50 Years After Cameroon Reunification Prof. Victor Ngoh Unveils Hidden Facts

• Foncha's secret deal with Ahidjo
• Soppo Priso financed KNDP
• The plebiscite and ghost voters

 

Summit Magazine:  The venue for the celebration of the 50^th anniversary after reunification is hanging on the air pending the announcement of the Head of State, Paul Biya. Some people talk of Buea, others say Kumba, Bamenda and Foumban.  As a historian where should the celebrations take place?

Professor Victor Ngoh Julius:  Well I think it should be made absolutely clear, the reunification event was between British Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroon.  At that time the centre of power of authority in British Southern Cameroon was in Buea.  All negotiations between Ahidjo and Foncha which took place in British Southern Cameroons took place in Buea.  So there is absolutely no place of saying Kumba, Bamenda or Foumban should host the event. 

 It should be made clear that even in the days of the German colonial administration in 1904 the capital of German Cameroon was transferred from Douala to Buea.  So there is absolutely no reason why anybody should think of another place except Buea.  As a historian, Buea is the natural host for the celebrations.  It is now left for the politicians, Elites, Traditional leaders and the opinion leaders to lobby to get the Head of State announce the venue early enough.

SM:  As some one who has written extensively on Cameroon history, what briefly are the reasons put forward by the politicians at the time that favored reunification.

PVGJ:  For purpose of clarification, I wish to mention that reunification was the least popular option.  The most popular option was secession and independence of Southern Cameroons as a separate entity, followed by independence in association with Nigeria.  Reunification was the least popular option.  The problem with reunification was that, the KNDP led by Dr. John Ngu Foncha was very smart and it tailored its messages according to the audience it was addressing at the time.  This was helped by the confusion that emerged after the London Conference of November 1960, when Foncha and a good number of Southern Cameroonians went to London to impress on the Her Majesty’s Government  to reverse the United Nations decision of 1959 and grant Southern Cameroons independence as a separate state.  That request was rejected but the population thought that the request was granted and this was also compounded by the fact that the KNDP made the population to believe that there was a transitional period of five years, that should reunification fail, Southern Cameroons will walk out from the union.  The politicians, however, failed to understand that article 47 of the Federal Constitution ruled out such secession.  So, on the day of election, most Southern Cameroons voters thought they were voting for Southern Cameroon as a separate state or that they had a five year trial period and you have to also bear in mind that the very popular areas  in favour of reunification were the Northwest or Grassfield population.  The plebiscite options were twisted to be a struggle between the Grassfield led by Foncha and the Forest zone led by Dr. E.M.L. Endeley.  It is important to note that at that time a good proportion of the workers in the plantations in the Forest zone came from the Grassfield and this  tilted the population.  Unfortunately, the Cameroon Peoples National Congress Party, the CPNC, led by Dr. EML Endeley did a very poor job as far as the campaign was concerned.  They relied a lot on the insecurity in the Republic of Cameroon and they felt that the intense insecurity in the Republic of Cameroon will naturally influence the voters to vote against reunification whereas Foncha and the KNDP whipped up the anti- Ibo scare and most of the electorate voted for reunificationpartly  because of the fear of the Ibos at the time.

  One other view the politicians put as a factor for reunification was that the salary scale in Southern Cameroons was lower than what obtained in La Republique du Cameroun.  How much did this influence the move towards reunification?

  That was absolutely no factor because there wasn’t any contact as far  between the civil servants in British Southern Cameroons and the civil servants of La Republique of Cameroun to the extent that they were able to discuss their salary scales therecwas nothing like that.  The problem is that most Cameroonians make the error of saying that what occurred in May 1972 was reunification.  This is wrong because May 1972 was the dismantling of the Federal system in favour of the unitary system.  So the issue of salary scale between the two entities had no part to play in the reunification exercise.

 There is a lot of blame put forward by contemporary politicians viz-a-viz our agents of reunification.  Is it  that they lacked negotiation skills or that personal interest was put before that of the region?

  All the issues were put on the table.  Unfortunately, the KNDP decided to do the negotiation alone.  The KNDP even refused to take along the British experts whom the Colonial Office had put at their disposal.   You also have to understand that at this time the KNDP government  lacked sufficient  qualified personnel and therefore their negotiating powers were weak and for one reason or the other which is difficult to understand the KNDP refused to take along the Southern Cameroons Bar Association.  This was very detrimental to the KNDP at the Yaounde Tripartite Conference or Talks of 2-7 August 1961 because this conference, which came after the Foumban Conference of 17-21 July 1961, was meant to put the proposals from the Foumban Conference into legal form. The delegation that the KNDP took to the Tripartite Conference did not include the Southern Cameroons Bar Association in spite of the fact that the KNDP was advised to take along legal/constitutional experts from the Bar Association.  This was enough proof that a deal had been concluded between Ahidjo and Foncha to the effect that should the Federal system succeed, Foncha would be Vice President and Muna would be the Federal Minister and if Foncha stepped down as Prime Minister of West Cameroon, A. N Jua would become Prime Minister.

