The Cameroon minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma, has finally ended speculation about Nigeria’s extradition of the President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Ayuk Tabe, along with some other 46 Southern Cameroonians to Yaounde where they are expected to be judged according to the laws of the Republic of Cameroon. News about their extradition has been the subject of debates and analyses over the weekend and this has resulted in increased tension both in Yaounde and Southern Cameroons, with many Southern Cameroonians vowing to fight on despite their leaders’ detention in Yaounde.

Speaking in Yaounde on Monday, January 29, 2018, a subdued Tchiroma said the arrested Southern Cameroonians would be judged in accordance with the law. This therefore implies that lawyers will be granted access to the detainees and their identities will be established. Though the information has been made official, many across the globe still doubt the government’s version and argue that the same government has been manipulative and deceptive for many decades and it will be hard to believe its version.

However, despite the sad news, many Southern Cameroonians argue that the battle must continue as the revolution is bigger than any single individual. Speaking to a dejected Southern Cameroonian in WashingtonDC over the phone, our West African Bureau chief was advised that the revolution was an idea that would not be crushed through intimidation and military violence. The Southern Cameroonian, who elected anonymity, added that things only escalated when Felix Nkongh Agbor Balla, Fontem Neba and Macho Bibixy were arrested and that the current situation would only escalate attacks on the military.

He argued that Nelson Mandela was in jail for over three decades, but South Africans did not relent in their effort to unseat the racist bastion that had reduced them to second-class citizens in their own country. He said Southern Cameroonians would, over the coming days, designate their new leaders and would be informing the boys on ground on what steps to follow.

Also speaking from London, Sesekou Asu Isong, said that Southern Cameroonians should not believe that they could attain their objective without loss of life and imprisonment. He stressed that “freedom has never been attained through courteousness and gentlemanliness, adding that loss of life is and has always been part of such a struggle.”

He called on Southern Cameroonians to pour money and energy into the struggle. “As it is apparent that we are now in an armed struggle, we have a duty to pour money and energy into this cause. We have a duty to arm and train young determined fighters on the ground. If we don’t, the lives of the departed and those in incarceration would have been a waste,” he stressed.

Mr. Isong’s point of view ties in well with what is currently happening in many Southern Cameroons community across the globe. It is worth stressing that huge fundraising efforts are currently underway in most Western capitals. Southern Cameroonians across the globe are making significant financial contributions to support the tough Southern Cameroonian fighters who have become a nightmare to government forces in Southern Cameroons. In California alone, more than half a million dollars was raised last week to secure more aid and arms for the boys who are determined to roll back government forces that have been deployed across Southern Cameroons.

Also writing from Boston in the United States, Mr. EkinnehAgbaw-ebai, a graduate of the prestigious Harvard University, pointed out that “Irrespective of whatever anyone thinks, let it be said again with emphasis that Ambazonia will never die. Ambazonia is a spirit which animates our yearning for freedom and even if Biya kills all eight million Anglophones and raze all our villages, our ghosts shall rise from our graves to seek freedom and demand justice. Mandela was jailed, but the ANC continued until Apartheid was defeated. Bin Laden is dead, but that has not stopped Al Qaeda; rather ISIS was born. If Biya sincerely believes, as he claims, that a majority of Anglophones want to remain in bondage and servitude in a united Cameroon, let him organize a referendum. Voting should take place only in Anglophone regions under international supervision as was the case in 1961,” he pointed out angrily.

It should be noted that Mr. Ayuk Tabe had said that the struggle was his life and that he was prepared and willing to lay down his life for the total liberation of Southern Cameroons, though he has always advocated non-violence. Many Southern Cameroonians are of that opinion and there are many meetings currently taking place across the globe to step up the pressure on the government.

It is also worth noting that Mr. Cho Ayaba, the man who leads the military wing of the Southern Cameroons struggle, had earlier called for the fighters on the ground to step up military actions against government troops following the arrest of Southern Cameroonian leaders in Nigeria and the attacks have increased significantly across the entire Southern Cameroons. Cameroon military personnel have in recent days been attacked and killed in various cities in Southern Cameroons and as late as today, some of them were attacked in Bangem in the Kupe Manogouba Division in the South West region where even the senior divisional officer was taken hostage.

Currently, there are reports that following Mr. Tchiroma’s announcement, there have been heavy gun fire in several villages in Manyu Division which is the birth place of Mr. AyukTabe who is revered and loved by his people. The days ahead would be challenging for Cameroon as many Southern Cameroonians are yet to accept that their leaders are in jail in Yaounde.

Meanwhile, many young fighters who have flooded refugee camps in Nigeria are already indicating their intention to return to the jungle to continue operations as advised by Mr. Cho Aya more than two weeks ago. Today’s statement by Mr. Tchiroma has fired many of them up. Speaking to Cameroon Concord News Group on Monday, January 29, a young Southern Cameroonian fighter who unexpectedly showed up in Abuja said the fighters needed more sophisticated war machines so as to take the fight to the enemy.

He pointed out that with rudimentary equipment, the fighters had given government troops in Manyu Division a run for their money, adding that sophisticated equipment would enable them to post more impressive results. “We are ready to turn that country into a huge fire ball. Southern Cameroonians have been marginalized for more than five decades and the government is refusing to acknowledge this. Since the government thinks it cannot dialogue with our leaders, we are determined to split the country so as to put an end to the marginalization that has brought death and destruction to our parents,” he said, adding that “once we lay our hands on sophisticated war machines like AK-47s, we will be able to get into the Littoral and West regions where we would be able to create hordes of refugees; a situation that will surely catch the attention of the international community.” “We are not scared of death and we have been informed that our brothers in the Diaspora are raising funds to ensure we get the tools for our job. This is a huge challenge and it requires a huge tool box,” he stressed.

It has been reported that some three hundred government troops have already been sent to an early grave since Ambazonian Tigers decided to take up arms against a regime that is tone deaf to calls for an inclusive and sincere dialogue. As a response to the losses, the government has decided to deploy more troops to the regions. But many analysts hold that the more troops the government deploys, the more targets it creates for the fighters. The situation in the two Anglophone regions is getting more complex by the day.

Currently, there are more than five militia groups operating in many parts of Southern Cameroons and this is troubling to the international community that is already seeing the phenomenon of warlords playing out in Cameroon. It should be recalled that Somalia that has been a hotspot for more than three decades went through a similar situation like the one unfolding in Cameroon following the ousting of the country’s dictator, Said Barre, in the eighties.

Today’s statement by the country’s communication minister sounds like a huge victory for the beleaguered government of Mr. Paul Biya, but the days ahead seem to be gloomy and the road ahead is bumpy. It will be too soon for the government to cry victory. The Southern Cameroons revolution is like a hydra. You may be happy that you have cut off its head, but it is confident it will grow a new one. Mr. Biya and his government must agree that dialogue holds out more hope. Arresting people and dumping them in jail or killing innocent civilians just to send home a strong message will not address the issue. There are more than seven million Southern Cameroonians, and many are already lining up to take on the mantle of leadership.

The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is wealthy, and it will continue to destabilize the government if the government does not work hard to make peace with it. After more than one year of a bloody contention, the Yaounde government should understand that Southern Cameroonians will not be surrendering anytime soon.

A Cameroon Concord News Production

After more than one year of an unnecessary tug of war between the Biya government and Anglophone Cameroonians, the country is gradually sliding to the brink, with its economy taking a hit. Scarce resources that could have been put into development projects are today being used to pay huge per diems to soldiers and to settle other expenses just to prosecute a war that could have been averted if the country’s leaders had listened to the international community and fostered dialogue as a tool of choice in the management of a country that comprises people of various cultural backgrounds.

