Philemon Yang, the Prime Minister who ignored the conflict, the UN President who ignored genocide, and the recycled pawn in France’s colonial chessboard.
By The Independentist Editorial Desk
Philemon Yang is no accident of history. He is the love child of Solomon Tandeng Muna — the man who dismantled Southern Cameroons’ autonomy in the fraudulent 1972 referendum. In that betrayal, Muna accepted a bait-and-switch strategy engineered by the French: he was made Vice President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon in 1970, with the illusion that he would one day succeed Ahmadou Ahidjo. Instead, after endorsing the fraudulent referendum of May 20, 1972, the federal structure was abolished. The Vice Presidency disappeared, and Muna was pushed into the position of Speaker of the National Assembly — a role he held from 1973 until 1988.
The 1972 Fraud and Muna’s Rise
The referendum of 20 May 1972 remains one of the darkest stains in African decolonisation.
UN General Assembly Resolution 1608 (XV), 21 April 1961: endorsed the independence of Southern Cameroons through a federal union with La République du Cameroun — not absorption.
Article 47 of the 1961 Federal Constitution: “Any proposal for the revision of this Constitution which impairs the unity and integrity of the Federation shall be inadmissible.”
Yet, in 1972, Ahidjo — with Paris’ blessing — staged a referendum abolishing federalism. Muna endorsed it and became Speaker of the National Assembly in 1973.
From 1973 until 1979, this position made him the constitutional successor to President Ahidjo. He believed he was finally within reach of the presidency.
The Great Deception
In 1979, Ahidjo and the French staged another deception. They forced Muna to cede the status of constitutional successor to the Prime Minister, claiming that he himself would be appointed Prime Minister and gain “executive experience.” Muna agreed — out of ambition and greed.
But it never happened.
On November 4, 1982, Ahidjo suddenly announced his resignation and handed power not to Muna but to Paul Biya. Muna’s dream collapsed in a single broadcast.
He reportedly pleaded with Ahidjo not to resign so his own promise could be fulfilled. But it was too late. From that day until his death, Muna never again met Paul Biya in person. That was his final disgrace.
Humiliated, he eventually joined John Ngu Foncha in petitioning the United Nations to complain about the betrayal of the federal union. But for Ambazonians, the damage was already done: Muna’s ambition and gullibility had destroyed their sovereignty.
Philemon Yang: The Inheritor of Muna’s Greed
Philemon Yang’s trajectory mirrors Muna’s in disturbing ways.
1975–1984: Rose in government ranks, ending as Minister of Mines, Water, and Energy.
1984–2004: Served as High Commissioner to Canada for 20 years, far from Ambazonia’s daily struggles.
2009–2019: Prime Minister under Paul Biya.
During Yang’s premiership, the Anglophone crisis exploded in 2016. Villages were torched, protesters brutalised, and children murdered. Yet Yang said nothing. His silence was so glaring that even Mutations newspaper wrote in 2017: “The Prime Minister’s silence is interpreted as complicity.”
In 2024, Yang became President of the UN General Assembly — another stage, another chance to redeem himself. But again, he chose silence. He condemned conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, and Myanmar, yet ignored the genocide in his own homeland.
Just as Muna allowed himself to be used as France’s Anglophone mask, Yang now allows himself to be recycled as France’s last card: a symbolic “Vice President” meant to pacify international opinion.
The same greed and gullibility that destroyed Muna’s legacy has been transferred to Yang.
From Muna to Yang: The Colonial Playbook
The parallels are chilling:
Muna: Endorsed the 1972 fraud, lost his succession in 1979, and ended in disgrace.
Yang: Ignored the 2016 genocide, stayed mute at the UN, and now parades as a French puppet.
From Muna to Yang, France has perfected a single strategy: use Ambazonian elites to betray their own people, then discard them once they are no longer useful.
Why Ambazonians Reject Yang
Ambazonians despise Yang not for his titles but for his failures:
He never defended his people during their darkest hour.
He never condemned Yaoundé’s military crimes.
He never used his UNGA presidency to highlight genocide in Ambazonia.
Like Muna, he chose silence and survival. And like Muna, he will be remembered not as a leader but as a pawn.
The Verdict of History
History has judged Solomon Tandeng Muna harshly: ambition and greed led him to betray Southern Cameroons, only for him to end in humiliation and disgrace.
History will judge Philemon Yang the same way: the Prime Minister who ignored the conflict, the UN President who ignored genocide, and the recycled pawn in France’s colonial chessboard.
From Muna to Yang, the cycle of betrayal must end. Ambazonia’s liberation will not come from recycled elites or French puppets. It will come from the determination of our people and the memory of our martyrs.
The Independentist Editorial Desk
