A fervent reader of the Independentist from home writes to the editorial desk. ( identity concealed for security reasons).

To the Editor The Independentist

Dear Editor,

I enjoy reading your paper, The Independentist, and wish to thank you and your team for this publication. It is very professional and well researched.

I am writing in reaction to your recent publication titled, “The SONARA Deception: PM Dion Ngute, Kribi, and the Truth Ambazonians Deserve.” Many points in that article caught my attention, but the following statement stood out:

“The death of SONARA is more than economic—it is symbolic. It marks the systematic stripping away of Ambazonia’s industrial assets and further entrenches the logic of colonial extraction.”

I respectfully suggest that, in the interest of properly documenting the history of Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia), your paper might have better served its readers by clarifying that the relocation of SONARA to French Cameroun was not the beginning but a continuation of the systematic stripping away of Ambazonia’s industrial and economic assets.

There is ample historical evidence that this process began as far back as 1960. The destruction or forced relocation of key institutions and businesses such as Nanga Company Ltd, the Public Works Department (PWD), the Produce Marketing Board, Wum Area Development Authority (WADA), Cameroon Bank, and others are notable examples.

These early acts were not isolated—they marked the beginning of a consistent strategy of economic asphyxiation, institutional dismantling, and marginalization that has continued for decades.

I look forward to hearing how The Independentist editorial desk considers this perspective. Thank you again for your ongoing contribution to informed public discourse.

Sincerely,
Name Withheld
Bui County, Ambazonia

Editorial Rebuttal — From the Editorial Desk of The Independentist

We sincerely thank our reader from Bui County for this insightful response to our article, “The SONARA Deception.” Your contribution adds valuable depth to the historical framework within which SONARA’s dismantling must be understood.

You are absolutely right: the economic sabotage of Ambazonia did not begin with SONARA. The dismantling of key economic institutions such as the Produce Marketing Board, PWD, WADA, and Cameroon Bank were part of a deliberate post-1961 strategy to cripple Southern Cameroons’ autonomous development.

Our focus on SONARA was meant to capture the symbolic and contemporary dimension of this long-running policy of colonial extraction. That said, your reminder of the deeper historical continuum is both valid and necessary. It reinforces the need for comprehensive historical clarity as we document this liberation struggle.

We welcome more such contributions and remain committed to amplifying truth in the face of institutional erasure.

— The Editorial Desk, The Independentist