By Emmanuel Unah & Victoria Ojeme

This Insight report which began on Thursday concludes today with this statement credited to Southern Cameroun secessionist leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, on the vision behind the declaration of a contentious Republic of Ambazonia. A refugee, Epah Fossoh, spoke in the same vein. 

OUR goal is to achieve recognition of Ambazonia as an independent, democratic, sovereign state in the international community of nations. The Interim Government is working concurrently on eight basic steps to restore full independence of Ambazonia.

First, demonstrated cultural group: It is well established that Ambazonia is a unique cultural group – education, legal, and politics – running from the northern to the southern zone with 13 counties: Boyo, Bui, Ndonga-Mantung, Fako, Kupe-Muaneguba, Lebialem, Manyu, Meme, Menchum, Mezam, Momo, Ndian, and Ngoketunjia.

Second, a history of institutional assimilation, annihilation and marginalization. There is no gainsaying and denying that Ambazonia has witnessed these since 1961. We are reminded of the actions of those before us, like the late Dr. John NguFoncha, Prime Minister of West Cameroun and Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Cameroun from October 1, 1961 to May 13, 1965 – who led a delegation of Southern Camerouns National Council, SCNC, to the United Nations in 1994 to request that it support their movement for greater autonomy in Cameroun’s two English-speaking regions under the despotic regime of Paul Biya. Prior, he had resigned from the Cameroun’s People’s Democratic Movement ,CPDM, in 1990 because of institutional assimilation and marginalization of Ambazonians.

The Interim Government continues to work with the living fathers of Ambazonia to demonstrate this need at the international level.

Third, independent representative system of government: At the fourth Conclave in Nigeria, the Conclave resolution established the Interim Government of Ambazonia, established strategic departments and my humble self Sisiku Ayuk Tabe assumed the position of first President. As required, I have since formed a cabinet which comprises ministerial departments, headed by dedicated Secretaries of State, each working hard to develop and produce guidelines and map out strategies on how to operate and manage sectors under their department. It is on this basis that our territory is named the Federal Republic of Ambazonia (although the UN books and governments recognize our territory as Southern Cameroons).

Fourth, economic means and stability: According to a report of August 2017 by the International Crisis Group, at the time of the1961 referendum, the UK and some developing countries were against the option of full independence for Southern Cameroons on the grounds that it would not be economically viable and that it was best to avoid the creation of micro-states. The argument has since been disproven. The Interim Government is preparing guidelines and developing rules and mapping operational strategies to demonstrate that Ambazonia has the economic means and stability to establish and protect our new state. These documents will further show that the economic means will not bankrupt LRC upon the full independence of Ambazonia.

Fifth, no other option: Independence is an inalienable right. The Interim Government is working with various stakeholders to demonstrate there is no other better option to independence. The International Crisis Group report affirms this Ambazonia right to independence.

Although France and the UK treated Cameroun as a colony, it was legally in fact an administered territory. Article 22 of the League of Nations Covenant of June 28, 1919 states that the international “mandate” status applied to “colonies and territories”that, as a consequence of the war, had “ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them” and that “are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves.”

Diplomatic offensive

The regime of “trusteeship,” introduced in 1945 by the newly created UN, granted more rights to former colonies and territories and was consistent with the UN’s wish to gradually end colonisation.

Sixth, cultural groups: Our social groups are made of traditional rulers and the various cultural groups at home and in the diaspora. The Interim Government is working to engage them to document wide support for Amabazonia. This is often demonstrated through a referendum just like our ancestors and parents voted in a referendum in 1961 to join LRC.

Seventh, support from nations and international community. This has been the major diplomatic offensive of the former Governing Council and will continue to be the major task of the Interim Government. A comfortable support is said to be established when a government official recognizes Ambazonia as a state and offer to host an embassy of Ambazonia. And on behalf of the people of Ambazonia, I will like to thank Mr. Arne Gerecke, Member of Parliament of the Free Voters Party in Germany for taking our case to the European Parliament for discussion at that level.

After Ambazonia is recognised by national governments that host our embassies and our referendum is endorsed by the AU and UN, then we would have achieved recognition of Ambazonia as an independent, democratic, sovereign state in the international community of nations. This vision underpins all our conversations and direct actions. Looking forward, my priority will remain the economy. Our economy will be our lifeline. Without a strong economic base our social models and welfare will be at risk. Last week during a high-level meeting with our international partners and friendly nations, I was asked why I think we are ready for the restoration of our independence now; and what are assurances that we could not possibly turn out to be another failed and violent state? I looked into the resilience in the eyes of our people and found the answers, and yes, we are ready for our independence because of the following reasons:

1. Our Human Capital
2. Our Natural Resources and
3. Our Political Maturity

I understand a lot among us will quickly say we are a people, we have a territory and now we have a government, but the obvious question that will come to mind will be how sustainable will this people, government and territory be?

Abundant natural resources

Let me assure you that our nation will be sustainable, peaceful and prosperous. The people of Southern Camerouns have one of the most educated population in the continent and I can state without fear that we can easily find a person with a college/high school education in every home in Southern Camerouns.