  Let’s put Foncha and Muna aside who were not intellectuals; there were other figures like E T. Egbe, Engo and Gorgi Dinka who were lawyers as well as others.  Was their views not consulted?

  In fact, Southern Cameroons had quite a handful of lawyers at the time.   Why was the Southern Cameroons Bar Association not invited?  Surprisingly, Emmanuel Egbe Tabie was an influential member of the pro-KNDP Think Tank.  He was not invited and if you do recall, during the All Anglophone Conference in Buea in 1993, Foncha and Muna convinced participants that they had a poor deal because they lacked the lawyers.  That is not true.  The lawyers were there but they were not consulted. They did not even invite the Attorney-General, E.K.Mensah.

 According to you, as a historian, where did the error really come from.

  The error was that at the end of the day, the Southern Cameroons politicians were more interested in promoting their personal interest.  There is something which is very tricky in the whole exercise.  The draft Federal Constitution was discussed in the National Assembly of the Republic of Cameroon in August 1961 and  President Ahmadou Ahidjo signed it into law on September 1st, 1961.  So the Federal Constitution was signed into law on September 1, 1961.  There was nothing as the Federal Republic of Cameroon then.  So Ahidjo signed the Federal Constitution as the President of the Republic of Cameroon and when the Southern Cameroons House of Assembly discussed it, it was not to adopt or ratify it.  Rather, S. T. Muna tabled a motion on September 18, 1961 calling on the House to approve the method and the brotherly co-operation which the Governments of Southern Cameroons and the  Republic of Cameroon displayed to have the Federal Constitution.  It was not adopting the Federal Constitution.  That was a major problem.

  Fifty years after reunification.  Do you think that the Anglophones have had a fair share of this political marriage?

  You see, we have to be very careful.  If we take off by saying that former Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroons reunited as equal partners, then we are deceiving ourselves.  The harsh realities that most of us do not want to accept for one reason or the other is that the reunification did not take place between two equal partners.  The Republic of Cameroon was independent, had a national anthem, a flag and a motto. It had all the attributes of sovereignty and was a member of the United Nations. It sent its ambassadors to other sovereign countries and also received theirs.  Southern Cameroons had no flag, no national anthem nor motto; in fact, no attributes of sovereignty. It was still a UN Trust Territory.  So for public consumption, Ahmadou Ahidjo said the two would come together as equal partners.  But the hard and unpleasant reality was that one was independent and the other was not.  Let me tell you a sad story.  In 1959, the British Secretary of State for Colonies asked one of his officials to undertake a study trip to the Southern Cameroons; after his five- day stay in Southern Cameroons,  he wrote a report in which he said the Republic of Cameroon might swallow Southern Cameroons and that the people of the Republic of Cameroon were more sophisticated that those in Southern Cameroons.  He used the work “swallow” and referred to  Southern Cameroonians as these nice little people.  And 50 years later, you can draw your own conclusion on the above prophetic words. It should be pointed out that Foncha was not really in favour of Southern Cameroons attaining independence as  a separate state. In March 1956, Foncha told Eastwood of the Colonial Office, in confidence, that he did not see Southern Cameroons as being an independent separate political entity as a permanent solution. This is what Cameroonians do not know.

  Where did Ahidjo draw his strength in terms of negotiation?  Was it only with the support of French advisor, some people go further to say, French business men bribed our Southern Cameroons politicians?

  First of all, it should be  understood that Ahidjo was not very interested in reunification.  What he wanted was reunification with British Northern Cameroons only because of the Moslem population.  If that option was not accepted, he would  reluctantly accept reunification with both British  Southern and Northern Cameroons.  Reunification with Southern Cameroons only was a last resort to Ahidjo.  This came out very clearly on January 1, 1960 during the independence anniversary when Foncha led a 12-man delegation to Yaounde.  During the celebration, Foncha talked about the virtues of reunification unlike Ahidjo’s address which did not have a single sentence on reunification.  So to answer your question where Ahidjo got his strength, he was very much aware that Foncha was in a desperate position.  As far back as October 1956, Foncha had written a confidential letter to Soppo Priso begging for financial and material assistance to be used against the KNC and the  KPP which wanted independence with Nigeria unlike the KNDP which wanted independence with their brothers of  Eastern Cameroon.  Soppo Priso and the pro-reunificationist groups in the Republic of Cameroon provided material and financial support to the KNDP.

  Why was the idea of Southern Cameroon gaining independence with Nigeria not very popular amongst people of the Grassfield region?

