Letter to the Editor
Subject: Southern Cameroons: The Forgotten Decolonization Case and Its Untapped Promise
Sir/Madam,
The fate of the British-administered Southern Cameroons remains one of the clearest examples of unfinished decolonization in modern history. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1608 (April 21, 1961) specified that the union between Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroun was to be formalized through a treaty of union, agreed upon by both parties and the administering authority, the United Kingdom. That treaty was never signed. In the absence of this legal instrument, the incorporation of Southern Cameroons into Cameroon did not follow the completion of the UN process envisioned in 1961.
At the time, Britain’s principal argument against full independence was that Southern Cameroons was “not economically viable.” Yet historical evidence suggests otherwise. By the mid-1950s, geological surveys in the Gulf of Guinea’s Rio del Rey Basin—part of Southern Cameroons’ territorial waters—had already identified significant petroleum potential. By 1970, commercial oil production had begun, and by the 1980s, revenues from these waters had become a vital pillar of Cameroon’s national economy.
The historical record is clear:
1955: Geological surveys confirm petroleum prospects in the Rio del Rey Basin.
1958: UK labels Southern Cameroons “not economically viable.”
1961: UN-supervised plebiscite under Resolution 1608 directs a union, pending a formal treaty.
1970: Oil production begins in the Rio del Rey Basin.
1980s: Oil revenues from former Southern Cameroons drive national economic growth.
This evidence undermines the “non-viability” claim and points to a resource base capable of sustaining an independent economy, had the right to self-determination been honored.
Under international law, the absence of a treaty of union—combined with the breach of the principle of self-determination—means that Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) retains the legal status of a distinct, non-self-governing territory. Its people remain entitled to determine their political future, and their incorporation into Cameroon without a ratified treaty raises serious questions under both the UN Charter and the African Union’s principle of respecting borders as inherited at independence.
Justice requires that the United Nations, African Union, and the wider international community revisit this case, acknowledge the procedural gaps, and support a lawful self-determination process for the people of Southern Cameroons.
Failure to do so risks perpetuating an unresolved injustice—one that ignores resource exploitation without consent and undermines faith in the very principles of international law designed to prevent such outcomes.
Sincerely,
Johnson Fonwi