The chaos playing out in the Anglophone regions has now made the country to become a byword for anarchy and chaos. A simple dispute that could have been addressed through frank and sincere discussions was allowed to degenerate due to the government’s arrogance, violence and condescension.

Today, many lives have been lost and the anger has gone up by many notches. The Anglophone minority no longer believes it is part of a country that has marginalized it, killed its people and sent many into exile in countries they never thought they could live in.

There are currently more than 32,000 Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria and many are still thinking of fleeing Nigeria following the arrest and detention of Anglophone leaders in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, some two weeks ago; a situation that has altered the entire equation and made it hard for any reasonable solution to be found to this crisis that spells doom to the Biya regime.

Today, government troops are engaged in running battles with Ambazonian Defense Forces who are determined to inflict as much pain on government troops as possible and though the government has decided not to release figures of fallen soldiers, it is alleged that more than 200 army soldiers have been rushed to an early grave by the determined and feared Ambazonian Defense Forces also known as “Amba Tigers”.

Their hit-and-run tactics have taken a huge toll on the military and news of their success in Manyu Division has been spreading like wild fire across the region. While Manyu has noticed some respite, the fighting has been exported to Meme Division where army soldiers have taken huge casualties. These victories by the Amba Tigers have infuriated the government and they have triggered a wave of revenge in many parts of the South West region of Cameroon.

The soldiers’ retaliatory measures which, in many cases, consist in intimidating the local population and setting houses ablaze like they did last week in Kwa Kwa, a little village less than 50 km from Kumba, the Meme Divisional headquarters. The burning of an entire village resulted in the death of a 96-year-old lady and this has resulted in more revenge attacks, especially in Kombone, Meme Division, where a colonel and two of his colleagues were attacked on Sunday, January 21, 2018, while picking up the remains of their fallen colleagues in an ambulance.  It should be recalled that army soldiers have been running amok in Kwa Kwa following the killing of nine of their colleagues by the Amba Tigers who have proven to be experts at hit-and-run tactics.

Instead of winning hearts and minds, government troops are working hard to radicalize the local population which was initially for a federal system of government. But ever since the government opted for violence and repression as its weapons of choice, many Anglophones have gradually migrated from federalism to secession; a movement that has gained a lot of traction in recent months. This is really motivating the young fighters who hold that this is the time to put an end to the Francophone domination and government marginalization that have dogged the country’s English-speaking minority for over 55 years.

With Anglophone leaders still sitting in a luxurious villa in Abuja, the young and determined fighters who have been infuriated by the arrests are continuing to give the government a lot of food for thought. They hold that by using the forest to inflict pain on government troops, the Biya regime that is unpopular at home and abroad will finally sue for peace and call for the genuine and comprehensive dialogue that many around the world have been urging it to embrace.

Speaking to one of the fighters who has recently shown up in Abuja where he has sought asylum, it could be figured out that despite their lack of appropriate weapons, the young fighters are high on courage and determination and this is driving them into achieving many of their objectives.

“We do not have the right weapons. If we had AK-47s, I think we would have successfully exported the fighting into French Cameroon. Cameroon soldiers may be well trained, but they lack the courage and experience to fight in a dense equatorial forest. We have rattled them in the Manyu jungle and this has caused many to flee and desert the army. Some have defected and are helping to organize our efforts. I am sure that in six months’ time, we will be able to bring the government to the negotiating table against its wish,” the young Mamfe fighter who elected anonymity said.

He added that “I am using my asylum case as an excuse. My objective is to ensure that Southern Cameroons becomes independent. I hear our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora are quietly raising funds to get us more sophisticated weapons and once we lay our hands on those killing machines, the government of Cameroon will regret its decision.”

“Many people thought that the arrest of our leaders would dampen our determination. It has only ramped up our desire to inflict more pain on the soldiers who have been killing and maiming our people. The Southern Cameroons crisis is an idea. Our movement is bigger than anyone. It will be hard to kill the idea even if the government arrests the entire North West and South West regions. Every day, there are many young university graduates who are heading to Nigeria to carry weapons against a government that has reduced us to second-class citizens. You can see the joy on their faces. I am also a graduate, but when soldiers came and killed my brother in Mamfe, I knew it was time for me to revenge and I think my brother’s spirit should be happy wherever it is today,” he said. 

With such language, it is clear that the days ahead will be rough. Cameroonians want peace, but their leaders have opted for war, a war that is consuming soldiers and civilians in huge numbers. While the country’s economy has taken huge blows, the country’s politics is gradually taking a different shape. New players are joining the race for the Unity Palace scheduled for this year and the news of a single opposition candidate seems to be appealing to many Cameroonians, though it is a nightmare to the government and the ruling CPDM which have for 25 years rigged every election.

Though it seems like the clouds of self-destruction are gradually gathering over Cameroon, many political analysts still hold that there is still time for the government to spare the country an unnecessary bloodbath. The government’s arrogance and violence have pushed the country to the brink. A little introspection on the government’s part might reverse the storm that is gathering over the country. 2018 is the year that will make or mar Cameroon. The choice is the government’s and Mr. Biya, according to many observers, is the only person who can defuse the bomb and pull the country from the brink.

By Kingsley Betek

West Africa Bureau Chief (Abuja, Nigeria)

Cameroon Concord News Group

The Southern Cameroons crisis that has split the country and put the country on a downward economic and political spiral is gradually destroying the country’s military. According to our source in the military, there is growing disgruntlement within the military, especially among Anglophones who are not happy with what is being done to fellow Anglophones in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

According to our source, money is very likely to cause huge cracks on the military’s wall. Top military officials are, according to our source, taking advantage of the military actions that are currently playing out in the South West region. It is being rumored that the defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, and his friends are robbing the country blind. While the foot soldiers are being killed in the South West region, the generals and government officials are making hay while the sun shines.

It is alleged that Mr. Assomo is now taking financial decisions without following national procurement rules. He claims that the country is at war and if processes and procedures have to be followed, the president’s decision to eradicate the separatists will not be implemented to the letter. Many observers hold that the war could just be an excuse for some government officials to implement their personal agenda and this is causing many foot soldiers to question the rationale behind the killing of innocent civilians and the burning of their homes.

Our source further adds that even among the rank and file, there is a lot of frustration. Most of the government soldiers claim that they are not properly paid and that the risk of having to fight those tough “Ambazonian Tigers” was causing many of them to develop mental issues. Many are sleep deprived, especially those who have witnessed the killing of their colleagues, our source add. He intimated that the soldiers whose duty posts are in the South West region are not being paid per diem, but those coming from Yaoundé are entitled to huge per diems and this is gradually destroying the unity the military needs to prosecute the war.

Our source stressed that the soldiers who are permanently resident in the South West region are now helping Anglophone fighters who are known for their toughness. It is alleged that in Mamfe, the “Odeshi boys”, the fighters who have killed close to two hundred army soldiers have been aided and abetted by government troops who are not satisfied with their financial arrangements.

It is alleged that some government troops have been informing the fighters of troop movement and this accounts for the heavy casualty that government troops have taken over the last two months, especially in the Manyu jungle that has been a tough terrain for most army soldiers.

Meanwhile, discussions between arrested Anglophone leaders and government officials are continuing in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, despite the numerous hitches deriving from differences of opinion. The Cameroon government delegation, led by Mr. Rene Said, the country’s territorial administration minister, is still trying to sell its decentralization policy that is being rejected by Ambazonian leaders. The arrested leaders argue that the decentralization policy is enshrined in the country’s constitution, but for over twenty-two years, it has not been implemented and this, in their opinion, makes it hard to trust any word from the government.

