From Nothing to Everything: My Pathway Toward Excellence

By Gabriel Kengni Ph.D. CCIE NBCT

Know where you come from.

That is one of the essential themes in this memoir by Gabriel Kengni, who was born in 1962 to a polygamous family in West Cameroon at the junction of western and central Africa.

At the age of four, his family members started passing him around, and he began working at age seven. Everyone expected him to stop going to school because there was no money to pay tuition, but he continued on.

Everything changed after he passed an exam that paved the way for him to go to a public high school. After graduating, he attended college in the neighboring country of Gabon before moving to the United States of America to continue his education.

In sharing his story, he reveals what it was like growing up in a polygamous family, how the Bamiléké people in Cameroon select their kings, and how he took care of himself and his younger brother while still in elementary school.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Oct 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684703340

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NBCT

Copyright © 2019 Gabriel Kengni, Ph.D., CCIE, NBCT.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-6847-0336-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6847-0335-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6847-0334-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019907084

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 09/09/2019

To my wife, Clotilde Wessibe Kengni. We have an indivisible bond.

To my children, Valerie, Cedric, Erick, and Gabriel Jr. They are dear to me.

To my godmother, the late Maman Veronique Noula, who gave me unconditional love.

To my mother-in-law, Maman Kambo Mangwa Genevieve, who made my family life a success.

To my late father, the king of Bano (Nzotam Pierre), and my late mother, the queen of Bano (Nougouni Suzanne).

To my younger brothers, His Majesty, king of Bano (Albert Djoumsie), and Miafo Kamgang J. Robert, and sister, Mefo Angel Mekeng Tekoudjou.

To my late aunt Marie Yangni, with whom I lived in Melong for seven years.

To my brothers and sisters from the Bano Kingdom.

To my dear village, Fotouni, and its people.

To Mr. Bernard Dechouake (Gabon).

Acknowledgments

I would like to recognize everyone who had a positive impact in my life and who helped support my efforts in writing this book. This work is not my achievement alone; it would not have been possible without help and support from so many people. No one deserves more grateful recognition than my wife, Clotilde W. Kengni. Without her sacrifice, love, and moral support, this work would have been much harder. Thanks to the students, teachers, administrators, and staff of the Montgomery County Public School, Maryland. A special thanks to Ms. Jeannette Blackwood (instructional specialist), Mr. Richard James (assistant principal), and Dr. Ira K. Thomas (principal) for always believing in me.

Special thanks to the following:

My late childhood friend Tamko Michel for helping find my first job in the restaurant as a dishwasher at the age of seven.

Mr. Tcheumeni Gabriel, a childhood friend who convinced me not to drop out of elementary school but instead to go to a night school, work during the day, and save money for high school.

My childhood friends Magni Diou Madelene Takna, Mr. Titchom Joseph, Mrs. Djambou Veronique, and Mr. Paul Kengni for supporting and believing in me despite my level of poverty. They supported me morally all through middle and high school. I will always remember you.

Mr. Essoke Ekombo Blaise, principal of the Lycee du Manengouba de Nkongsamba, a high school located in Cameroon, Africa, for seeing a leader in me at a young age. Under his administration, I was board master in our boarding school and treasurer of the school government association.

My high school classmate Luminu Jean, who used to lend me his clothes and shoes when I had to go out because I had none.

Thanks to Dr. Michel Leno for introducing me to a woman who has been my spouse for more than two decades.

Many thanks go to Dr. Lee Leitner, my PhD thesis chairperson, for all his encouragement, patience, and invaluable guidance.

Thanks to Dr. Rollins S. Guild and Dr. Greg E. Simco for being in my PhD dissertation committee and for their valuable comments, suggestions, and contributions to the success of the thesis.

Thanks to Dr. J. J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves, Dr. Bill Zaumen, and Dr. Shree Murthy for providing me with all the information on ARPANET topology that I needed for my laboratory work.

Thanks to Dr. Jules Kouatchou for his support and for making my laboratory work enjoyable.

Thanks to Kate Daly for editing my PhD dissertation thesis.

BOOK SUMMARY

From Nothing to Everything is an inspirational book that tells the story of Dr. Gabriel Kengni, a professor, engineer, author, and National Board

Certified educator whose life started as a poor boy in the streets of Cameroon. He has since become one of the best educators in the United States of America, a merit that earned him an invitation to the White House. Although people will see his success as the result of hard work and determination, Dr. Kengni thinks it is by the grace of God. Dr. Kengni was born in Cameroon, a Central Africa country, in the early sixties. He is from a polygamous family. His father, King Nzotam, had up to fifteen wives, and his mother, Nougouni, was the queen mother.

