A consistent reader of the independentist news reacts on Cameroons Prime minister’s comment on the ghost town phenomenon in Ambazonia.

Nelson Uchiba says Chief Dr. DION NGUTE’S comments on ghost towns in Ambazonia, is chameleon politics. He further says the people of Bamenda saw through the charade. He writes.

SETTING THE STAGE
When Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute of La République du Cameroun (LRC) arrived in Bamenda last week, he came armed with a familiar script: blame Monday “ghost towns” for crippling the economy of the North-West and South-West. In a carefully choreographed speech, he lamented, “The phenomenon of Monday ghost towns continues to frustrate the economy of these two regions… I call on all of you to do everything within your power to bring an end to this situation.”

To the casual observer, this may have sounded like compassion. But to the people of Ambazonia—who have endured decades of political manipulation—it was déjà vu. They saw not sincerity but the latest episode in a well-worn theatre of deception. While Ngute spoke, Bamenda’s streets remained silent—ironically proving the very point he was trying to deny.

GHOST-TOWN ECONOMICS: FACT OR FICTION?
Dion Ngute’s core message was simple: if ghost towns stop, prosperity will return. Yet this framing ignores a foundational truth—Ambazonia has not owned or managed its economy since its forced incorporation in 1961.

From the seizure of the West Cameroon Marketing Board to the collapse or expropriation of once-thriving institutions like CDC, Pamol, Tole Tea, and Limbe Seaport, Ambazonia’s economic life has long been siphoned off to Yaoundé. The resources extracted from this land have historically funded LRC’s national ambitions, while the regions from which they were taken remained impoverished and neglected.

A HISTORY OF ECONOMIC EXPROPRIATION
What economy is Dion Ngute really talking about? Since the 1960s, Ambazonia’s industries—rubber, bananas, tea, ports, banking, marketing boards—have been seized, nationalized, or systematically dismantled under centralised Francophone control.

Rubber and banana plantations were rebranded under LRC management. Airports in Tiko and Bamenda were abandoned. Local banks became satellite offices of institutions headquartered in Douala and Yaoundé. Meanwhile, roads crumbled, teachers protested, and hospitals lacked basic supplies.

Ngute’s attempt to feign concern for an economy his government doesn’t let Ambazonians control amounts to little more than crocodile tears.

TRANSLATING THE PRIME MINISTER’S TRUE MESSAGE
Beneath the façade, Ngute’s real agenda was threefold:

Protect Yaoundé’s Revenue Stream. Ghost towns cut into tax collection, customs duties, and agricultural yields—painful losses for the regime.

Perform Stability. With rising ministerial resignations and Biya’s leadership teetering, Ngute’s performance in Bamenda was about projecting calm in chaos.

Disrupt Resistance. Framing ghost towns as economic self-harm attempts to pit Ambazonians against their own civil resistance efforts.

The irony is sharp: Ngute, an Anglophone himself, campaigns for the end of ghost towns not to restore Ambazonian dignity, but to revive the very structures that oppress it.

WHY THE MESSAGE FELL FLAT
Bamenda’s reaction was clear. Monday came and went—with locked doors, shuttered shops, and empty streets. The city answered the Prime Minister with silence.

Ambazonians know better. They remember decades of promises, “special statuses,” commissions of inquiry, and roadmaps to nowhere. Ngute’s performance was interpreted for what it was: a desperate attempt to salvage a collapsing empire from the ashes of its own lies.

THE HIGHER COST OF COMPLIANCE
Ngute urged Ambazonians to “do everything within your power to bring an end to ghost towns.” But critical thinkers have decoded what that means: surrender.

To revive an economy Ambazonians don’t own is to pour more wealth into Yaoundé’s coffers. It is to allow the regime to pay off its bloated payroll, buy new weapons, and fly political elites abroad for treatment—all while Ambazonian civilians remain under siege.

CONCLUSION: RESISTANCE BY ECONOMIC SABOTAGE
Prime Minister Dion Ngute came to Bamenda hoping to tug on heartstrings. Instead, he exposed the naked economic exploitation at the heart of the occupation. Ghost towns, far from being reckless, have become the most powerful non-violent weapon against a state that survives by draining Ambazonian wealth.

Until that exploitation ends—until Ambazonians can decide for themselves how their resources are used and who governs their land—Monday will remain a day of resistance. Not out of habit, but out of necessity.

By Uchiba Nelson to The Independentist – 4 July 2025