According to our source which elected anonymity, Mr. Rene Sadi has threatened on many occasions to quit the negotiations as Ambazonian leaders keep on arguing that their objective was to get the government of Cameroon to discuss divorce issues. Some of those divorce issues include, debt-sharing, oil revenue, general amnesty and the peaceful return of refugees to the Federal Republic of Ambazonia; things that are not sitting well with the Cameroon delegation at the negotiations.

The Ambazonian President, Julius Ayuk Tabe, for his part, is insisting that it will be hard working with the government of Cameroon that is wont to deceit, intimidation and corruption. He argues that the concentration of power in the hands of one man in Cameroon is responsible for all the issues Anglophones have faced in Cameroon. He insists that it will be hard for the Francophone leadership to understand that centralization has only bred corruption and intimidation. He points to the general malaise in the country as evidence of the negative effects of centralization. He argues that Mr. Biya and his people have pauperized Cameroonians and their love for power and control has rolled back the country by at least five decades.

While the negotiations are not producing any meaningful results, both sides are at least talking and agreeing that the fighting was not necessary, as many lives have been lost. UN and Nigerian negotiators, for their part, are asking both parties to meet each other halfway. Both the UN and Nigeria have very little appetite for separation, but are hugely in favor of a federal structure that will bring powers to the regions, while reducing the red tape that has been the hallmark of the centralized system that has been the bane of people’s lives in Cameroon.

It should be recalled that the Southern Cameroons crisis started in October 2016 with calls from lawyers and teachers for better working conditions. But the government’s brutal reaction to these peaceful calls only made matters worse, especially when the Anglophone Diaspora jumped into the fray following the arrest of the leasers and the banning of the Anglophone Consortium that was negotiating with government officials.

By Kingsley Betek

West Africa Bureau Chief (Abuja, Nigeria)

Cameroon Concord News Group

There seem to be a lull in the fighting in the Manyu jungle following the arrest of Southern Cameroons leaders last week, despite skirmishes all over the entire Anglophone region, with gunmen attacking uniformed officers and chasing kids from schools. The most recent drama played out in Muea, Buea and other surrounding towns on Monday, 15 January 2018 and the gory images emerging from the running battles speak to the determination of the fighters to demystify the crack squad that the country’s defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, had declared would implement the president’s decision without batting an eyelid. His predictions have been proven wrong on many occasions and the military’s losses just like those of the fighters have been huge and unfortunately so.

However, what is on many minds remains the whereabouts and the future of the arrested leaders. The lawyer for the arrested leaders, Femi Falana, informed the interim government that the Nigerian foreign affairs ministry and the country’s national security adviser had said that the said leaders were still in Nigeria and that Nigeria would not deliberately violate international law by extraditing the leaders to Cameroon, a country noted for its repressive laws and brutal dictatorship. Mr. Folana added that he would be seeing the arrested leaders on Monday, 15 January 2018 and this has brought a lot of joy to many Southern Cameroonians who had been saddened by the arrests.

However, regardless of these latest developments, the damage of the arrests to the Nigerian and Cameroon governments will linger for a long time. The Buhari government is under enormous fire for sanctioning the illegal arrest of people considered to be freedom fighters. In defense for the Nigerian government, stories are emerging that several units of the Nigerian intelligence and security community were not aware of the operation or were not informed after it occurred. It is also alleged that several members of the federal government, including the President, were not aware of the drama that played out in Abuja last week.  This is however surprising as intelligence sharing is a critical security operational imperative.  However, the fact that neither the Attorney General of the federation nor the Inspector-General of Police made a statement on the abductions may also be seen as a credible indicator.

But these mitigating circumstances do not seem to be convincing the Nigeria media which has been tearing apart the image of the federal government and shooting at the Cameroon government for its legendary brutality. The silence of key figures in both countries seems to be the connecting tissue that speaks of connivance to commit a crime under international law. They seem to have agreed to be mute on this and this is not helping matters. Their indifference is drawing more flak and it is causing the rumor and anger to stick around for a long time.

Many prominent Nigerian figures are already chiding the federal government for its role in the arrests. The latest criticism comes from the Chairman of the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on IDP, Refugees and Initiatives on North East, Sani Zorro, who has clearly indicatedthat Nigeria will be clearly committing a major illegality if it deports the arrested leaders to Cameroon.

His statement came last week following the illegal arrest of Ambazonian President, Julius Ayuk Tabe and members of his government. He added that some of the refugees were less than two kilometers from the Cameroonian border and Cameroonian soldiers cross the border in pursuit of these refugees, which in his opinion, is illegal.He warned that hostilities could break out between Nigeria and Cameroon if Cameroon continued to act recklessly on Nigerian territory.

In Yaounde, the silence is ominous. The country’s ailing and aging leader, Paul Biya, has become reclusive and this is causing nightmares to many of his collaborators. Ministers such as the defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, and Higher Education Minister, Fame Ndongo, who gave the impression that a hard line would be the best option for dealing with the crisis, are gradually losing sleep as things keep falling apart. It is alleged that Mr. Assomo is using the war to enrich himself and his friends and this is costing the government a pretty penny.

For Mr. Ndongo, the die seems to have been cast. He has been responsible for the escalation of the Anglophone crisis and he is currently caught up in a computer scandal that will surely cut him out of the government. The computer scandal has caused him to fall out of favor with the president and last week’s presentation of New Year wishes to the head of state served as the testament to the many cracks many people say have been appearing on the government’s wall. The humiliation Mr. Ndongo received from the president speak to the deteriorating relations between the two men.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has finally put the government on a downward spiral. It has not only left the government cash-strapped, it has also brought divisions within the group that thought power belonged to it. The crisis is also stalking the Yaoundé “strong man” like a stubborn shadow. Mr. Biya is gradually transforming the Unity Palace into a hermitage. All the options he has employed to keep the restive Anglophones in check have collapsed like a pack of cards. Corruption, intimidation, brinkmanship and violence are all failing to deliver the results the government was expecting. 1960 strategies and solutions are clearly not working. Southern Cameroonians have proven to be tough cookies and have displayed the type of strength and determination the government never thought they could.

The government had underestimated the determination and will of a few to bring about change in society. Their unity of purpose and determination to mess up Mr. Biya’s legacy have left the country’s president with many illnesses. His health is failing and based on inside reports, the Yaoundé strong man has become a colony of diseases. With a failing heart and a distended prostrate, Mr. Biya is having a tough time having a good day. Sources at the presidency indicate that his is a kingdom of medication, adding that if the diseases don’t kill him, then the sedatives will help to rid Cameroon of this brutal and inefficient dictator whose thirty-five years in power have brought death and destruction to a country many thought was an earthly paradise. Thirty-five years of misrule have really transformed Cameroon into a real “shithole”, with many Cameroonians running away to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Today, they are being considered as the “Roving Jews” of Africa and they are all heart-broken to see a country with such a huge human and natural resources potential spiral into inexplicable chaos.

Mr. Biya is seeing an end to his reign. Many Cameroonians secretly say that he has been leading a crime syndicate for more than three decades. Others hold that the country’s national unity has been predicated on intimation and corruption, adding that the drama playing out in Southern Cameroons is just a logical outcome of the misrule and mismanagement that have been the hallmark of his government. His efforts to get things under control have so far proven to be sterile. The adage that the day a monkey has to die, all trees and branches will become slippery is gradually applying to the Yaoundé regime that is already running out of steam.

