We are home to news on Cameroon and the CEMAC region. We are dedicated to honest and reliable reporting. We are the voice of the Cameroonian people and their fight for freedom and democracy at a time when the Yaoundé government is silencing dissent and suppressing democratic voices.
The Eleventh Province syndrome: How Ambazonia’s Open Door Became Yaoundé’s Political Tool
By Mankah Rosa Parks | The Independentist
In the 1950s, as French Cameroon descended into a brutal war over independence led by the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), thousands fled to the calm and orderly British Southern Cameroons. Most of the refugees came from the Bamileke and Bassa regions, escaping military crackdowns and political violence.
Southern Cameroons welcomed them with open arms. They were housed in towns like Kumba, Buea, and Bamenda, where they were given access to education, jobs, and integration into English-speaking life. British colonial values—fairness, tolerance, and communal identity—made this gesture one of true compassion.
A Choice with Lasting Consequences
As independence approached, Southern Cameroonians had to decide whether to join Nigeria or reunite with French Cameroon. Politician J.N. Foncha, supported by many of the newly settled refugees, championed reunification, claiming it was a return to a common German colonial heritage.
But opposition leader Dr. E.M.L. Endeley strongly disagreed. He warned that uniting with French Cameroon would mean cultural and political absorption. His warnings fell on deaf ears, and the pro-reunification vote won. Many of the refugees—who had settled, learned English, and integrated—backed Foncha’s party.
This marked the beginning of what some now see as a long-term infiltration strategy.
Infiltration Through Opportunity
After reunification in 1961, a federal structure was introduced—on paper. In practice, Yaoundé began slowly dismantling Anglophone autonomy. One of the most effective tools was selective advancement: scholarships, foreign postings, and government positions increasingly went to people of Francophone heritage who had grown up in Anglophone areas.
These individuals—often fluent in English and residents of towns like Limbe or Tiko—were seen as “Anglophone enough” for political optics, but many had family ties, cultural roots, and loyalty to Francophone Cameroon.
Over the decades, many of them rose through the ranks of academia, diplomacy, and government. Some went on to represent Cameroon internationally, even in forums that were meant to reflect the Anglophone identity—such as the Commonwealth.
The Emergence of the “Eleventh Province”
Although Cameroon officially had ten provinces, this group began to identify as a sort of informal “Eleventh Province”—Francophone in origin, Anglophone in experience, but distinct in allegiance. Some members of this group began to argue that they were marginalized within the Anglophone space, despite their growing prominence.
Ironically, they became the face of “Anglophone Cameroon” in state institutions—often at the expense of native Southern Cameroonians.
This is not to say all such individuals acted in bad faith. Many contributed significantly to society and built genuine ties with Ambazonian communities. But the trend of their dominance in Anglophone representation has raised difficult questions.
Names and Patterns
Among those often cited as part of this political class are:
Prime Minister Dion Ngute
Felix Mbayu, Minister Delegate to the Commonwealth
Prof. Julius Ngoh, historian
Prof. Sylvestre Kwankam, academic and public health expert
Prof. Njock, senior administrator
Prof. Gottlieb Monekosso, former WHO director
Former Minister Tomdio, diplomat
Prof. wete former Assistant director of CRTV
Prof. Ntamack university Don
Prof. Nasah, senior medical authority
In addition, figures like Ellie Smith, a well-known media personality, Cho Ayaba, and Millan Atam controversial actors in the struggle, have been accused by independence activists of acting as indirect proxies for La République du Cameroun—using their platforms and influence to divert international attention from the root causes of the conflict and undermine authentic voices of the resistance.
These individuals have represented Cameroon or spoken in its name on global platforms, often as “Anglophone voices,” while native Ambazonian voices remain excluded or discredited.
The Commonwealth Irony
When Cameroon was admitted into the Commonwealth of Nations in 1995, it was largely due to its Anglophone identity—an identity rooted entirely in the former British Southern Cameroons.
Yet, no native Ambazonian has ever represented Cameroon in the Commonwealth’s key bodies since its admission. Those who have served—like Felix Mbayu—have been from the so-called Eleventh Province.
As President Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako remarked:
“Cameroon entered the Commonwealth wearing our clothes, but they never let us speak. They use our name and silence our voice.”
This exclusion is not accidental. It reflects a long-standing strategy of political substitution—using assimilated elites and carefully positioned proxies who are linguistically Anglophone, but institutionally loyal to Yaoundé.
A Note on Balance
It is important to recognize that not all individuals of Francophone descent who settled in Southern Cameroons have acted in bad faith. Some have quietly supported the Ambazonian struggle, while others have faced complex questions of identity and belonging. But the overall pattern—of rising to power while ignoring or opposing Ambazonian concerns—has created a sense of betrayal among native communities.
A Dilemma—and the Path Forward
The “Eleventh Province” dilemma is not simply about language or origin. It is about loyalty, voice, and the use of identity as a political tool. What began as a gesture of kindness—offering refuge—was later turned against the host population.
But more importantly, this dilemma reveals a deeper truth. When one understands the coded ideology behind Paul Biya’s “Communal Liberalism”—a manifesto that operates as Cameroon’s Mein Kampf—and its execution through the opaque networks of the Essingan cult, it becomes clear that no amount of political reform or institutional integration will erase the systemic prejudice against Ambazonians.
These are not temporary injustices—they are doctrinal, embedded into the operating logic of the Cameroonian state.
As Dr. Sako has also warned:
“There is no statute, no commission, no shared language that can undo the political theology of conquest embedded in Biya’s Cameroon. The only path of least resistance for Ambazonia is complete separation.”
Until that path is honored, Ambazonia will continue to suffer under a system that rewards the loyal, silences the true, and manipulates identity as a weapon of control.
Editor’s Note:
This article is part of The Betrayal Files series by The Independentist, exploring internal sabotage and foreign interference in the Ambazonian resistance movement.
Mankah Rosa Parks
Tags:
PoliticsShare This Post:
A Prisoner of Conscience from the Kondengui central prison Yaoundé Cameroun reacts to a publication in the Independentist
Cultural Exchange or Covert Infiltration? Rethinking the Alliance Française in Ambazonia
Related Post
From Anglophone Problem to Ambazonia Problem:A Crisis of Identity,
From Dependency to Dignity: How U.S. Foreign Policy Now
From Kuva to Sako: The Spirit of Fako Still
Bui County the epicenter of the Ambazonian quest for
Le Projet Présidentiel d’Assimilation des Anglophones : La Main
The Presidential Project to Erase Anglophones: France’s Hidden Hand