  The idea was not very popular due to the harsh treatment Southern Cameroonians received from Nigerians especially the Ibos at the time.  Secondly, the battle was seenas being  between the Grassfield led by Foncha and the Forest Zone led by Dr. E.M.L. Endeley.  Those who were from the Grassfield naturally supported their own person and since they had the population they definitely won the day.  It is important to mention that in some areas like in Nso where you had Vincent Lainjo of the KNC, for several years, he had the support of the KNC in that area.

  Let’s talk about the London Conference of November 1960 and how did it help in the reunification process?

  You see, in October 1959, the KNDP, KNC and KPP accepted that the plebiscite question should  be reunification with French Cameroon or association with Nigeria.  The KNDP militants felt that Foncha had betrayed them because Foncha had promised that the question  would  not be reunification versus association with Nigeria.  Foncha had told them that he would get a trusteeshipextended  for two to three years. When he went to London and it was nailed down  that the question would  be reunification with the Republic of Cameroon or association with Nigeria, it got to a point where Augustin Ngom Jua telegrammed him and said that what you have done was very unpopular.  In fact,  there were moves to force Foncha to resign as President of the KNDP but he was able to weather the storm. So that option of reunification with the Republic of  Cameroon was very unpopular.  It got to a point where the CPNC and KNDP convinced Foncha and the Southern Cameroons Commissioner J O Field that it would be better that they should go back to London and revisit the UN compromise. Precisely at this time, you had the Kamerun United Party, KUP, of P. M. Kale who came out strongly for independence as a separate state.  So these politicians with J O field went to London to request the British government to revisit the plebiscite option.  At one time it was thought that the Southern Cameroons delegation would get their request accepted but things changed because the British government found out from its representatives at the  UN  that the plebiscite option would not be reviewed. In addition,   the Afro-Asian bloc was very much against small African countries having independence since the Afro-Asian bloc was against the balkanisation of Africa.  So when they came back from the London Conference, they did not really explain to the population that what they went for had failed.  Immediately after their return, Foncha went to Yaounde and met Ahidjo;  and they signed the Two Alternatives reaffirming the October 1959 plebiscite compromise.

  Let’s talk about the plebiscite.  How did it go?

  The Plebiscite was well conducted. In September 1960, the Southern Cameroons Order-in-Council  was signed dividing British Southern Cameroons into 26 constituencies or electoral districts and the campaign went on smoothly.  As I said earlier, the CPNC had a very poor campaign strategy; their whole message was that blood was flowing in the Republic of Cameroon, “the UPC terrorists are killing people there – Is that where you want to go?” etc… Such a campaign was not very convincing at the time.  The KNDP was more aggressive in the field especially as they had financial and material support from the Republic of Cameroon.  What is not well known is that some people came from the Republic of Cameroon and voted for KNDP.  These voters were, for instance, transported from Loum, Nkongsamba, and Mbanga.

  Let’s go back to the heart of the negotiation process.  Was it true that Foncha refused to present the Draft Constitution to his Anglophone peers before the Foumban conference?

  In fact, I do recall when I first wrote that in 1990,  it created a whole lot of problems to the extent that in certain areas, I was declared a persona non grata. I have a copy of the threatening letter in my library. How the writer declared me a persona non grata in my own country beats my imagination. But today, everybody is saying that it is true.  Yes, it is true.  If you read Dr. E.M.L. Endeley’s opening speech at the Foumban conference of July 17 – 21, 1961, he said “some of us are seeing this document” here for the first time.  I had the privilege of interviewing S. T. Muna, N. N. Mbile and Moussa YaYa.  They all confirmed that.  There is a confidential note that the British Commissioner at the time ,J O Field, sent to London also confirming that.  It is important to note that J O Field’s confidential note goes further to say that based on reliable information, Foncha and Ahidjo had struck a deal.

  The first point is that no actual discussion of substance took place because the Southern Cameroons delegates. They were   shocked to discover that after preparing their position in the Bamenda “All-Constitutional Conference” of June 1961  with the understanding that when they got to Foumban, they would place their document on the table together with that of the Republic of Cameroon and both sides would debate  and come out with a consensus.  But they were shocked when Ahidjo told them that “this is what you have to work on.  I gave this document to Foncha a long time ago.”  What makes it worse was that the document presented to them in Foumban was in French.  So they had to take time to work on the translation.  While that was being done, the delegates from La Republique were bored and were walking about.  Confirmed reports say the delegates from Southern Cameroons were well treated.  They were given all what they wanted and I use the words all what they wanted.  So they felt at ease and believed that these were really our brothers who would take care of us.

  To whom was the sovereignty of the Southern Cameroons given to?

