THE POLITICS OF DECEPTION — HOW YAOUNDÉ FOOLED THE WORLD, AND WHY THE TRUTH IS NOW SURFACING

The same deception played out with the Nera 10 — Ambazonian leaders lawfully residing in Nigeria. Under false accusations of terrorism, they were abducted and handed over to Yaoundé in 2018.

By The Independentist Political Desk

A Decade of Deception

For nine long years, the regime in Yaoundé built its survival on a single, poisonous narrative — that Ambazonians are terrorists. They weaponized language, turning fear into diplomacy and propaganda into policy. Each time they uttered that word, they did so with one goal: to win sympathy from the West and to criminalize a people fighting for self-determination.

The sad truth is that it worked — at least for a while.
Western partners, driven by counterterrorism priorities, took Yaoundé’s lies at face value. The regime’s diplomats clapped for themselves, convinced that they had fooled the world. But deception, like smoke, cannot last forever.

When Lies Turned Against Their Masters

History is not without irony. When Issa Tchiroma, one of Yaoundé’s own, once sought refuge in Nigeria, the same regime used the very same tactics against him. They branded him a hardened criminal, and sent word to the Nigerian authorities that a dangerous man was hiding in their country. It was a carbon copy of the lies they had used against Ambazonians for years.

Yet this time, their trap failed. Had Tchiroma not identified himself quickly to the heavily armed unit that came for him, he would have been whisked away to Yaoundé under false pretenses. His quick thinking saved his life — and exposed the machinery of falsehood that has long driven Yaoundé’s politics.

The Nera 10 Betrayal — A Lesson in Regret

The same deception played out with the Nera 10 — Ambazonian leaders lawfully residing in Nigeria.
Under false accusations of terrorism, they were abducted and handed over to Yaoundé in 2018. It was a violation of international law, carried out under the cover of deceit.

Years later, the Nigerian judiciary ruled that the extradition was illegal and ordered their repatriation — a quiet but powerful admission that Nigeria had been misled. Had the truth been known earlier, those men would never have been delivered into the hands of their persecutors.

Today, even Abuja seems to recognize what Ambazonians knew all along: that Yaoundé’s strength lies not in its justice, but in its ability to lie convincingly.

When We Failed to Counter the Lie

But we must also confront our own responsibility.
While Yaoundé spread its propaganda across the globe, we remained divided, arguing instead of informing, reacting instead of engaging. Our silence gave room for their lies to breathe.

In diplomacy, perception often becomes reality. Whoever speaks first and loudest defines the frame — and Yaoundé understood that better than we did.
While they poisoned the world’s ear, we were too busy cleaning our own wounds to tell our story. We cannot undo the past, but we can learn from it: silence is not strategy; silence is surrender.

The Turning Tide

Now the tide is shifting. Nigeria, once complicit through misinformation, is beginning to see the cracks. International observers are revisiting their assumptions. Meanwhile, Yaoundé’s desperation grows — resorting to helicopter transport between Bamenda and Yaoundé to sustain a war it publicly claims no longer exists. The image of “stability” has crumbled. The mask of “unity” is falling apart. And the very nations that once applauded now whisper doubts about the story they were told.

Outtruthing the Lie

Ambazonians cannot match Yaoundé’s military or propaganda budgets, but we can outtruth them.
Every accurate report, every honest documentary, every survivor’s testimony chips away at the fortress of falsehood.

The struggle for independence is not only fought on the battlefield — it is fought in the court of global opinion. And in that court, truth is our greatest weapon

The Independentist Political Desk —