Cameroon did not take Southern Cameroons through law or agreement. It took it through deception, pressure, and foreign backing. That backing is disappearing. When France can no longer impose legitimacy in Africa, and when the United States refuses to subsidize illegitimacy, the occupation loses its oxygen and cameroon is next.
By Mankah Rosa Parks The Independentistnews desk
Africa was never a partner. For a long time, Africa was treated like a private backyard. France called it partnership. Africans lived it as control. That system had a name: Françafrique. It worked simply. France provided political protection, military support, and special treatment for its companies. African rulers provided obedience and silence. The people paid the price.
The system is breaking in public
Today, that arrangement is falling apart in the open. And when Françafrique falls, Cameroon’s grip on Southern Cameroons weakens with it. What once operated quietly through privilege can no longer hide behind old language or old loyalties.
The illusion of permanent influence is gone
French companies once behaved as if Africa was their home. Contracts came easily. Influence was automatic. Power was assumed. They believed Africa would never change. They were wrong. Africa opened up to the world. New players arrived. Competition replaced privilege. France lost its special position. This is not a slow decline. It is a clear collapse of influence.
When soldiers stop guarding profits
In places like Niger, French mining operations are shutting down. Licenses have been withdrawn. Exports are blocked. Local authorities are no longer responding. The message is simple and unforgiving. The days when French soldiers protected French business interests are over. France has closed its remaining military bases in West and Central Africa. The uniform is gone. The deterrence is gone. The safety net is gone. Only the memory remains.
Why Yaoundé should be worried
Cameroon’s control of Southern Cameroons has never rested on legitimacy. It has rested on force and external backing. France trained its military. France defended it diplomatically. France helped make an illegal arrangement look normal. That protection is fading, and without it the weakness of the system is exposed.
The rules of power have changed
Power alone is no longer enough. The new demand is legitimacy. Even French analysts now admit this openly. Companies speak of blending in. Governments speak of partnership. Everyone is trying to look acceptable. Why? Because ruling without consent no longer survives for long.
Trump and the end of sentimental foreign policy
There is another force accelerating this collapse: America’s turn toward transactional realism under Donald Trump. Trump did not care about colonial nostalgia or old alliances. His question was blunt and unforgiving: What do you bring to the table? If there was no clear benefit, there was no automatic support. This mindset stripped away emotional cover for failing systems. It weakened the habit of protecting regimes simply because they were “friends of the West.” In that world, illegitimate arrangements lost value fast.
No more blank checks for bad systems
Transactional policy does not rescue occupiers. It demands outcomes, stability, and consent. It exposes governments that survive only on habit and history. Under such a lens, Cameroon’s hold on Southern Cameroons looks like a liability, not an asset. An occupation that produces instability, refugees, and reputational cost offers nothing worth paying for.
Ambazonia and the direction of history
This is what it means for Ambazonia. The struggle is not outdated. It is not misplaced. It is not against history. It moves with history. While Cameroon governs by force, the world is moving toward consent. While Yaoundé relies on old habits, both Françafrique and sentimental foreign policy are collapsing at the same time.
The blade falls here
Cameroon did not take Southern Cameroons through law or agreement. It took it through deception, pressure, and foreign backing. That backing is disappearing. When France can no longer impose legitimacy in Africa, and when the United States refuses to subsidize illegitimacy, the occupation loses its oxygen, and cameroon is next.
The final truth
History is no longer quiet. It is speaking clearly. Empires fade. Occupations crumble. Ambazonia is not resisting the future. Ambazonia belongs to it.
Mankah Rosa Parks
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