  This is an issue which the SCNC has been playing about a lot.  Some books say the sovereignty of the Southern Cameroons was handed over to Ahmadou Ahidjo or to the Republic of Cameroon.  This is not true.  I am working on an essay that will come out very soon titled “The Untold Story of Cameroon Reunification”.  Let me say that the issue of sovereignty was one of the burning issues that were discussed at the Yaounde Tripartite Conference of the 2 – 7 of August 1961.  At one time, Foncha proposed that the sovereignty should be transferred to Southern Cameroons while Ahidjo was held that the sovereignty should be given to him.  It got to a point where Foncha asked the Attorney-General of Southern Cameroons to prepare a legal brief on that subject.  The brief was prepared in which it was stated that sovereignty should be  transferred to the body representing the two territories.  That was rejected by Ahidjo.  Ahidjo was able to do that because Southern Cameroons politicians were divided.  Following the disagreement,  it was agreed that an Exchange of Notes would be done on the 27^th of September 1961 which would settle the issue. The Exchange of Notes in summary was thus: “The British Ambassador in London at the time C. E. King wrote to Ahidjo saying that at midnight  on September 30, 1961, Southern Cameroons will become independent and Ahidjo replied, Yes, I acknowledge receipt of your Note.  On the 1^st of October 1961, Southern Cameroons will become independent.”

 A lot has been written about reunification to the extent that some historians have been accused of distortion of facts.  What are some of the issues that you as a senior historian will like to address to help clarify public opinion.

  The first is that sovereignty of the Southern Cameroons was not transferred to Ahidjo.  Secondly, Foncha was given a draft constitution and it was meant for him to discuss it with his colleagues in Bamenda which he never did.  Thirdly, there wasn’t an overwhelming support for reunification per se even within the KNDP.  In fact, the KNDP was able to get votes because it played on the fears of Southern Cameroonians and also exploited the numerical superiority of the Grass field population where most of the people voted KNDP.  I will give you a simple example:  in 1957, Fon Galega II wrote and told his people that Dr E.M.L. Endeley used him as a house boy in London by asking him to carry his bag.  That story is false.  It never took place but it spread like wild fire and if you do understand what it meant in those days to humiliate a Fon then you can understand.  This is an issue that was not true but worked against the KNC, KPP and in favour of the KNDP.  The KNDP fellows also said DR. E.M.L. Endeley never respected the Chiefs.  He sat on chairs reserved for chiefs.  This is not true.  When the Prime Minister or President goes to an event, he is not the one to choose where to sit.  To say that he sat on chairs reserved for chiefs, where and when?  Finally, it should be also made clear that Southern Cameroons had a raw deal because of the greedy approach of the KNDP politicians.  The KNDP never wanted to share power  in spite of the fact that they had agreed in New York in April 1961 to work hand-in-hand with the CPNC to ensure that reunification would take place smoothly but immediately they came back, of course, everything fell apart.

It was alleged that the Bamenda Conference was to prepare the constitutional talks in Foumban. What happened at the conference that the delegates still went ill-prepared to Foumban?

 It was not that it was alleged. The essence of the Bamenda conference in June 1961, was to prepare the Southern Cameroons delegation for the FoumbanCconstitutional Conference. It meant that the Southern Cameroons delegation would  come with their own proposals. So the conference was meant for the Southern Cameroons delegation; CPNC, KNDP and the rest to come with their  draft, with the understanding that in Foumban, they would present the draft and the Republic of Cameroon, led by Ahmadou Ahidjo would also present theirs and the two delegations would  arrive at a consensus. The Bamenda Conference provided the unique opportunity for the Southern Cameroons delegation to say exactly what they wanted. They asked for a Senate and a House amongst others.   They deliberately gave powers to the West Cameroon State and the East Cameroon State. The federal government was not supposed to be strongly centralised. Unfortunately, while they were discussing all of these lofty ideas, Foncha did not tell them that what they were discussing was  completely at variance with  what Ahidjo handed to him. The Federal draft constitution was  a  slightly  modified constitution of the Republic of Cameroon. Foncha decided to hide this draft constitution  from Southern Cameroons politicians because  he had already made a deal with Ahidjo to the effect that should the Federal constitution go through, he would be made Vice President. While they were discussing all of these, he sat quiet and allowed them to discuss and adopted the draft.  So, when they got to Foumban, they were surprised when they wanted to present their own draft for discussion. Ahmadou Ahidjo said no! I have already given  a draft to Foncha and that is what, we are going to discuss now. Unfortunately for the Southern Cameroons delegation the document was in French and while they were struggling  with the translation, the environment became boring for the French delegations who resorted to introducing social distractions that tempted the delegation from Southern Cameroons and the result is what we have today.

After all these hullabaloo about re-unification, the Anglophones met in Buea in 1983 for the All Anglophone Conference, AAC1 and moved over to Bamenda for AAC2. From the discussions, were the issues on the Angloiphone problem?