While the government is trying to put on a poker face in public, it is gradually coming to terms with the fact that negotiating could be the best way out of the mess it has created for itself. The silence from both Yaoundé and Abuja clearly speaks to the negotiations that are currently underway in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. According to our sources which elected anonymity, the United Nations and Cameroon government negotiators are already on the ground to convince the arrested leaders to walk away from their hard stance. Our source adds that the UN, Nigeria and Cameroon have no appetite for secession and that they are pressurizing the Ambazonian leaders to accept the government’s offer – decentralization – which will still leave the Yaoundé government with extensive powers.

The Anglophone leaders, for their part, are insisting on having frank discussions on the future of the new Ambazonian nation. They have clearly indicated that the government of Cameroon cannot be trusted, as it has always spoken from both sides of its mouth. They point to the unimplemented 1996 constitution that had provided for extensive decentralization, arguing that the best they could settle for would be American or Canadian-style federalism that will grant the regions full autonomy.  The government of Cameroon, noted for its love of power and control, is also not yielding any ground and this is causing the negotiations to stall. This is why there is a deafening silence, as all stakeholders want to keep everything under wraps in order not to ruin any efforts made.

But their silence is not helping matters. Cameroonians – both Francophones and Anglophones – are looking forward to a possible way out of the crisis and the fighters on the ground are still committed to fighting. If they get informed that there are negotiations underway, this could lead to a long truce and many more lives will be spared. The solution to the Southern Cameroons crisis will never be found in the battlefield. Both parties must understand that fighting has never really addressed any issues. On the contrary, it creates new problems even after the battles have been fought and abandoned. The proliferation of arms in Southern Cameroons will be the next issue that will haunt both parties after the fighting.

While many observers hail the secret negotiations, they however call on the Cameroon government to swallow its pride and play its role as a responsible government by making key concessions that will take the wind out of the fighters’ sails. Many Southern Cameroonians have been hurt and for more than five decades, they have never found an appropriate medium to express their frustration. The current crisis therefore offers them a platform to tell their story. Unfortunately, this story is being written with blood instead of the finest ink on the market. They have been pushed to the wall for too long and they hold that fighting back is the only option available to them; after all, their fate is worse than death.

The tension and disaster playing out in Cameroon remain major concerns to many peace-loving Cameroonians. Many experts hold that it is time for the government to change its rhetoric and strategy so as the win hearts and minds. They argue that it must understand that those who make peaceful change impossible only make violent change inevitable. They stress that military brutality will not deliver the right results, as it will only radicalize many and swell the ranks of the secessionists. It will also only help the fighters to be frozen in their positions. They hope the government will come to its senses.

By Betek Kingsley

West Africa Bureau Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

The prolonged holding of the President and prominent members of the Ambazonia interim government by a Nigerian Security Outfit after their abduction more than a week ago, underscores the dilemma facing the Nigerian government.  The bungled operation was intended to be an assassination project blamed on alleged individuals from Ambazonia opposed to the interim government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. A claim of responsibility for the crime would have been made shortly after the assassination. The Federal Government would as it is required in such circumstances have condemned the assassination and promised a swift and efficient investigation to fish out the assassins.   Ambazonian refugees in Nigeria would have been the primary targets of these investigations. Till this moment, the Federal Government of Nigeria has not come out with a comprehensive statement taking responsibility for the abduction and providing the reasons for the abduction. The inability of the Federal Government to make a comprehensive public statement on the matter portray the Federal government in very bad light. That an abduction occurred  in Federal Capital territory, and seat of power without an official explanation, portray a negative image of the Federal government, its security and intelligence network with a mission to provide security to Nigerians and persons on the territory of Nigeria. If anything, an anxious analysis of the abduction appears to portray a miasma of conflicting interests whose unintended outcome if not well controlled, may haunt the soul of the soul of the federation for long.

It comes as no surprise that several French Cameroun’s intelligence operations with a mission to assassinate Ambazonian leaders and thousands of refugees in Nigeria are coordinated from its Embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Calabar. Some infiltrated military defectors whom we wrote about in a previous publication were deployed to join in a coordinated planned operation to abduct and assassinate our leaders.  Others are French Cameroun’s certified Boko Haram hostage facilitators/negotiators with close links to the political Islam power base in Northern Nigeria and Northern French Cameroun. The ailing Ahmadou Ali and Isa Tchiroma Bakary are among the key members of this crime syndicate. 

The prosecution of the war against Boko Haram and facilitating/negotiating hostage release is the Alibaba war chest on which the political empire of these zealots is built and sustained within and across national frontiers.  Paul Biya and his Beti ethnic controlled neo-colonial army have benefitted from this war by corruptly amassing enormous wealth and by selectively deploying mainly Ambazonian and Bamileke military commanders and soldiers to be slaughtered. There is a disproportionate number of soldiers from these communities killed through sabotage operations or as war casualties. The same trend occurred during French Cameroun’s military deployments to Ambazonia territory of Bakassi. The same trend is occurring in the ongoing war of aggression against Ambazonia.  Ambazonia is a cash cow for French Cameroun’s warlords’ crime syndicate.

The declaration of war against Ambazonia was not intended to keep cameroun one and indivisible, because it has never been.  There is no international law and treaty base or justification for the existence of such a union. The war is intended to provide another opportunity for Paul Biya and his ethnic dominated army to mobilize resources on the precious blood of Ambazonians to enable him eternalize power and control over Ambazonia’s mineral and natural resources economy. French Cameroun citizens mobilized against Ambazonia for defending its citizens and its territorial integrity are mere puppets in the hands and control of the sanguinary butcher Paul Biya to attain his personal political power ambitions.

The Ambazonian revolution and its revolutionary leadership under President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe stood on the way of Paul and French Cameroun’s continued colonial annexation agenda. For this, Paul Biya initiated a plan to abduct and assassinate them in Nigeria. For this to materialize, he needed the complicity and support of influential power brokers within the corridors of power and security operatives within the intelligence services.  This required an elaborate corruption scheme for the success of the operation and it’s cover up.

 If the purpose of the abduction was to investigate an alleged violation, a summons, an invitation or a warrant properly obtained and executed would have fulfilled that legitimate rule of law purpose.  They needed all Ambazonian to be in one place to facilitate their abduction and execution. The delayed flight schedule of Millan Atam and his late arrival at the venue of the meeting where the abductions occurred changed the fate of the operation.   He eluded abduction upon being informed of the fate of the President and members of the interim government who were with him.

Political assassinations are a common fixture of the Nigeria society. This one would not have come as a surprise to most Nigerians although Ambazonians would have held French Cameroun accountable.  The corruptive implications of some people within the Nigerian security and intelligence community would have been alleged but not that of official Nigerian government involvement. The official involvement of the Federal Government would not have been reasonably contemplated considering that the abductees are persons of considerable weight internationally who were legally in Nigeria and their respective residences were well known to Nigerian security and intelligence services. The interim President had just returned from a trip from the United States of America passing through Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. Millan Atam travelled from South Africa passing through the same airport.  The Federal Government would never have been reasonably suspected of being behind or complicit in the assassinations had they occurred as planned.

The failure of the operation left the Federal government struggling more than a week after to find a justification for the abductions. It still has not, underscoring the enormity of the embarrassment and confusion. The Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs lacked the appropriate words to characterize the abduction; telling newsmen who confronted him about the abduction that he had met security units who conducted the operation and did not know whether it as an arrest or an invitation to the abductees to submit to investigations which were ongoing.  The answer provided by the Hon Minister underscores the embarrassment caused by the abductions as well the dilemma the Federal Government finds itself in on this matter.

