How Francis Nkwain Bought Cameroon Into the Commonwealth: The Greatest Betrayal of Ambazonia

Francis Nkwain, then La République du Cameroun’s Minister in charge of Commonwealth affairs. Known for corruption at home, he carried that same reputation abroad. Nkwain understood exactly how to buy his way into the club of nations: charm in public, bribery in private.

By The Independentist Special Correspondent

Cameroon’s admission into the Commonwealth of Nations in 1995 remains one of the darkest stains on the organization’s history. It was not an act of inclusion, but an act of deception. It was not about democracy, but about dollars. And it was not a triumph for Cameroon, but a betrayal of Ambazonia.

Nkwain: The Bagman of Biya

At the center of this scandal was Francis Nkwain, La République du Cameroun’s Minister in charge of Commonwealth affairs. Known for corruption at home, he carried that same reputation abroad. Nkwain understood exactly how to buy his way into the club of nations: charm in public, bribery in private. He became Biya’s bagman, moving through diplomatic circles with envelopes and promises, until the Commonwealth Secretariat bent to Yaoundé’s will.

Anyaoku Compromised

The Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria, should have been the last line of defense. Instead, he became the willing conduit. Rather than upholding Commonwealth principles of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, he looked away from the torture chambers of Kondengui, from the massacres in Bamenda, and from the annexation of Ambazonia. He justified Cameroon’s membership as “historical” and “inclusive,” but everyone in diplomatic corridors knew the truth: Yaoundé had paid its way in.

Britain’s Silence — Bananas Over Values

And where was Britain—the supposed custodian of Commonwealth ideals? Once Cameroon was inside, Britain went to sleep. The Foreign Office was more interested in cheap bananas and trade perks than in holding Biya accountable for his crimes. The mythical respect Ambazonians once attached to “British values” has washed away over the years. Even Britain’s cultural exports—the James Bond films once showcasing suave “gentlemanliness”—are fading, just as scandals like the Maxwell dynasty have revealed how hollow that gentlemanly mask truly is.

To add insult to injury, Britain pretended to “balance” things by appointing a few pidgin-speaking diplomats who could throw in a word of Lamso or English slang, to reassure Southern Cameroonians. But these diplomats were not based in Buea or Bamenda. They resided in Yaoundé, right in the Bulu-Beti heartland, where the real deals were cut—with the Essingan cult, the dark political machine that has shielded Biya’s dictatorship for decades.

The Telltale Sign of Biya’s Money Politics

Biya’s method of “buying legitimacy” has always been the same—and everyone sees it. Lady Scotland, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and ambassadors from Africa to Europe—the list of those touched by Yaoundé’s inducements is long. The pattern is unmistakable: cash in, silence out. The world has become so corruptible that even international justice and multilateral institutions have a price tag. Is the global order so broke that it can be bought by one of Africa’s most repressive regimes?

The Hollowing of Commonwealth Values

The greatest irony of Cameroon’s admission is how it stripped the Commonwealth of its distinct identity. Once, the Commonwealth stood for democracy, free expression, and rule of law—principles that set it apart from the Francophonie, which has always been an extension of French neocolonial control. But today, who can recite those Commonwealth values with a straight face? In practice, they have become interchangeable: the Commonwealth, like the Francophonie, shelters dictators, excuses human rights abuses, and rewards repression. For Ambazonians, the lesson is bitter but clear: there is no refuge in these clubs of convenience, only betrayal.

A Conspiracy Against Ambazonia

For the people of Southern Cameroons, this was not just an international blunder. It was a deliberate conspiracy to cement their annexation. Just as Foumban in 1961 denied them a genuine federal union, Auckland in 1995 denied them justice. While Ambazonians protested and cried out, Nkwain and Biya laughed in the backrooms, and Anyaoku opened the gates. The Commonwealth, once a promise of shared values, became another weapon in the arsenal of occupation.

The Reckoning Still Awaits

Thirty years later, Ambazonians have not forgotten. The Commonwealth’s betrayal remains fresh, a wound that festers every time another child is buried in Bamenda or another village is burned in Manyu. History will not absolve those who sold out a people for envelopes and handshakes.

This was not an accident. This was not an oversight.
It was a conspiracy.

The Independentist Special Correspondent