My father was a pastor in the Presbyterian Church. He used to circulate his communion card so that people would see that the superintendent gave. You cannot draw people to you until you talk about yourself so that people have a model. My father’s churches always gave a lot because he circulated his own giving. Some people may think that leaders don’t give, but that they are only takers.
At some point in the history of humanity, Pa Solomon Fomum Tanee and Mama Rebecca Angum Tanee got married and out of that wedding, they had six (06) children.
On the 20th of June 1945, great joy filled their heart with the birth of the third child. Little boy Zacharias Tanee Fomum was born.
From the early age of four, Mama Rebecca Angum, Brother Zach’s mother was surprised by what looked like hallucinations but instead had to do with the gift of prophecy, the office of the prophet, and the Word of Knowledge.
At the age of five, he witnessed the birth of his younger Sister, Hodia Ngomwi Fon being born in 1950. This left a deep impression on him and he was never the same. He developed a deep relationship with her that lasted throughout his life
He used his pencil for four years, between the ages of six and ten. When it was so short that he could no more write with it, he gave it to his father who gave him a new pencil.
From the age of six, he woke up at 3.30 every morning to heat water for his father to bathe.
Between the ages of six and fourteen, he sold groundnuts for his mother. He did not eat one grain while selling. He also sold “accra” (fritters)
That was the beginning of a life of faithfulness in financial matters. His promotion is therefore rooted in his faithfulness in the past.
At almost seven years of age and with four months’ delay because the school was closed, He enrolled at School. He was taken to Infants’ One at the Presbyterian Primary School, at Wumnembug. His teacher was called Mr. Asale.
At the end of that first term in primary school, he came out fifth, even though he had gone to school almost four months late. When he got back home, his father congratulated and encouraged him by giving him a school bag
At the end of that school year, he was the first.
Mr. Essombe was his teacher in the second year of primary school. He loved him exceptionally and caused him to study unusually. He was soon called ZT by teachers and pupils alike.
Some disappointments at his tender age
- Once, he had three sums wrong in one arithmetical exercise while some of his classmates had it all. He was very humiliated by his classmates. He could not stand failure, defeat, and humiliation.
- Another disappointment came when he was asked not to come back to school because of his dirty clothes. This particular lesson taught him to be neat, orderly, and organized and he remained so for the rest of his life.
Still, in 1952, Lambert Eteng Ebot became his friend in the second year in primary school. They used to share their lives and experiences.
Ndah and Fobang were other childhood friends of his, this time from the neighborhood.
Eventually, he had an exceptional performance at the end of the second year in primary school. He scored 598 out of a total of 600. The two marks were lost because he gave the names of ten of the disciples of the Lord Jesus instead of twelve. The confusion was due to the fact that there were two disciples bearing Simon, two bearing James, and two bearing Judas.
Another highlight of Infants’ Two was a price of three pence won for being able to answer arithmetic questions that some boys in the sixth year could not answer.
In 1955, the whole family moved from Nyasoso to Andek, Ngie, where his father was posted as a full Presbyterian pastor or minister, to oversee the prayer houses and churches all over that region.
