MANY LEADERS and INTELLECTUALS FEARED “assimilation.” BUT JOHN NGU FONCHA DID NOT LISTEN.
The Southern Cameroons had just voted in the February 1961 Plebiscite to achieve independence by joining the Republic of Cameroon (the former French territory). They sought a “loose federation” where they could maintain their English legal system, education, and parliamentary heritage.
The Fears: Many leaders and intellectuals feared “assimilation.” They worried that the larger, French-speaking Republic (East Cameroon) would dominate the union, eventually swallowing the Anglophone identity and centralizing all power in Yaoundé.
Did Predictions Come True? Historically, yes. In 1966, all political parties were merged into a single party (the UNC), and in 1972, President Ahmadou Ahidjo abolished the federation entirely in favor of a Unitary State. This led to the “Anglophone Problem,” which remains a source of significant conflict in Cameroon today.
Advice to John Ngu Foncha and the KNDP
John Ngu Foncha (the architect of reunification) and his party, the KNDP, were frequently warned by colleagues and the opposition (like E.M.L. Endeley):
Written Guarantees: They were advised to get a formal, signed constitution before the British left. Instead, Foncha went to the Foumban Conference (July 1961) with a weaker hand, allowing Ahidjo to dictate much of the federal structure.
Gradualism: Critics advocated a more gradual integration to protect the institutions of Southern Cameroons.
The “Third Option”: Some advised pushing for total independence as a separate state, but the UN refused to put that option on the ballot, forcing a choice between Nigeria and the Republic of Cameroon.
celebrating a birth that many of them would later watch with growing concern as the promised federal autonomy began to erode. President Ahmadou Ahidjo created the Anglophone problem by abrogating the Federal Constitution of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The root causes of the Anglophone crisis are the violation of Article 47 of the federal constitution. I pray for a peaceful Cameroon. I am advocating for peace through dialogue because Cameroon is a twin nation. La République du Cameroun (French-speaking) or East Cameroon and Southern Cameroons (English-speaking) or West Cameroon, now Ambazonia. We need an all-inclusive dialogue. Long live the people of the Cameroons. Bye
Prince Agbor Gilbert Ebot/BN