It is possible that several units of the Nigerian intelligence and security community were not aware of the operation or were not informed after it occurred. It is also possible that several members of the Federal Government, possibly the President were not aware either.  The surprise evident in the cursory information provided by the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs points in that direction. This was unusual because intelligence sharing is a critical security operational imperative.  The fact that neither the Attorney General of the Federation or the Inspector-General of Police made a statement on the abductions may also be a credible indicator.

The silence by the French Cameroun government through its genocide apologist and prominent member of the Boko Haram facilitation/negotiation criminal network Isa Tchiroma Bakary is a result of it’s total frustration for the failure of the operation and its fallout.  In the aftermath of the failed operation, French Cameroun struggled to have the captives delivered to it but again this option failed. The request for Nigeria to deliver the abductees to French Cameroun in violation of international law, its national legislation and its constitution had it occurred, would have attained the same objective for French Cameroun of having them executed through a court-martial. Although, manifestly illegal, that would have at least whitewashed the execution process as an exercise of sovereignty by both nations. Judicially whitewashed assassinations and executions are standard practice in French Cameroun. This is not an acceptable policy in Nigeria under civilian rule where the rule of law is the pillar of Nigerian democracy and the legitimacy of its Federal institutions.  Complicity in handing over Ambazonian leaders to a sanguinary genocidal regime would have stained the soul of Nigeria and provided a precedent for similar treatment to be meted out to Nigerian citizens worldwide. Nigeria prides itself as the giant of Africa and must not be influenced by French Cameroun to support its campaign of genocide against Ambazonia and Nigeria citizens on the territory of Ambazonia.

Nigeria must not forget so soon that the ICJ Bakassi Judgment left the question on the determination of nationality unresolved and thus outstanding.  It was and is a sensitive matter touching on the life of the Federation.  Politicians from Cross River State as well as their peers in all the border communities continue to raise this matter in the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives. French Cameroun gendarmes and soldiers continue to massacre these civilians without any concrete attempts on the part of the Nigerian government to abate the criminal and provocative attacks on this civilian population.

French Cameroun conceded before the ICJ that the citizens on the disputed territory of Ambazonia were Nigerians. Lately one of French Cameroun’s ethnic genocide ideologue Enoh Meyomesse in a widely publicized article stated that Ambazonians fighting back in self defence against French Cameroun aggression were Nigerians and should be exterminated. One Owona Nguini another ethnic genocide ideologue echoed the same sentiments.  A television channel TV4 closed to the crime syndicate in power called Ambazonians rats, a colonial governor called them dogs and a colonial proconsul ordered Ambazonians in Manyu county to vacate their ancestral homes and close all human and economic activities within the county. Considered with the massacre and harassment of citizens whom French Cameroun conceded at the ICJ were of Nigerian nationality and required protections afforded by international law, and the ongoing genocide in Ambazonia aimed at Ambazonians of the same ethnic affiliation, must Nigeria continue to play the Ostrich while the genocide continues unabated?

 The question that Nigeria must consider seriously in deciding which side to support in the ongoing genocide in Ambazonia is, with the nationality issue deferred by the ICJ unresolved, with the common ethnic and nationality composition of the declared war zones, with over two million Nigerian citizens facing the genocidal onslaught of French Cameroun, will Nigeria aid the genocide of Ambazonia and with it that of its ethnic nationalities?  Where does the moral compass direct Nigeria to pitch its tent of national and human dignity and continental relevance in preventing an ongoing genocide at its door steps?

The declaration of war aiming the border communities with Nigeria and consistently closing the borders with Nigeria and violating the international borders with Nigeria were calculated acts of provocation against Nigeria. Should Nigeria reward these acts of international brigandage and criminality by supporting the genocide against Ambazonia? Nigeria pursuant to the Greentree Agreement, must give the criminal invader French Cameroun, an ultimatum to withdraw its forces to its borders at independence on January 1, 1960 which is at the River Mungo and nowhere near the war front within the Nigerian border communities which is within the territory of Ambazonia. Nigeria must additionally obey the Judgment of the Federal High Court Abuja that enjoined Nigeria to take the Southern Cameroons case to the UN and other international courts for adjudication. Nigeria cannot legally recognize or support the criminal activities of French Cameroun in Ambazonia in violation of the Judgment of its own Federal High Court Abuja. Were that to occur, then the rule of law on which the soul of the Federation is anchored will be significantly violated. 

Chairman and Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

When news broke out that the President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Julius Ayuk Tabe, and his cabinet had been arrested in Nigeria, many people thought that was the end of the struggle. A feeling of frustration and despondency swept across the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, especially in Manyu Division, Mr. Julius Ayuk Tabe’s place of birth. The Yaounde government had already planned a huge party, with many journalists waiting at the airport in Yaounde to take a peek at the fallen Ambazonian leaders. The struggle was being discredited in many quarters in Francophone Cameroon, but the party was not going to last. The government had organized a party that might never be.

Milan Atam, the new Southern Cameroonian hero, had cut the party short. His late arrival at the meeting venue where Mr. Julius Ayuk Tabe and his comrades were holding a meeting on refugee management turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Milan Atam had witnessed flight delays and this happened to be God’s plan. He quickly turned off the Yaounde music that had been blaring to the dismay of Southern Cameroonians. The Southern Cameroonian struggle seems to have received the blessing of the Almighty and Mr. Atam did all the right things. He immediately put the information on social media and informed the network of lawyers that sprang into immediate action. This helped to puncture the move by the Biya regime to cut off the neck of the struggle. Today, the African Bar Association is up in arms against the federal government which it accuses of abduction.

The Nigerian Secret Services has been left with a hot potato on its hands. It has been tricked by the corrupt government in Yaounde to join a mission that was doomed to failure right from the beginning. Poor planning and early celebrations speak to the quality of investment that had been put into the event. Millions of dollars are alleged to have been spent on this failed mission. Rene Sadi, Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, was in Abuja on the day the drama was playing out and a Cameroonian military jet was seen at the Abuja international airport ready to pick up Mr. Ayuk Tabe and his cabinet to Yaounde where they would have been ridiculed and maybe sent to an early grave.

But this may never happen. The road ahead is long. Cameroon has ended up with a huge embarrassment on its hands. It has to explain to the Buhari government how it had to corrupt members of its secret service just to abduct Southern Cameroonians who are being considered in Nigeria as freedom fighters.

The Southern Cameroons crisis that had started cooling off has been thrust back to the global arena and the entire world is now aware of the Machiavellian plan the Yaounde government has been hatching while pretending to preach dialogue and unity. The road ahead is long and bumpy. The only chance the Yaounde government now has is to try an extradition application. But as things stand, Cameroon and Nigeria have no extradition treaty and some of those arrested are refugees recognized by the United Nations, while others hold American and European passports.

This might have caused the Nigerian government to panic. It has promptly declared that it had not arrested the group of freedom fighters, but from every indication, not many people are buying into what Nigerian authorities are selling. Besides, Mr. Ayuk Tabe is well connected in Nigeria. He was granted the presidency of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia because of his ability to carry the Southern Cameroonian crisis to the right places. His tentacles reach the highest levels of the Nigerian government.

For now, a few big Nigerian guns have come out to throw a few jabs at the Cameroon government for its recklessness and abuse of human rights. Speaking on the BBC Focus on Africa on Thursday, January 11, 2018, Nigeria’s former president,Olusegun Obasanjo, called on the government of Cameroon to treat its citizens with dignity. But the most vocal calls have come from the Governor of Cross River State. He has been throwing lots of punches and striking the right places. He has chided the federal government for doing nothing to ensure that the Southern Cameroons problem is properly addressed so as to stem the flow of refugees into his state.