The sad part of the AAC, I belief very strongly, is  that it was an opportunity that the Fonchas and  the Munas  wanted to polish up the mistakes they made in 1959, 1960, 1961. Surprisingly, in that same hall in Buea, there were politicians as well as civil servants and civil society members, who knew exactly what the situation was in 1959 and the 1960s. I am still surprise that when they were told that they had a poor deal with Ahidjo because they did not have lawyers, all sat quite. Whereas they were seasoned lawyers like Egbe Tabi, Gorji Dinka and  Engo. a  It was argued very strongly that the Southern Cameroons delegation should make use of the Southern Cameroons Bar Association. They never did. This became very important when they met in Yaounde for the Yaounde Tripartite Conference, which comprised; the Southern Cameroons, the Republic of Cameroon and the UK. The principal goal of the Yaounde Tripartite Conference, from 2-7 August 1961 was to put into legal form the Foumban constitutional proposals. So, how could they be putting proposals into a legal form, when the Southern Cameroons delegation did not have a lawyer?

After that came the birth of the Southern Cameroon National Council, SCNC launched by Barrister Ekontang Elad. What are they preaching?

I have a great respect for almost all the members of the SCNC, as Cameroonian patriots. But my problem is that either deliberately or out of ignorance, some of them distort the history. And secondly, one is tempted to conclude that the SCNC is a collection of a mixed bag of politicians, civil servants, and disgruntled civil servants, who somehow thought that they did not get what they wanted. it is interesting to ask why most of those who are strong in the SCNC are retired civil servants? I am not saying all, I say most. Why did they not complain when the going was good? I think this is where I may be reluctant to go along with them. Some of their ideas are good, you may have a good idea, but the way you go about it, will spoil it. It is strange that for quite some time, they were able to convince some Anglophones that they went to the UN and the UN gave them a flag, saying that the UN would  reopen the Southern Cameroons problem. That was not true. You can go to the UN shop in New York and buy all what you find there. I have been there and bought all those things. The idea of saying that the UN will reopen Southern Cameroons question is deceitful. Southern Cameroons achieved independence following the UN Resolution 1514 and UN resolution 1541 of December 1960 which clarified  UN Article 76B of the UN Charter.

Is there an Anglophone Problem in Cameroon?

You can not just answer it like that. You have to understand who is an Anglophone before you move along. In Cameroon there are three definitions of who is an Anglophone. One group holds f that an Anglophone is somebody whose parents, both mother and father, are either from the present- day Southwest or Northwest Regions, another school of thought holds that an Anglophone, although born somewhere in former East Cameroon, developed the Anglo-Saxon culture. Another group holds that one of the parents should be of either from the Northwest or Southwest Region There is even a third group of those whose grandparents migrated from East Cameroon, even before German Cameroon was split into two. I am referring to the Doualas, the Bamilekes, the Ewondos, the Bassas, the Bamouns. They came as far back as 1916 to work in the German plantations. They got married here, they had their kids here. That is another group. This group feels and believes that they are Anglophones. It depends on how you look at it.

Those from the Southwest and Northwest Regions of Cameroon, they way they are treated in the country, is there any bias on them?

If we look at the fact that they form a totality of one group and Cameroon was split in 1916 into two parts; the French took one part and the English the other. It was believed that this provisional partition was not supposed to be permanent. The League of Nations, UN, administered their respective parts of former German Cameroon as equal parts. It was not said that the French part was superior to the English part. The fact that the French took a larger portion and therefore a greater population doesn’t mean that the English part of former German Cameroon, was inferior. When they re-united in 1961, it was believed that they were coming as equal partners. And coming as equal partners, meant that they had to be treated equally. Unfortunately, the realities on the ground did not promote tet so called equality. That is where we have this problem. It is been reinforced and compounded  by the lack of the political will by some  Anglophone and Francophone politicians to the extent that you find and hear some prominent Anglophone politicians say that there is no Anglophone Problem. If you look at it from the point that the Northwest and Southwest Regions are just like any other region in Cameroon, then you will be tempted to say there is no Anglophone problem. We should bear in mind that the Northwest and Southwest Regions are not just like any other region in Cameroon. The other regions; North, Far North, Adamawa, West, Centre and South  were never administered as a separate entity by the League of Nations or the UN. So, you cannot equate the Northwest and Southwest as being equal to the West or East Regions. They came in as a separate group, joining another separate group.

50 years after re-unification, what are we celebrating?

Cameroonians, both French and English are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the coming together of the two territories, which were provisionally partitioned in February 1916 and re-united on  October 1st, 1961. It is that which is to  be celebrated, the 50^th anniversary of re-unification.

As a Historian, will you be calling on Cameroonians to come out as celebrate as a unified country or a marriage of convenience?

