Professor James Tabot Ashu was born at Bachuo-Akagbe in 1945 to Emmanuel Ashu of Bachuo-Ntai and Sarah Orock Etchu of Bachuo-Akagbe, two adjacent villages in Manyu Division of the Republic of Cameroon, West Africa. He initially attended primary school at Basel Mission Bachuo-Ntai. Then he later moved to Roman Catholic School Bachuo-Akagbe; and then to Basel Mission School Diche-Widekum. He did secondary school in Cameroon Protestant College Bali, where he obtained the General Certificate of Education at the ordinary level in 1965. James then taught mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology in Forms I and II at Basel Mission College Besongabang up to 1967 before going to work for the Cameroon Development Corporation in the research unit at Ekona, as a laboratory technician in the chemistry laboratory.
James Ashu went to the University of Sierra Leone at the Njala campus in 1968, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in education – B.Sc.(Education), with chemistry as the major teaching subject and mathematics as the minor, in 1972. He later moved to the Pennsylvania State University in the United States where he studied chemistry and chemical engineering, graduating with a Master of Science in Fuel Technology in 1976. James abandoned a Ph.D program in Fuel Technology and rushed back home with the hope of working as a refinery engineer with the new oil refinery still under construction in Limbe. Unfortunately, this dream was not realized and he in stead picked up with a teaching appointment in Yaounde University where he taught physical chemistry in the faculty of science. Several years later, James Ashu went back to Penn State to start the Ph.D from scratch, but after two years of research in lime sulfation by fluidized bed combustion, he dropped out because of financial difficulties.
James later found a job with JMD, an ink manufacturing company, at Framingham, near Boston in Massachusetts, as director of research and development (R&D). In this capacity, he invented a new chemical formulation that lead to the invention of the “Decopier”, a machine that, when fully developed, will function as the reverse of a photo copier. James served as an assistant professor and assistant director of academic planning and support services of Laboure College in Boston, Massachusetts, till he retired in 2014.
Besides being a co-inventor of the Decopier, James has acquired expertise in ink chemistry and is responsible for several new proprietary chemical formulations used in paper recycling mills. His background in chemistry is so broad that he has published in diverse professional journals like Phytochemistry and Fuel. James is the author of “Effects of Heat Treatment Conditions On Reactivity Of Chars In Air”, a book on coal gasification and liquefaction. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science.
James Ashu lost his father at a very young age. Because of that he spent a lot of time with his maternal grandfather, the late Chief Samuel Etchutanyoh of Bachuo-Akagbe. Another person who influenced his early childhood was a paternal grand uncle, T’Akoabaka of Bachuo-Ntai. James learned a lot of culture and oral history from these two old sages and their colleagues. He even learned the science and art of preservation of cola nuts so that they were fresh all year round. Early induction into the Ekpe society and its higher organs also contributed a lot to James’ acquisition of knowledge of Manyu history and culture. Last but not the least; James Ashu’s life was greatly influenced by his baby sitter. This baby sitter happened to be one of his mother’s younger sisters, Joana Awu, whom James came to fondly call Mami Jo. She was very versed in Manyu folklore and transmitted a lot of the folk tales to James. James enjoyed telling these tales. He is the author of "Name Origins and Meaning of the Manyu People of Cameroon".
Finally, James Tabot Ashu was married to Janet Ara Eta, his wife of 38 years. They have 4 sons, Besong, Tambong, Tabi, and Eta. Broda James also leaves behind his three brothers; Emmanuel Ekumah of Dallas, Julius Ako of Camtel Mamfe, Daniel Enokpa of Maryland, and daughter-in-law Elizabeth; uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends.
James Ashu's patent summaries
http://www.google.com/patents/CA2324280A1?cl=en
http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/2324280/summary.html