By chasing Southern Cameroonians out of their homes in Manyu Division, the government of Cameroon has unfortunately internationalized the Southern Cameroons crisis. If care is not taken, the fighting in Manyu Division and the abduction of Ambazonian leaders could finally drag Nigeria into the mess. The mess is spreading and very fast too. Everyone is expecting to see the Yaounde government submit its extradition application which will be examined in a Nigerian court.

A tough battle lies ahead since as a rule of international law, extradition is not automatic. According to Dr. Mbeli Valentine Tebi, a holder of a Ph.D in law from a NigerianUniversity and the current dean of the faculty of law in a Ugandan university, “there is no obligation on states to extradite suspects or offenders to other sovereign states. Extradition is largely regulated by conventional international law through the instrument of treaties. This rule however operates subject to an exception.Even where there exists an extradition treaty allowing a sovereign state to arrest and deliver a fugitive to another state to stand trial or serve a punishment, there is an explicit legal procedure that must be followed. This procedure is espoused in the relevant statutory instruments. Extradition is not simply an arrest and handover process. It has to go through the rigorous process of court adjudication where an application to that effect may either be granted or rejected. A decision not favourable to any party to an extradition suit may equally be appealed through the relevant appellate channels to the Court of Appeal and eventually to the Supreme Court.”

He adds that “It is trite law that an extradition order will not been granted where it is aimed at prosecuting or punishing the fugitive on account of the fugitive’s race, religion, nationality or political opinions.” He points to Section 3(2) (a) of the Extradition Act, adding that political offences are clearly not extraditable.

According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Country Office in Nigeria, these offences are “acts or conducts that are directed against governments or sovereign authorities of state without elements of common crime. These crimes violate the State and not any individual person.” “Examples of political offences have been given by Kenelly J.J. to include treason, sedition, espionage and, to a large extent, disagreement with state ideology. The crimes alleged to have been committed by the Ambazonian leaders by all descriptions fit the notion of political crimes which as earlier indicated, are not extraditable,” he stressed.

The arrest of the leaders seems to be delivering some good fortunes. While the leaders sit quietly in their luxurious villa in Abuja and are enjoying their VIP treatment, many observers are already arguing that this is time for the government of Cameroon to meet Southern Cameroonians halfway. The Yaounde government is clearly running out of options. Its bullying and intimidation have only gone a long way in radicalizing Southern Cameroonians. Its military action in Manyu Division has only sent many young military men to an early grave and this is causing the Francophone majority to start asking questions about the usefulness of an expensive and poorly thought out military adventure.

It should be recalled that Mr. Ayuk Tabe had once clearly stated that Nigeria would be a huge player in any negotiations with the Yaounde government and this might turn out to be the case. Though Cameroon’s minister of communication, Issa Tchiroma, had declared last Saturday that his government had nothing to do with the abduction of Ambazonian leaders, it is obvious that the Yaounde government has been given food-for-thought by this action that has once more exposed it as an iron fist in a velvet glove.

The Southern Cameroons crisis will never be addressed through brinkmanship. The Cameroon government will have to swallow its pride and go over to Abuja to talk about the new republic whose time has come. While in captivity, Ambazonian leaders may be asked to tone down their rhetoric and walk away from their gospel of separation. They will also be called upon to embrace a new philosophy – federalism – which will bring more power to the regions and transform Yaounde into an empty shell. Abuja will certainly require a median path. Secession will not be in its interest and given the failure of the unitary state, it might have to breathe down the neck of the Yaounde government for it to accept the lesser of two evils – federalism. Yaounde just like Ambazonia must come to the realization that their chances are greater at the negotiating table than in the Manyu jungle where many young men have been sent to an early grave.  Many political analysts and observers are already seeing a silver lining on this political and military cloud that has been hanging over the country for more than a year like the Sword of Damocles. It is time to talk and both parties must swallow their egos to face the truth.

By Betek Kingley in Abuja

Cameroon Concord News has identified two groups of French Cameroun political elites seeking efforts towards providing an alternative solution to the ongoing crisis in Southern Cameroons or better still the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.  They are the pro President Biya minority following and persons seeking political power under the French neo-colonial state and those genuinely for a one and indivisible Cameroon.  We understand they are fundamentally different in significant ways.

On ideological basis, the Biya supporters are a group of political activists championing the philosophy within a neo-colonial political, economic and cultural construct. They are agitating to share in the spoils circumscribed within a neo-colonial criminal power syndicate acquired on the blood of Southern Cameroons martyrs whom they invariably called ” terrorists” to justify their assassination and genocide.

There is the liberation ideology that emphasis freedom and total emancipation of people.  Very few French Cameroun political elites are a product of the people revolutionary base.  They identify with Um Nyobe and Ernest Ouandie as the ideological leaders of this base and have been appealing to peoples of Africa origin far beyond Cameroun. That is why, their appeal to Southern Cameroons leaders was from the very beginning of the revolution trusted until political activists within the ruling CPDM clan affirmed and represented by President Biya infiltrated and derail the train of freedom.

The difference between these two groups of French Cameroun political elites is that the Southern Cameroons crisis has provided an opportunity for the Francophone CPDM gang to make advances to their common ideological base with Biya and the French government to forge and define an ideological basis to justify the genocide which has been ongoing for 56 years. They have no alternative solution for the problem which has justified and sustained their illegal claim to political power.

On the contrary, those of the liberation ideology have firmly articulated and publicly stated their firm conviction on how to resolve this conflict.  They are guided by the fact that the consultations and discussion which the late Um Nyobe commended in Kumba in 1952 was prematurely subverted and high jacked to serve a neo-colonial agenda. The bastardisation of the process sowed the seeds of the annexation and military takeover of the Southern Cameroons under a French military cooperation treaty.

We of this publication are not surprised that there are major splits within the Francophone political structure. It was to be expected. The Beti Ewondo French surrogates long built a political base led by Andre Fouda and then the Patriarch of Beti had previously defined the Southern Cameroons as the enemy in the house. The Beti Ewondo groups headed by President Biya have moved the hate literature further by providing the definition within the context of an armed conflict making Biya the first person to define the enemy in ethnic terms, thus providing an ideological perspective to the crimes making them genocide.

We strongly suggest that the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia provide a strong military response to Yaoundé, warning them against the risk and consequences of their actions and by so doing discouraging against the perpetration of crimes against Southern Cameroons on the basis of ethnic/nationality identity.

We also encourage the Interim Government headed by His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe to continue to push ahead alternative solutions to this conflict. If Sisiku stop doing this, then persons who share his ideological perspective who are a silent majority in this so-called division within the struggle will again not be present at the negotiation table when Paul Biya will no longer be there.

To this I put my name

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Cameroon Concord News Group has demonstrated throughout 2017 its commitment to the dispassionate publication of news relating to the ongoing revolution in Ambazonia with admirable success.  We are grateful to our network of reporters and information channels in the battle fields of our territory under siege by the genocidal government of French Cameroun.  We are also grateful to our informal channels with the administrative and military structures of French Cameroun, many of them who are opposed to the genocide in the territory of Ambazonia.

Our commitment to bring critical analysis of the events at the national and international levels has earned us the enviable and commendable possible of the news organization of choice by key international actors with a mandate to critically evaluate the situation on the ground and develop appropriate solutions to the human calamity unfolding in the Gulf of Guinea due to the criminal activities of French Cameroun.