It is not correct to say it was a marriage of convenience. If you say it was a marriage of convenience, it gives the false impression that either  former British Southern Cameroonians or former French Cameroonians  had no choice. So, to make things move smoothly they just accepted. It should be made clear that the British Southern Cameroons had a choice; either joining Nigeria or joining former French Cameroon. Before the UN decision in October 1959, Southern Cameroons had three options; independence as a separate state, independence by joining Nigeria or independence by joining French Cameroon. Finally, Southern Cameroon politicians decided on the two options: independence by joining Nigeria or independence by joining French Cameroon. So, one cannot say  re-unification was a marriage of convenience, for one to turn around and say re-unification was a marriage of convenience is not.      

 

Comments

[Prof. Martin Ayim]

WAO!
Thanks for these revelations. Truly, We are not Cameroonians.The United Nations must salvage this horrendous situation. Southern Cameroons was Independent on October 1, 1961! and what are we still waiting?

[J. S. Dinga]

The big question is: What are we celebrating? Why would people who so manifestly lay bare the injustices to which they were plunged want to celebrate? I put 1000 CFA francs to the answer of this question.

There is a lot of very important history in this narative. But there is also a lot of unsubstantiated claims that are not backed by any authentic document. Worse still is the distorted definition of Anglophones! For the purposes of those preindependence negotiations, Anglophones were persons resident in the Southern Cameroons territory(former north-west and south-west provinces)understood to be composed of many tribes and even foreigners from Nigeria, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and French Cameroons. Similarly, Francophone Cameroon too was understood to be made up of tribes resident in the rest of the triangular country. Subsequent manoeuvers by trouble makers and persons with hidden agendas elevating tribes in the Francophone zone - Bassas, Bamilekes, Ewondos etc and equating them to "Anglophone tribes" shows how much prevaricators were hard at work. And making Anglophones of those from French Cameroons who studied and mastered the English language has been another unfortunate ruse in this dirty game. No Anglophone who ever studied the French language - and tons of them did so with remarkable flair, serving the first independent president as official translators and interpreters - have ever claimed to be Francophones!

It is all nice and good to place blames on Foncha and the rest. They were no saints. But a look at some of our enlightened persons of today does not show that we are any way near nirvania. Some of the most treacherous undertakings against the anglophone people have been carried out by full blooded Anglophones themselves in all type of guises, all in pursuit of privileges where others sought principles.

If a document is supposed to help people dissect and solve problem, such a document must be credible. So much blame is placed on deceased leadership but little is made of important documentation that one should expect from the UN in New York or the archives of the British Government. Human undertakings are not perfect; they can and ought to be perfected with time, as people come on stage and leave. Unfortunately perfection for some of our citizens remains the perpetual chore of finger pointing.

[Efundem]

I think the U N still owes Southern Cameroons the responsibilty of setting it up as an independent state. I don't know what reasons prompted the U N to decide on two options for a peopple who clearly constituted a separate entity,but I must confess it was a grievous mistake. It may not have cost human lives up to now,but it is certainly not going away anytime soon. I am afraid Cameroonians will be paying for this someday. About who an Anglophone is,my understanding is,it is about the territory. All Southern Cameroonians came from some where. The most important factor is,they settled in that territory,and adopted the anglosaxon culture. Not those who live in Douala,Yaounde,or anywhere else yet speak English or attend UB. It is the Anglos who inhabit North West and South West that have a problem of being treated inferiory.It does not matter if these Anglophonws previously lived in Loum,Nkongsamba,Baffoussam etc.The binding factor is inhabitting the NW and SW region and adopting the Anglsaxon culture. THEY ARE THE ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM. If I were Biya,I will help solve this problem,making it a legacy. Correcting a mistake,setting the country on a different path.

[violin maker]

I spent a few moments looking over your articles and your site, very well put together.

[Valentine Njee]

Absolutely nothing to celebrate for the majority. The elite have something to celebrate for they are the benefactors of the fruits of Cameroon in the anglophone as well as in the francophone communities.

Historical facts provides people with the necessary information to form an opinion and chart a path. Lets assume none of the information provided above is factual. The challenges the country faces cannot be permanently rooted in history. Individuals from both ends of Cameroon have had the opportunity to make positive changes in the lives of the people they serve. Though progress has been made in certain areas, there has been collective failure in many respects. The country has been individually/severally looted by anglophones and francophones.

I do not think there is anything to celebrate. I think those who have benefited most from the sacrifices and resources of the people of Cameroon should instead organize themselves and make meaningful contributions to the everyday lives of the least of the society. If as Africans we can show apathy towards Ivorians, we should be able to show the same concern for people in Cameroon whether they settled in East or West Cameroon. Remember that the colonial boundaries were never drawn by Africans.

