmful actions of the Boko Haram sect. The second is an original comic strip of 10 volumes which is still aimed at the youth of the far north of Cameroon but specifically at young people aged 11 to 18 years. This project benefits from the support of the United States Embassy in Cameroon.

Pardon et tolérance

Adamu & Goni, directed by Cyrille Masso, is a series that deals with the phenomenon of repentant members of the Boko haram sect that has been carrying out attacks in the northern regions of Cameroon since 2014. The repentant are those fighters who have decided to leave the terrorist sect to reintegrate their community. A reintegration that is always obvious because it weighs on them a lot of doubts and their repentance is never perceived as truly sincere. The series by the director of Confidences (2006)therefore deals with this sensitive subject, which is not very often highlighted. A series that has been a real success with the populations of these areas of Cameroon if we stick to the figures revealed by the director, more than 3 million people have watched the series. Even if this figure is a good audience, there are many people in these areas who cannot have access to the series because of the isolation and therefore the inaccessibility of television or the internet.    Malo Pictures has undertaken with the support of the American embassy to adapt the series into a comic strip to reach an even wider audience directly. The result is a graphic novel that will be distributed to young people in these regions. A project that is part of the promotion of forgiveness and tolerance by the Cameroonian production company.

Sobajo

Also during the conference, another comic strip was also presented. This is Sobajo, a collection of 10 volumes which still revolves around the fight against violent extremism in the northern regions of Cameroon. Only here a great deal of creativity has been put into it because here we are dealing with super heroes who have extrahuman power and abilities. Beyond the evocation of the themes of terrorism, this comic strip is more broadly raked in, integrating itself into the general socio-economic landscape of these regions. These comic strips will be distributed free of charge to the populations of these regions. This will allow for an increased awareness raising work. For those who will not be able to access the paper version of the comic strip, free digital and downloadable versions are available.

To read and download : Adamu & Goni – Sobajo

Rostand Wandja