In the discharge of our professional obligations we have declined any invitation by detractors to change our focus on the people’s revolution and their just resistance against crimes against humanity and genocide.  We will stay the course in the New Year 2018 in the firm belief that bringing the spotlight on the crimes that shock the conscience of humanity against our people is more valuable than attempting to pull down the edifice and structures put in place to garner diplomatic, defense and protection measures support for our cause.

We had in the past stated that our presence in the territory of Nigeria was preordained by God. In pressing for certain actions, we must endeavour to be sensitive to the certain realities, which include diplomatic norms.  Diplomatic practice as far as our case is concerned may not necessarily accord with the realities on the ground which militates in our favour.  But we must not take this strategic advantage for granted.  Our news organisation is aware of this.  Indeed we have led by example by eschewing reckless publication of information aimed at compromising our revolution and the structures put in place to move us towards victory.  These structures require more efforts and support to enable them effectively and efficiently lead us to victory.  This requires the support of a variety of national and international actors, our nationals and foreigners of good will.

La Republique itself relies on France why must Ambazonia not seek support beyond its frontiers? For this reason we support the interim government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and call on other professionals to exercise responsible restraint in publishing information aimed at diverting attention from the main objectives of our struggle.  They can in exercise of their rights to opinion write and publish what they think. But there is something wrong when in doing so; they turn themselves into the object of the news under the guise of exercising a fundamental right.  When that occurs, the temptation to be swept away by the strong tides of the revolution is great.  If you doubt this, ask Agbor Balla and many others.  Not to say they may necessarily be wrong or right in what they write.  Just that their intended audience expect mistakes to be raised where they can be righted without compromising the focus on the revolution and the precious sacrifices of our people within and without our homeland.

Happy New Year 2018

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

No other territory in history has been so exploited and left to gnash its teeth in psychological and physical agony as Southern Cameroonsfollowing its recolonizationby French Cameroun.

 From 1953, Southern Cameroons was, to all intents and purposes, a country of its own, with almost all the appurtenances of a nation state, including self-governance, its own police force, parliament, and a senate known as the House of Chiefs. Despite the one, united and indivisible Cameroon hoax, the fact is that French Cameroun was a different country which gained independence from France on January 1, 1960 (as Republic of Cameroun) with international borders that did not include Southern Cameroons; which gained independence after a UN referendum on February 11, 1961. Even after the independent Southern Cameroons state joined French Cameroun in a two-state federation to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon on October 1, 1961, no Union Treaty was registered with the UN General Assembly secretariat as mandated by Articles 102 and 103 of the UN Charter.Over the past 56 years,the international community has looked the other way while Southern Cameroonians have been denied their independence. Southern Cameroonians have been emasculated to concur in the despoliation of their land by their passive indifference and cold complicity in the face of reckless dissipation of their commonwealth by French Cameroun. For a people that already experienced such high level of self-government under colonial rule, this anomaly makes independence worse than colonialization.

The occupation, annexation and colonial rule of Southern Cameroons by French Cameroun violates Article 4(b) of the African Union Constitutive act. It also violates UN resolutions against colonialism and external domination of other people; and it contravenes Articles 19-24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right; and other principles of International Law. In short, it is recolonization, pure and simple. The unilateral abrogation of the two-state Federation by French Cameroun under the subterfuge of the May 20, 1972 referendum was a constitutional coup d’état, which violated Art 47 of the Federal Constitution.The plebiscite vote never made Cameroon one, united and indivisible; nor was it intended to.Even were Southern Cameroons to be an integral part of French Cameroun, any such referendum on abolishing the federation ought to have been an issue solely for the people of Southern Cameroons to decide, since they were the ones who voted to join French Cameroun, in the first instance.

 The two Cameroons were never one, because post-German Kamerun, the two territories remained fundamentally different in terms of political evolution and governance. Southern Cameroons evolved a functional parliamentary democracy, whereas French Cameroun was administered as a French overseas territory, and remained tragically stuck as a French neo-colonial outpost even after independence in 1960. From 1953-1961, Southern Cameroons was a vibrant democracy with an electoral system based on direct adult universal suffrage with single-member constituencies. Elections into the Southern Cameroons House of Assembly featured only indigenous parties like KNC, KPP, CPNC and KNDP, which had broad appeal across the six divisions of Victoria, Kumba, Mamfe, Bamenda, Wum and Nkambe.

Unlike Southern Cameroons, the democratic framework in French Cameroun was aligned to France. French men contested elections in French Cameroun and French Cameroun politicians contested elections intothe French National Assembly (Assemble de l’Union Francaise (AUF), and the Conseil de la Republique,the French Senate. British parties never contested elections in Southern Cameroons. The opposite was true in French Cameroun where, French political parties like Rassemblement de Gauches,Mouvement Républicain Populaire (MRP),and Section Française de l’Internationale Ouvrière, (SFIO)dominated electoral contests into the French Cameroun parliament–the Assemblée Representative du Cameroun (ARCAM), later transformed to Assemble Territoriale du Cameroun (ATCAM)in 1952.

Until the UPC was created, political parties in French Cameroun like Jeunesse Camerounaise Francaise (JEUCAFRA),Union des Camerounaise Francaise (UNICAFRA) and Association des Colons du Cameroun (ASOCAM) were administrative parties created to defend French interests and all espoused attachment to “Mother France.” When the UPC led by Mayi Matip was banned in 1955, the parties that contested the December 1956 elections in French Cameroun like Ahidjo’s Union Camerounaise (UC), Andre-Marie Mbida’s Partie de Democrates Camerounaise (DC) and Betote Akwa’s Action Nationale (MANC) were more or less satellite tribal groups. In Southern Cameroons, political parties were tribe neutral, but in French Cameroun,every ethnic group had a party. Therewas even one to defend the interests of Mollatoes; cross-breeds of Franco-Cameroun heritage led by an elected MP, Frenchman, Léon Foulétier.

In matters of electoral politics, Southern Cameroons was a showroom of political pluralism in its day. Right from the first elections to the Southern Cameroons House of Assembly (SCHA) on October 26, 1953; Simon Enow Ncha, blazed the trail to run as an independent candidate, in Mamfe Division, defeating the two main political party candidates – Martin Forju (KPP) and Chief SA Arrey (KNC). SE Ncha inspired other independent candidates like Solomon Anyeghamoti Ndefru (SAN) Angwafor, now Fon Angwafor III, who defeated DA Nangah (KNDP) and Maximus Chibikom (OK) in the 1961 elections in Upper Ngemba. Ncha also inspired Bernard Tajoh Beja (BTB) Foretia, who ran as an independent and lost the 1961 elections in Mamfe East to the formidable KNDP baron PM Kemcha, whom he eventually replaced in the 1968 Muna government. In Southern Cameroons, nomination of candidates was by two voters in the candidate’s electoral district; people who knew the candidates at the grassroots. Fon Angwafor III was nominated by GP Tuma, a mechanic and David Che, a teacher.

Against this background could be appreciated the fact that in French Cameroun, French men contested elections into French Cameroun Assembly within a dual electoral college system, comprising a French college and a College of indigenes. In the March 1952 elections into ATCAM, the French College elected Emile Victor Albert, Henri Chamaulte, AndréDuret, PM Chalot, André-Albert Gerberon, AndréDuru, Antoine Giard, Arthur-Louise Gouelle, Jean Grassard, Joseph Guyard, Henri Paul Journiac, Marcel Lagarde, Pierre Laouilheau, Alfred Mandon, BrieucPenanhot, Jean-Marie Poileux, Mohamed Koudjali and Pierre Rocaglea. Form the College of indigenes came: Louis-Paul Aujoulat, Ninine Jules, Ahmadou Ahidjo, Jean Akassou, Charles Assale, Abega Martin Atangana, André-Marie Mbida, Paul SoppoPriso, Gaston Medou, AndréFoudaOmgba, Jean EkwabiEwane, Mathias Djoumessi, Dissake Hans, BabaleOumarou, Njine Michel, ArounaNjoya, SeidouNjimoulouhNjoya, Abbe Joseph Antoine Melone, Paul Francois Martin, Jean-Baptiste Mabaya, Etonde Guillaume, Charles Mbakop, Rene Blaise Mindjo, Lara Zoua, YoussoufMarouf, Ahmadou Mahonde, Marcel MarigohMboua, Kotouo Pierre, Ousmanou Hamidou, Iyawa Adamou, Chedjou Joseph and Alphonse Woungly-Massaga.