Dr. Kengni takes time in this book to describe how children are raised in a polygamous family. He also has a chapter on how to become a king in the Bamiléké region of Cameroon. Dr. Kengni had a challenging upbringing. In this book, he divides his struggle into steps that he names bridges. A bridge is a period of his life where he had to make a critical decision; any of those decisions could have ended his dream if a wrong decision had been made. Usually in the life of a child, these decisions are made by parents, but he was the one making those decisions from the age of seven. Dr. Kengni attributes the successful crossing of the bridges to God. He does not believe that he could have done it on his own at that young age.

Dr. Kengni’s story, told in his own words, provides encouragement for those who have experienced obstacles in their journey to accomplish their goals. To all, he states that life is a continuous challenge that ends only when you leave this earth; never compare your challenge to that of someone else because you are unique in your kind. Dr. Kengni’s story shows that one does not need a rich father, an elite education, or the old schoolboy network to be successful. What one needs is self-respect, ethics, commitment, and empathy for others. Dr. Kengni defines success as a state of mind. Success is not money; at least for him it is not. He believes that success means different things to different people. For Dr. Kengni, success is when you reach your ultimate goal; his was being invited to the White House. Being invited to the home of the president of the most powerful country in the world is paramount. You should deserve it to earn the invitation. Anyone reading this book will understand the power of endurance, commitment, and courage. This is an inspirational book for those who want something to motivate them in their lives.

Introduction

Who Would Have Thought!

I was born on June 1, 1962, in Fotouni, West Cameroon, to a polygamous family. Fotouni is a chieftaincy of the second degree and has nine chiefdoms of the third degree. My village, Bano, is one of the chiefdoms of the third degree. Fotouni is ruled by a king.

At the age of four, I started being passed from one family member to another. I started working when I was seven years old. My schooling seemed destined to end in elementary school because there was no money to pay the tuition to continue on. I took night courses for two years to complete sixth and seventh grade. My life changed when I took and passed the exam to go to eighth grade in a public high school. I graduated from high school and attended college in the neighboring country of Gabon. After four years in Gabon, I moved to the United States to further my education.

As a foreign student, I could apply for neither student loans nor scholarships, so I had to work while going to school. My first job in the United States was at the World Bank. I started as a janitor and then became a security guard and, finally, a long-term information system consultant. I left the World Bank after becoming a permanent resident and then worked with large telecom companies, including UUNET, MCI, and WorldCom, in the field of information technology before moving into my dream career—education.

All along, God was with me. I cannot believe I did this on my own; this was God’s miracle. As you read this book, you will discover the obstacles I went through. All along my journey, God gave me the strength to endure and to persevere.

I believe the words of Michael Jordan, the famous basketball player, who said, Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. That is what I did. I believe in hard work. Ms. Anne Siewe, lawyer at the Bar of Cameroon, once said, I do not recommend to youth to believe in the benefits of work … to think that we can succeed without working is wrong, when we work and we succeed, we appreciate success. I pray today’s youth not to believe that we can succeed without working … that they be disciplined, that they respect the teachers because they are the ones who shape them and it is a wealth.

Early in life, I learned how to make foreigners my parents. I learned how to find solutions to my own problems, how to not complain, and how to always think about the future. If what you planned for is not working, adjust the plan and try again. Never give up. I call these decisions plan A and plan B. I continue to use this strategy of managing my life to make major decisions. In this book, plans A and B are called bridges, and the decisions I made through my life are called the grace of God. These bridges have been consecutive. I am the person I am today because none of the bridges broke during the journey. By the grace of God, I successfully crossed each of these bridges, hence the title of this book, From Nothing to Everything: My Pathway toward Excellence.

My Origins

I am originally from Cameroon. Cameroon is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. French and English are the official languages of Cameroon. The country is often referred to as Africa in miniature for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rain forests, and savannas. The highest point, at almost 4,100 meters (13,500 feet), is Mount Cameroon in the southwest region of the country. The most populous cities are Douala, its economic capital and main seaport, and Yaoundé, its political capital. The country is well known for its native styles of music—particularly makossa and bikutsi—and for its successful national football team (the Indomitable Lions).

Independence of Cameroon and Its Consequences

After Cameroon gained independence from France, rebellions organized by the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) turned into a bloody guerilla war. This infighting came from the fact that France wanted to create an empire, so it regarded Cameroon as a colony. Article 76(b) of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) of 1945 set forth the political objectives of the trusteeship system, which was to promote the evolution of colonies like Cameroon toward self-government and independence. Cameroon achieved independence from France on January 1, 1960—two years before I was born. The members of the UPC who fought for independence were marginalized as rebels by France, and anyone belonging to that party was either killed or jailed. The government in power considered the UPC a Communist-front party that aimed to forcibly establish a Marxist popular republic in Cameroon.

Cameroon had a civil war that lasted from the 1950s to the ’70s. Cameroon’s fight for independence involved fighting between two major factions—the UPC and the government forces, supported by the French. UPC was made up mainly of people from the Bamiléké and Bassa tribes. I heard reports that foot soldiers were everywhere, terrorizing and killing innocent people. From the air, French