WHY THE CHURCH SHOUTS AT AMBAZONIAN DEFENDERS BUT WHISPERS AT A GENOCIDAL REGIME

Clergy do not raise Ambazonian children. Ambazonian parents do. Clergy will not rebuild our villages. Ambazonians will. Clergy will not endure the consequences of this genocide. Ambazonian survivors will. We must therefore stop expecting the Church to speak with a courage it has not shown. We are not asking the Church to fight. We are asking it to tell the truth.

By Ali Dan Ismael Editor-in-Chief, The Independentist

For years, Ambazonians have whispered a painful question that the Church has avoided with careful silence: Why do Church leaders condemn Ambazonian self-defense loudly, yet become timid, diplomatic, or mute when confronting the genocidal atrocities committed by Paul Biya’s regime?

Recent events inside the Bamenda Cathedral have exposed this contradiction with undeniable clarity.
When the Apostolic Nuncio publicly referred to Paul Biya as “President of Cameroon,” worshippers rose in outrage. Their reaction was not disrespect. It was the cry of a wounded people whose pain has been ignored for far too long.

That moment revealed a fundamental truth: The Church becomes bold only when speaking to the oppressed, but fearful when confronting the oppressor. This is not spirituality. It is politics. It is institutional self-preservation disguised as religious authority.

Bold to the Oppressed, Silent to the Oppressor

Across Ambazonia, clergy condemn Ambazonian defenders with thunderous certainty. 9But when it comes to state violence — torture, execution, arson, rape, mass arrests, and enforced disappearances — the same clergy become delicate, diplomatic, and vague.

Why the double standard?

Because the Church depends heavily on the Cameroon state for financial and administrative survival. Teacher salaries, School subsidies, Project approvals, Legal protection, Political access

This dependency produces caution. Caution produces silence. Silence protects the institution — not the people. The Church’s muted response to genocide is not an accident; it is the predictable result of a structure that fears losing privilege more than losing moral credibility.

The Apostolic Nuncio: Out of Touch and Aligned with Power

What shocked Ambazonians most in Bamenda was not the Nuncio’s title, but his posture. He spoke as a man completely out of touch with the reality on the ground. More troubling, he demonstrated alarming ignorance of an entire oppressed nation.

He is the Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. He is not the Nuncio to Ambazonia. He does not recognize Ambazonian leadership. He does not understand Southern Cameroons’ historical or political status. He does not even appear aware that Ambazonia has a legitimate, structured leadership.

His declaration — “I am the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon” — was not a clarification. It was a declaration of allegiance. He represents the state, not the suffering. He knows the palace in Yaoundé, not the people dying in the bushes of Ambazonia. He recognizes Paul Biya, not Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako or the elected authorities of the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons.

A diplomat who does not know a people cannot minister to them. A shepherd who does not know the flock cannot claim their loyalty. The Nuncio’s ignorance of Ambazonian leadership is not a small oversight. It is evidence of a Church leadership circle that sees Ambazonians not as a nation, but as subjects under Cameroon’s jurisdiction.

Clergy Who Walk With the Wolves.The Nuncio is part of a pattern.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea, He called genocide a mere “misunderstanding” and maintained warm ties with Yaoundé during the height of atrocities.

Bishop Michael Bibi, His messaging often mirrors that of the state, especially concerning forced school reopenings and disciplinary actions aligned with state interests.

Rev. Samuel Fonki, Perhaps the most troubling case. He displayed Paul Biya’s photograph at his office entrance. When BIR soldiers murdered worshippers in Bali, Fonki witnessed the truth, fled to French Cameroon, and blamed Ambazonian defenders. These are not pastoral errors. They are political choices.

This Is Not New: The Church Has Done This Before

To understand the Church’s quiet alignment with power in Ambazonia, we must recall its historical alliances. The Church signed diplomatic pacts with Hitler. It facilitated escape routes for Nazi officials after World War II. It used Scripture to justify the enslavement of African people. These facts are not attacks on Christianity. They are reminders that religious institutions often choose survival over justice.

The Bible Verses Used to Justify Slavery

For generations, clergy quoted the following verses to enslaved Africans: Slaves, obey your masters. — Ephesians 6:5. Servants, obey in all things your masters. — Colossians 3:22. Return to thy mistress and submit. — Genesis 16:9. The fabricated Curse of Ham. — Genesis 9:25–27. They are your possession. — Leviticus 25:44–46. He shall serve him forever. — Exodus 21:5–6

These verses were weapons, not teachings. They legitimized oppression. If the Church once used Scripture to defend slavery, if it could be silent under Hitler, why should we expect courage now in the face of the Biya regime?The evidence says we should not.

Ambazonians Must Secure Their Own Future

Clergy do not raise Ambazonian children. Ambazonian parents do. Clergy will not rebuild our villages. Ambazonians will. Clergy will not endure the consequences of this genocide. Ambazonian survivors will. We must therefore stop expecting the Church to speak with a courage it has not shown. We are not asking the Church to fight. We are asking it to tell the truth. When silence protects the oppressor, silence becomes complicity.

A Presidential Moral Address from
Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako President, Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia)

In a statement shared with The Independentist, President Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako reflected: “There comes a time in the life of a nation when history stops negotiating, and conscience stops whispering. That time is now. Our people are being hunted not because they sinned, but because they dared to be free. Any clergy who bows to tyranny is not a shepherd. Any silence that aids a genocide is sin.

Yet Ambazonians must take heart. The God who parted the Red Sea will open the road to Buea. Stand firm. Stand united. Stand with truth. Ambazonia shall be free. Ambazonia must be free. Ambazonia will be free. ”The President’s words reflect a truth that no institution can silence.

Conclusion

Ambazonia stands at a decisive moral moment. The Church may continue whispering to the regime and raising its voice against the oppressed.
The Apostolic Nuncio may continue aligning with Yaoundé. Some bishops may continue choosing comfort over conscience. But the Ambazonian people have found their voice — and it is louder than silence, stronger than fear, and clearer than diplomacy. A nation that refuses to die has already begun to live.

Ambazonia will rise — with or without clerical approval. The world may look away, but history is watching. Justice will not be delayed forever. And when Ambazonia stands free, the record will show who spoke, who remained silent, and who chose the side of truth.

Ali Dan Ismael Editor-in-Chief,