It is interesting to note that French citizens like Louis-Paul Aujoulat contested elections in the college of indigenes. In the view of the average Southern Cameroonian, the presence of Frenchmen in the French Cameroun parliament was a political monstrosity that advertised to the whole world a certain definition of democracy that diminishes the ideal and mocks the primacy of the indigenous people in the process. This anomaly raises fundamental questions about the average Francophone’s definition and perception of public office and explains why they are so lacking in the vital attributes of democratic engagement.In Southern Cameroons, expatriate involvement in the political process was limited to logistics. For example, EL Cox and AJ Cordy served as Chief Electoral Officers in the 1957 and 1959 elections, while AB Westmacott, Resident for Special Duties in Bamenda demarcated the constituencies.In French Cameroun, the colonial administrators picked winners and losers and elections were run by the Interior Minister designated by France.The standing view is that, he who controls the electoral machinery (pays organisateur) determines the outcome. It is a sad commentary on the character of French Cameroun politics and politicians that rigging and other electoral malpractices are deeply embedded in their political culture.

It is a matter for regret, indeed shame that Francophones continue to hee-haw the one, united and indivisible Cameroon fallacy, even as the bonds that bind the two Cameroons appear tenuous, if not snapping. A review of UN General Assembly resolutions and other international legal principles regarding the right to self-determination shows incontrovertibly that Southern Cameroons became independent in 1961, but has since been recolonized and occupied by French Cameroun. The ongoing struggle to restore Southern Cameroons independence is therefore consistent with International Law, including the right to self-determination. The right to separate from French Cameroun is also laid out under Principles VII and VIII of UN General Assembly Resolution 1541 of December 15, 1960.Besides, the obligation imposed by the UN that Southern Cameroons should obtain “independence by joining” either Nigeria or Cameroon violated Article 76(b) of the UN Charter, and UNGA Resolution 1541; both of which reaffirm independence as the inherent and inalienable right of all colonies and Trust Territories.

It all stands to reason that Cameroon was never one, united and indivisible. French Cameroun, in violation of international law, has supplanted the 1961 federation of two equal nations with annexation of Southern Cameroons.The declaration of war on Anglophones removes any pretence that Biya views Southern Cameroons as a conquered and captured people. It is indeed a pity yet again that Biya misread public opinion and chose to stand on the wrong side of history.It is evident the president still doesn’t realize that force has never triumphed over ideology in all of history.A situation where the president declares war against a section of the country, and calls them terrorists, cannot be in the interest of national unity. Such executive lawlessness is a sad manifestation of the rule of force over the rule of law.The audacity of this impunity was a reminder to Southern Cameroonians, if any was needed, that the music has changed to a war song; all Anglophone terrorists must now sing and dance the new song.

 By Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai

Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai is a Public Intellectual and graduate of Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard Journal of African-American Public Policy. A former Research Analyst for Freedom House, he is a Consultant and lives in Boston, USA. Talk back at ekinneh@yahoo.com

Many people have asked me as German with an Ambazonian heart: “Mr. Messner, where do you see the key to the success for an independent Ambazonia?” and I answered: “Well, it’s true that we seem divided and unarmed and much weaker than our occupier and annexor “Republique” du Cameroun, but since Mancho Bibixi started the coffin revolution and millions of Ambalanders marched and sang the Ambazonian anthem holding the own flag proudly, it is clear that we will win, because the clocks can never been turned back after that and Biya’s clock has run out.

He is making more and more mistakes on a sinking ship and we will be soon surfing on a global wave of support, because all arguments and legal facts speak for us and against an outdated, rotten corruption exploitation-system like France-afrique. The Europeans are understanding the fact that France-afrique is producing more and more refugees better and better and they will whistle France back and support Ambazonia, because Ambazonia has hundreds of millions of Africans behind it who can be promising business partners if they are self-governing well.

But both Europeans and Africans need to learn still what good self-governance and true federalism in it means. It does not mean what centralist governments in Paris or Yaoundé say: “We have decentralization.” No, the French model uses “decentralization” or “federalism” only as figleaf for a basically centralist, Unitarian type of politics. But true federalism means that sub-national entities like regions, districts, provinces are allowed to truly self-govern even in some existential fields like own taxation, own army, own trade laws, own politicians, which have to have their residence in that sub-national entity.

But since French Cameroun is not able and willing to run true federalism it is better and necessary for Ambazonia to be its own sovereign state and nation, which decides for itself, how much federalism it allows in itself. But in order to convince French Cameroun and the whole world that an independent Ambazonia will not lead to a permanent instability in Central Africa Ambazonia needs to just say that it plans to have a CONFEDERACY with French Cameroun later IF Biya has gone and French Cameroun has reformed its government and constitution.

Many now in Ambazonia will say: “No! We don’t want to have anything to do with French Cameroun anymore!” That is very understandable, but the point is: in a Confederacy Ambazonia does not need to have anything to do with French Cameroun other than not attacking it militarily and having mutual treaties of not attacking the other’s nationalities on the own turf. Ambazonia would have zero French Camerounese politicians or military on own territory and the other way round. In a CONfederacy Ambazonia would have own government, constitution, economy, military, federalism, and French Cameroun would have own government, constitution, economy, military, federalism. Ambazonia and “Sanagia” won’t federalize with each other, but just confederalize on military non-attack-treaty and by that put all powers in the world at ease that this Central African region will keep stability and not produce refugees.

So our tactics on international political stage should not be: “We want all (independence) or nothing!” but we rather say “CONfederacy after restoring our elevated autonomy.”, because this is the bait which France and UK can swallow, and then we can easily make an independence out of our recognized elevated autonomy. In all this we Ambazonians shall never negotiate from a weak position, but always say: “We will never accept illegal foreign troops on our territory or corporations stealing our resources. But if you foreigners don’t want to die all, you better agree with our goodwill offer of a CONfederacy after Biya has gone and French Cameroun has elected a new government as much as Ambazonia will also have elected its own government!” So the word “CONfederacy” is just the tactical, nice looking wrapping around the gift “Ambazonian solution to France-afrique’s crisis” to the French, British, AU and EU, which makes them think about dropping Biya, and whistle his troops out of Ambazonia. And maybe someday, when the Biya nightmare is long over and French Cameroun has reformed it’s Constitution and government and may have found a new, young, progressive, modern leader, he and the Ambazonian leader will work out a Confederacy between the two sovereign nations which will be the biggest peace- and prosperity-bringer for all sides as never imagined.

So don’t see the word. Confederacy negative right now but be against federalism between “Anglophones and Francophones” with all your might. Speak always about the “Ambazonian solution to the French Camerounese malgovernance problem”. And say: “Let the Anglophones federalize their way (by restoration of independence) and let the Francophones federalize their way (by reformation of their system). Only this will bring lasting peace in Cameroon.”

By Christoph Messner