ezeagu:

Isn't it know as 'West Central Africa'?

South eastern Nigeria should have been part of Cameroon.

ezeagu:

Isn't it know as 'West Central Africa'?

South eastern Nigeria should have been part of Cameroon.

following the Second World War, League of Nation mandates were replaced by UN mandates. Dr. E. M. L. Endeley became President of the Cameroon National Federation in 1949. At that time southern Cameroons (including Bakassi peninsula) was administered with Nigeria. Following a dispute within the Eastern House of Assembly in Enugu in May 1953, nine out of thirteen delegates from the Southern Cameroons, who had originally been elected on the platform of the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), opted for ‘neutrality’, claiming that they were not Nigerian. Mr. S. T. Muna, the only Southern Cameroonian in the Eastern Executive Council at that time was actually dismissed. This crisis led to the name change from “National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons”, as the NCNC was then known, to “National Council of Nigerian Citizens.“





During the July 1953 London Constitutional Conference, Endeley, citing fear of “Nigerian domination”, requested the unconditional withdrawal of the Southern Cameroons from the Eastern Region of Nigeria, and its transformation into a separate region of its own in line with its trusteeship status. Britain agreed and implemented separation in 1954, making the Southern Cameroons (including Bakassi peninsula) a semi-autonomous quasi-region of the Nigeria Federation with its own House of Assembly and Executive Council located at Buea. Endeley was called the Leader of Government Business, not Premier, primarily because Southern Cameroons was not yet a full region. Importantly, the Bakassi peninsula which was part of Kamerun/Cameroon since 1913, as inherited in the league of Nations mandate after World War 1, was also excised from co-administration with the eastern region along with the rest of the southern Cameroons at that time. There is no evidence that anyone made an issue of the matter then



In 1955 there was a split in Endeley’s party which was then allied with the Action Group (AG) and John Ngu Foncha emerged as his rival on the platform of the new Kamerun National Democratic Party (KNDP). This party’s goal was complete secession of southern Cameroons from Nigeria and eventual reunification with Francophone Cameroun. Endeley was accused of abandoning his former stance of pro-unification in favor of integration with Nigeria. At about the same time the Union des Populations Camerounaises (UPC), a Bamileke based radical leftist party in Francophone Cameroun led by Felix Moumie was being banned by the French Governor. As they fought a bitter and violent guerrilla war against ruthless French troops, they would often cross over to Bamileke sections of British Cameroons (i.e. “Nigeria”) for sanctuary.

It was against this background that most southern Cameroonians favored self-determination – independent of BOTH Nigeria and Francophone Cameroun. However, conflicting interests on the international scene subverted their political will. The pan-Africanist movement, led by Nkrumah, for example, was opposed to the emergence of small African states. Britain was initially afraid that an allegedly economically unviable “Southern Cameroons” would be an albatross around its taxpayers and thus preferred that it join with large Nigeria next door. Although southern Cameroonian leaders preferred that the plebiscite provide a simple choice between "integration with Nigeria" or "secession and independence", the UN imposed different questions on the electorate. In October 1959, General Assembly Resolution 1352 XIV, composed the choices as follows:



(I) Do you wish to achieve independence by joining the independent Federation of Nigeria?

or

(II) Do you wish to achieve independence by joining the independent Republic of Cameroun?

However, popular opposition to these choices compelled both Foncha and Endeley to request that southern Cameroons simply be granted independence. Initial momentum in this direction and talks in London in November 1960, however, collapsed in acrimony and the UN had its way. In the countdown to the plebiscite, reunification with Francophone Cameroun was marketed by well-funded Francophone groups as a loose union in which the Southern Cameroons would maintain self-rule. The most prominent among these pro-unification forces were elements of the Bamileke tribe who was split by the post-World War 1 partition into British and French territories.

Ahidjo and key elements in the francophone Cameroun bureaucracy were afraid of the effect - on southern Cameroons - of a precedent for secession by supporting Biafra. It was not a secret that southern Cameroons had always preferred self-determination. They were also in possession of french intelligence reports that Biafra would someday annex the former Southern Cameroon along with Fernando Po in a swath of territorial acquisitions in the area of the "Bight of Biafra".

Nayah:

Romeo have you read mine? really? if yes you would know this prove nothing, and you talking about 2008, you should inform you more cause since 2010 many things have changed (universities, memebers of governements, roads) I think instead of convicing yourself Cameroon is a desorganised country and insinuating I'am liar ( and I don't really understand your bitterness anyway) you should analyse more and especially better

Anyway Face and pres elect have said all and have answered my question which was geographic and not a excuse for "stability competition" or whatever, now if you wanna talk about this then right if not better talk to someone else I don't like disrespect and bitterness we suppose to be mature , hope I made that clear

Emofine don't worry sister these kind of arguments are not only not relevent but it's childish, I'm cameroonian by origins and might be better placed to talk about our realities than some people who think they know things more than the others. Cameroon is a peaceful country and thank God everyday it shows it, we have our problems, challenges like every other country but come on Cameroon is far from inter tribes troubles that unfortunately a lot of African countries are experiencing

heaven-ly:


We are not poor but poorly governed and if the Republic was not formed Southern Cameroon would still be West Africans and a lot of Cameroonians in London Class themselves as such.

Andre Uweh:

Cameroon can be compared to Russia that is in Europe and Asia. Though politically and culturally Russia is in Europe, some parts of Russia fall under Asia. Western Cameroun is west African in nature. I will not be surprised one day to see that Western Cameroon has joined ECOWAS just as Cameroun has joined the Commonwealth.
I will not be surprised if the West of Cameroon pushes for unification with their Igbo and Eastern Nigerian neighbours and kins.

heaven-ly:

Because it was classed as West African!
We where told it was West African! It is on the west coast of the continent!
Mount Cameroon is the highest peak in West Africa! Not Central but West.
Culturally we are known as Africa in miniature so it really doesn't matter who we boarder.
Very few of us have travelled from the top of the country to the bottom to say who our culture is more like.
We are not poor but poorly governed and if the Republic was not formed Southern Cameroon would still be West Africans and a lot of Cameroonians in London Class themselves as such.

chidexy:

Cameroon is geographically in West Africa, but politically in Central Africa. One could also argue otherwise, based on the interior part of Cameroon bordering CAR and Gabon. The maps below provide a overview

ijaw_girl:

this debate about if Cameroun is in West Africa and Central Africa goes on in Canada
Cameroonians are so confused
@ the Miss West African Paegant Canada last year. .Many Cameroun girls came for the audition. . We were like I thought you guys said your country is a central African country. .today is central, tomorrow is west
At the end of the day after the organizers argued for sometime. They were allowed to participate based on the numerous amounts of contestants that applied from Cameroun and the arguments that also support it being on the west