[Chila]

I believe the appropriate term is "commemorate" the 50th anniversary of reunification. It is a neutral term that may either be happy or sad. So while Southern Cameroons nationalists will be commemorating Oct 1 2011 in sadness, Pan Kamerunists will be commemorating that same day in joy, pomp and pageantry.

[Chila]

Commemorate = A call to remembrance

[Abanda]

The betrayal of the Anglophone course to freedom by the NW people didn't end with Foncha and Muna. Is still alive and active. It is the NW, that has innitiated all the moves for Depot Biya. Change the constitution NW, Change the Name of the Country NW, crown you a Fon, NW, Sell Southern Cameroon, NW, sell the Anglos, NW. greedy, self centered people, who believe that Anglophone leadership is only good when a N .Westerner is at the helm.
Sad to read from History that N. Westerners are black legged people, hypocrites, betrayers, double standard people, traitors, sell-outs and you name the rest of the bad oments coming from that region of the english speaking Cameroon.
The very egosim that people consider as mistake by Foncha and Muna is still alive. No lesson from History by these Ngankocks. When the master plays the drum of shuttling the PM's post between the two arch enermies, the NW celebrates the droping of Inone for Yang, as if Inone wasn't an Anglophone.
The Anglophone course or call if Ambazonia republic will never see light, unless the Greedy NW start thinking that, the genuine political leadership of the Anglos is SW. The only leaders who can lead a liberation struggle in SC is a S.westerner. NW, only think of power, how to rule and plonder the riches of SC.
You sold us yesterday and you are still selling us today. You, your sons and daugthers and even your future generations, will hardly learn from history.
Don't blame Foncha and co. Greed, blackmail, back stabbing, concerntration of power, trickery etc are Heriditary vices for the NW. This people can only change when the SW will be ready to teach them some manners in rulership. Let there be an Independent republic of North West and an Independent Republic of SW. we will all share boundaries with French Cameroon.
I am a key supporter of the Anglopone liberation struggle. But look at even our local meetings abroad and at home. When a NWesterner is not president, they condemn leadership immediately, incite hatred, and all acts of divion within the people. the opposite is true when their brother is there.
God cleanse them so that even the educated, those at home and abroad should understand that, political freedom can never be achieve By the Anglos as much as the NW continue to play the game of the fox, the dog and the chiken God help them to be reasonable and stop behaving like educated mad people whose conscience has been fizzled by all the vices of nature. Give-up your bad behaviors and trickery, the SW will forgive and accept you as a brother and together, we can change the course of events in Cameroon, either way (Our liberation, or definition of terms legally) with the frogs.

[Gan Charles]

Southern Cameroons had unsophisticated leaders who could not and did not fathom the long term consequence of their decisions. The damage that was done is irriversible.
Dr. Ngoh has stated cleary how Southern Cameroons got into this mess. Unfortunately, the only good that could come from this is that this gross derailment of a people by her leaders is documented in history.

[Gan Charles]

Abanda - It is a known fact that there is a deep division between the NW and SW peoples of Southern Cameroons for all the reasons we know. A NW'ner could list as many grivences as you just mentioned in your post. How long can this distrust be perpetuated? Will the two sides ever look past the PAST? If anything, the failures of the past should galvanize Anglophones to unite for a better future. Both sides are guilty of digging up the past and quick to lay blame. It is distructive.

[Valentine Njee]

The belittling of Cameroonians from the NW is unwarranted. Most people from the NW gained little or nothing from politics.

Specific individuals are responsible for their actions. When we revert to assigning collective blame for the actions of a few, we absolve those individuals who did not perform in the best interest of their constituents of the responsibility for them to be accountable.

We cannot continually revert to the past to explain why 2 generations of Cameroonians from both West and East Cameroon have not been able to bring meaningful changes to the lives of a significant number of Cameroonians. Those who are privileged to have real power in governing the country should dedicate themselves to the service of the country. They are given a unique opportunity which is neither a curse nor a blessing, but a chance to contribute to the edification of a better Cameroon.

[nyam fuka]

I was told that if a story can't help us today to solve our problems and prepare for our future, it's a waste of time for historians to continue telling that story.What do southwesterners learn from the history of Dr Ngoh? That northwesterners led the southwesterners into their present mess and so can't be trusted.The result? 'COME NO GO'.Please think of such teachings in Rwanda 1994 and Ivory Coast today.Who sold the CDC to the friends of the grasslander? Not Foncha. Why did Bobe A N Jua not stand up when Ahidjo entered the hall at the Founmban conference of 1961? Biased story-telling can't fool our eyes 50years later.