The opportunities presented by our abundant natural resources are endless from our fertile agricultural lands suitable for agriculture, timber, cocoa, coffee, tea, heavy gold, iron ore, bauxite, diamond, oil and gas deposits and as a vibrant and hard-working people, we will be the food basket in the sub-region.

I understand the uneasiness and uncertainty of our brothers and sisters who are currently employed and working with the government of LRC and private institutions in Southern Cameroons. Yes, I am in your shoes, and I feel the uncertainty in you.

The questions that elude all of us in our dying need for this independence is; how prepared are we for it? What if this independence is granted to us tomorrow, then what next? Who are we going to call for our electricity, telephone, water supply, pharmaceuticals, gasoline, shipping, road infrastructure, airports, and hospitals that will uphold the basic necessity and standard of living of our people?

Rest assured that the Interim Government is in extensive and advanced negotiations with major companies and stakeholders in the USA, China, UK, France, Nigeria, South Africa and Germany and they are ready to step in and offer their products and services to the people of Southern Cameroons. Rest assured that there is a lot of work being done in the background away from the noise and frenzy of social media, and Yaoundé is aware of some of these engagements with friendly nations and this explains their desperation and assault on our people.

Our priority will be to open up paved farm to market roads to facilitate the transportation of our farm produce to markets, particularly in Nigeria, strengthen and develop our budging IT sector, and make Silicon Mountain a major IT hub in the region and we will expand on our service industry through small business creation to encourage and support our entrepreneurial youths.

The school question: Permit me to shift attention to the lingering schools resumption question. Many people are asking whether schools will resume on January 8th as we had previously announced. You will recall that in that announcement, we listed the conditions under which we will support school resumption. The conditions included La République du Cameroun withdrawing all her troops from our streets, the unconditional release of Mancho Bibixy and thousands of other detainees. As you are already aware, none of these demands have been met as I speak. On the contrary, hundreds of our people continue to be massacred daily, we have more detainees in prisons today, – more than the number it was when we first made this demand. The situation is worse when you factor what is happening in Manyu into the picture.

In Manyu in particular, schools cannot re-open because every child as I speak is in the refugee camp, forced from their home by occupation troops. Teachers too are either in refugee camps or have escaped to unknown safety, if they have not been slaughtered by LRC terrorist forces. Many of the schools in Manyu and elsewhere in our territory have been burnt down by soldiers or gendarmes of La République du Cameroun, as we recently saw them burning homes in Kembong.

High levels of insecurity

Faced with this stark reality and handicap, we are asking ourselves, how can we say children should go to school when most of the schools no longer exist? How can we say children should go to school when they will be burnt alive in their sleep by La République’s terrorist forces just like they did to Presbyterian Secondary School (PSS) Bafut? How can we say children should go to school when they will be raped and robbed daily by La République’ssoldiers? How can we ask children to go back to school with such high levels of insecurity on our streets which are flooded with gendarmes, soldiers and police, ready to victimize, shoot and kill just because they are Ambazonians?

How can we say that children go back to school, when our streets are flooded with spying, secret agents who are ready to kidnap any child with no remorse, then turn around and ask for a ransom? How can we ask that children go back to school when Mamfe and the rest of Manyu cannot go to school?

How can we say children should go to school when their peers, teachers and parents are suffering in refugee camps or languishing in jails? That would be a manifestation of poor judgement, recklessness, and above all a show of lack of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Manyu and other parts of Ambazonia that have been hit very hard by the crisis. It will be an abuse of compassion and empathy which are virtues that we pride ourselves in.

I would like to seize this opportunity to reiterate the conditions under which school resumption would be given a green light. Your Interim Government will immediately encourage school resumption once La République du Cameroun fulfills the conditions listed below:

• A withdrawal of all their troops from all the towns, markets, farms, and streets of Ambazonia.
• The unconditional release of Mancho Bibixy and all other Ambazonians currently illegally detained in different detention facilities across La République and colonial facilities in Ambazonia.
• The return of all refugees to the safety of their homes and the commencement of compensation procedures to the physical and material damages inflicted on them and all the other victims across Ambazonia.

These are the conditions under which the Interim Government is going to approve school resumption. We encourage every parent to ensure that their children stay home for their own safety. It is part of the numerous sacrifices that we will pay for our freedom. The good thing is that when it is all said and done, those children would have had a better future than what La République du Cameroun currently offers them.

Parliament: In the past one year, we have been appealing to all Southern Camerouns Parliamentarians and Senators to draw inspiration from 1953 with the Enugu Eastern House of Assembly and leave LRC’s parliament and return to Buea and join the struggle. So far, other than the Hon. Joseph Wirba, all of them still remain in Yaoundé. Now their terms are over. Unfortunately for them, we have resolved that LRC will not be organizing any elections on our territory.Our invitation is, therefore, still out there to all the representatives to take this time and do some soul searching and join the revolution before it becomes too late. We have gotten to the point in this revolution where you no longer can remain on the sidelines.