US-based Cameroonian philosopher wins top academic award in Colorado
By Hans Ngala
A Cameroonian university professor who teaches philosophy in Colorado, United States has been recognized for his contributions to academia. Prof. Ajume Wingo received the 2024 Thomas Jefferson Award at the University of Colorado, (CU) Boulder where he teaches classes in political philosophy and ethics.
Wingo received the award alongside another member of the university.
A statement on the University of Colorado’s news website about the award and its recipients read in part:
“Named for the third U.S. president and a Founding Father who greatly influenced American arts, sciences, education and public affairs, the biennial Jefferson Award recognizes CU faculty, staff and students who demonstrate excellence in the performance of regular responsibilities at the university while also contributing noteworthy service to the broader community”.
The statement added that “The awardees were chosen for embodying and advancing the ideals of Thomas Jefferson: broad interests in literature, arts and sciences, and public affairs; a strong concern for the advancement of higher education; a deeply seated sense of individual civic responsibility; and a profound commitment to the welfare and rights of the individual”.
Professor Wingo is a globally respected philosopher who has published books and papers on political philosophy, political monuments, and ethics. He has also published widely on liberal democratic philosophy and politics, particularly on institutional building in places where there are non-liberal democratic or illegitimate political institutions.
He received his award at the university in the presence of university leadership and distinguished guests, including the former US ambassador to Cameroon, Peter Barlerin.
“I am greatly honored to receive this award” Wingo said. “I first learned of Jefferson in primary school at my kingdom of Nso and over the years, I studied the history, the political traditions, the norms and the joys of this country; including reading early on the biography of Jefferson, rightly entitled, The American Sphinx”.
A prince from the Nso Kingdom, he bears the royal title of Shey Ntumfon (emissary of the fon or king)
Professor Wingo joined CU Boulder in 2009 as a lecturer and prior to this, was a professor at Boston University in Massachusetts. Before Boston, he was a fellow at the respected Harvard University.
His book, Veil Politics in Liberal Democratic States is widely studied in political philosophy classes around the world.
Wingo was instrumental in bringing the Himalayan Institute to Cameroon which has helped create jobs for hundreds of people and encouraged naturopathic medicine and other healthy living modes.
The award will enable him to further his teachings about the need for democracy in Cameroon, something he has been very vocal about especially in the context of the ongoing civil war in the Anglophone parts of the country which he says is a result of bad governance in the country.