[J. S. Dinga]

You said it, dear Nyam Fuka, just like Mwalimu George Ngwane said just a few days earlier:

"If the present generation of former West Cameroonians especially organic intellectuals, erudite historians and the young Turks have nothing to offer towards a renegotiated discourse of the union, if they cannot provide a collegial leadership that sees beyond the unfortunate drama of yesterday’s actors,yes,if they cannot push their constitutional visions beyond the comfort zones of press releases, motions of support and media interventions, let them leave the souls of Foncha, Endeley, Muna, Jua, Kale,Mbile, Egbe, Abendong, Ajebe-Sone, Kemcha and Motomby Woleta to rest in perfect Peace."

[Austin Ngenge]

i am not surprised with the usual crap from Victor Ngoh.KNDP begged for support from Soppo Priso,people from la republique voted for the KNDP,KNDP won because grass fields people outnumbered the forest people.Where will we ever find the truth.Every one knows that the KNDP did not win in all parts of the north west province in the plebiscite.I am talking here of Nkambe division,it was the Enderley option that carried the day and the voters were grass fields people.What does he have to say about that? Everyone knows Enderley was a very proud man and complains about his pride and difficulty to communicate was not only from the fons,what does the professor have to say about that? As a historian as well i am not surprised to read his own version.The version of the story of Cameroon that always tries to put the blame on Foncha and grass fields people.This is all crap.There is nothing new here from Ngoh.He simply changed the wordings to the same song that he has sung for years with others.But we know the facts and these are not the facts,he has no evidence to prove the accusations he levies on Foncha,an electoral defeat is an electoral defeat and should be accepted as such.The KNDP won.If he claims that grass fields people in the coast vote for political options put by grass fields leaders,how come that isn't happening today? The french professors hide the truth,the English ones twist it to aggravate the blame game. This fits perfectly into the narrative they have all been trying ever since to make,that northwest people want to dominate southwest and all the "cam-no-go" nonsense.Its all nothing but crap crap crap....bla bla bla

[Toivi]

The question therefore is, is VJ ngoh an ANGLOPHONE IN THE STRICTEST,ABORGINAL AND GEOPOLITICAL POINTS OF VIEW? The answer is a staggering NO.
so since he is bat who fits neither with birds nor animals, the best option is to create a divide amongst the animals and birds to as to find a place.

[Mwalimu P Bela]

Interesting facts,though some lack forensic evidence to support them. Anglophones must stand united and continue the struggle. Proud to say that,I was part of this magazine from scratch (especially its launching at UB) n it's becoming so huge!! Good job to N.Williams Wasaloko.

[CLETUS]

Aas said above: 'The french professors hide the truth,the English ones twist it to aggravate the blame game. This fits perfectly into the narrative they have all been trying ever since to make,that northwest people want to dominate southwest and all the "cam-no-go" nonsense.Its all nothing but crap crap'
Its exactly what it is. That Cameroon, this Country of ours ONLY NEEDS DIVINE INTERVENTION, ALL OTHERS ARE VANITY.Unfortunately, we were all born by LIERS, parents, Grand-parents, God-parents, etc.Its A NATION OF LIERS to the CORE, trust me when you stay off Africa for one month, you will BEST UNDERSTAND what a NON-LYING GOVERNMENT IS.Its just too bad that we're all entrapped by DEMONIC RULERS whom we DON'T EXPECT TODO ANY GOOD, which they can't do not because they Don't want to DO them, but because They have been BEWITCHED TO FOR EVER AND EVER ENJOY DOING EVIL.
When GOD'S TIME COMES, WE would not be told, We will KNOW BECAUSE GOOD HAS FINALLY TAKEN BACK ITS PLACE. Brothers! it gonna take a while, a REAL LONG WHILE to GET OFF THIS BONDAGE.

[nji]

sir i am proud and happy for your ptrioric spirit of pointing the right.but i hav one fear in me that it is late and if not what can be the prospects for this truth.

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[KWIFOR]

Abanda,may the gods of Menchum Fall,Lake Nyos and Oku have pity on your entire cursed family.What gives you the impression that Foncha was a North Westerner? Have you ever made it a point of duty to dig backgrounds of people of interest? If you have done that,then you must have found one astonishing thing about them. Foncha should be one of such people.I will like you to trace his family line from the North West.Prof Ngoh is a historian I respect but many a times,I really wonder if he is the same person who stood in Amphi 150 B and lecture us HIS 303.He has distorted a lot of historical facts for personal interest.This is too treacle for a man of learning and refinement.History will judge him some day. Abanda or whatever you call yourself,you are nothing but an idiot.The North West has always been the torch bearers in all activities of human existence in Southern Cameroons.Sellouts in Southern Cameroon are the South Westerners.South Westerners got a lot to learn from North Westerners.

[Mbah]

What a wonderful clarification to our fellow ignorant Southern Cameroonian family members. Though it might take long, l hope We will one day come out of this bondage just as the people of Israel in the holy bible in the name of Jesus.