Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of State for Higher Education, made a grammatical blunder during the University Games in Ebolowa. He classified “n’eussent été” as the “imperfect subjunctive” when it is actually the “pluperfect subjunctive.” This error is pointed out by Darren LAMBO EBELLE, Professor of Literature, who denounces the “ostentation of knowledge” at the expense of rigor.
The video went viral on social networks. On August 6, 2026, in Ebolowa, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, “Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education and Chancellor of Academic Orders,” delivered a lengthy speech. High-flown language, a series of synonyms. The style was there. The grammar, not so much.
In his column, Darren LAMBO EBELLE highlights a serious mistake: “You categorized ‘n’eussent été’ as belonging to the imperfect subjunctive. This assertion calls for a grammatical correction.”
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The mistake: confusing tenses
According to the professor, a graduate of the ENS of Yaoundé: “‘Eussent été’ is a periphrastic and compound verbal form. It results from the combination of two elements: first, the auxiliary avoir conjugated in the imperfect subjunctive: que j’eusse, qu’ils eussent; then the past participle of the verb être: été.” He concludes: “Consequently, ‘n’eussent été’ belongs to the pluperfect subjunctive of the verb être. It is the tense required for agreement in the protasis […] of unreal conditional type 3.”
The imperfect subjunctive of “être” is: “que je fusse, que tu fusses, qu’il fût, que nous fussions, que vous fussiez, qu’ils fussent.” The form “fussent été” does not exist in French.” Ref.: Grevisse, Le Bon Usage, 16th ed.
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Lesson in ethics
Beyond the mistake, it is the attitude that poses a problem. For Darren LAMBO EBELLE, “In information and communication sciences, an axiom applies: ‘the editorial and political responsibility of a text lies with its author, not its scribe.'”
The Minister cannot hide behind an advisor. “The secretary ensures typing and formatting. The Minister, however, assumes intellectual authorship of the speech.”
The professor finally recalls a principle of moderation: “At your level of excellence, Minister of State, the most accomplished form of correction is the ‘silent correction.’ Reread, amend, rewrite.” And he quotes Lincoln to conclude: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
Greatness, he says, “does not lie in the ostentation of knowledge, but in the delicacy and kindness with which it is transmitted.”