09/20/2026
CAMEROON IS ONE AND INDIVISIBLE? LET'S CHECK THE FACTS.
Dear Compatriots,
Everywhere we turn, we see it. On their pages, in their comments, in their propaganda:
"Cameroon is one and indivisible."
They chant it like a prayer. They repeat it like a slogan. They want us to believe that this land was always one, that we were always together, that the borders we see today were drawn by God Himself.
But today, we will do what they fear most: we will look at the historical record.
And what we find will shock you.
---
SECTION 1: TWO TERRITORIES, TWO FLAGS, TWO HISTORIES
Let us begin at the beginning.
Before 1916, the land we call Cameroon was a German colony known as Kamerun. But after Germany lost World War I, the territory was divided—not by Africans, but by European powers.
The League of Nations split the land into two separate mandates:
· British Cameroons (administered by Britain)
· French Cameroun (administered by France)
These were not the same territory. They had different flags. Different currencies. Different legal systems. Different languages. Different administrations.
The British administered their portion as part of Nigeria. The French administered theirs as part of French Equatorial Africa.
They were two separate entities under international law.
This division was confirmed by the Milne-Simon Declaration of 1919, by the League of Nations in 1922, and again by the United Nations in 1946 when both became Trust Territories.
Two territories. Two mandates. Two histories.
This is not opinion. This is documented fact.
---
SECTION 2: THE 1961 PLEBISCITE – A CHOICE, NOT A MERGER
In 1961, the United Nations organized separate plebiscites in Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. The people were asked a simple question: What do you want?
The results were clear:
· Northern Cameroons chose to join Nigeria (146,296 votes for Nigeria vs. 97,659 for Cameroon)
· Southern Cameroons chose to join the Republic of Cameroon (233,571 votes for Cameroon vs. 97,741 for Nigeria)
Southern Cameroons voted to join. But here is what they did not vote for: absorption.
The vote was for a federation—a union of two equal states, each retaining its own government, parliament, judiciary, and identity.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 1608 (XV) on 21 April 1961, which approved the results and terminated the Trusteeship Agreement over Southern Cameroons.
The resolution recognized that Southern Cameroons had made a choice. And that choice was conditional.
---
SECTION 3: THE FOUMBAN CONFERENCE – A FALSE NEGOTIATION
After the plebiscite, representatives from Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroon met in Foumban from 17 to 21 July 1961 to negotiate the terms of the federation.
But here is what they don't tell you.
The Foumban Conference was not a negotiation between equals.
French legal advisors were present, assisting the Republic of Cameroon's delegation. They came with a draft constitution already prepared—the constitution of the French Republic. The Southern Cameroons delegation was presented with a document and asked to accept amendments, not to negotiate a new framework.
The historian Victor Julius Ngoh noted that the conference was "an opportunity for French advisers to bring their legal expertise to the Republic of Cameroon for its negotiations with the Southern Cameroons."
In other words, the terms of the union were written by the French.
The Southern Cameroons delegation—led by John Ngu Foncha—was pressured, outmaneuvered, and ultimately forced to accept a constitution that was not what the people had voted for.
This was not a union of equals. It was an absorption disguised as a federation.
---
SECTION 4: THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC – A MARRIAGE WITH PROMISES
On 1 October 1961, the Federal Republic of Cameroon was born.
It had:
· A President (from East Cameroon)
· A Vice-President (from West Cameroon)
· Two Prime Ministers (one for East Cameroon, one for West Cameroon)
· Two Governments
· Three Assemblies
· Two Supreme Courts
This was supposed to be a partnership. Two states, one nation. Two systems, one country.
The constitution guaranteed that West Cameroon would retain its own:
· Legal system (Common Law)
· Educational system (British)
· Administrative system (Westminster model)
· Official language (English)
This was the deal. This was the promise.
For ten years, the federation functioned—imperfectly, but it functioned. Two states coexisted. Two systems operated. Two peoples shared one country.
Then the promises were broken.
---
SECTION 5: 1972 – THE COUP AGAINST THE FEDERATION
On 20 May 1972, President Ahmadou Ahidjo held a referendum. The question was simple: Do you want to abolish the federal system and replace it with a unitary state?
Here is what you must understand about this referendum:
It was not free. It was not fair. It was a coup.
First, the question was rigged. There was no option to keep the federation. There was no option to negotiate a better federal arrangement. The only choice was: accept unitary rule, or accept unitary rule.
Second, the vote was conducted under a state of emergency. Opposition was suppressed. Campaigning against the referendum was banned. The army was deployed to intimidate voters.
Third, the results were fabricated. In French-speaking areas, the "Yes" vote was reported as over 99%. In English-speaking areas, it was also reported as overwhelmingly "Yes"—but eyewitnesses reported that many people were forced to vote "Yes" at gunpoint.
On 2 June 1972, the Federal Republic of Cameroon ceased to exist.
The United Republic of Cameroon was born—a centralized state with all power in Yaoundé.
The federation was dead. And with it, the promise of equality.
---
SECTION 6: 1984 – THE THEFT OF OUR NAME
If 1972 was the death of the federation, 1984 was the erasure of our identity.
On 4 February 1984, President Paul Biya signed Law No. 84-1, changing the country's name from the United Republic of Cameroon to the Republic of Cameroon.
Why does this matter?
Because "Republic of Cameroon" was the name of French Cameroun before 1961.
It was the name of the French territory that gained independence on 1 January 1960. It was the name that existed before Southern Cameroons joined.
By reverting to this name, Biya was sending a clear message: The union is over. This is French Cameroun. You are just guests here.
As the Minority Rights Group noted: "The name was changed from United Republic of Cameroon to just Republic of Cameroon—a name that the Francophone Cameroon had before the 1961 plebiscite."
They erased us from the country's name. They erased us from its identity.
---
SECTION 7: THE 1996 CONSTITUTION – "ONE AND INDIVISIBLE"?
Now we come to the phrase they love to quote: "one and indivisible."
Article 1(2) of the 1996 Constitution states: "The Republic of Cameroon shall be a decentralized unitary State. It shall be one and indivisible, secular, democratic and dedicated to social service."
They wave this constitution like a shield. They say, "See? The constitution says we are one. You cannot divide what the constitution says is indivisible."
But here is what they do not tell you:
This constitution was written by the very people who destroyed the federation.
The 1996 Constitution was not a fresh social contract agreed by all Cameroonians. It was an amendment to the 1972 Constitution—the constitution that abolished the federation through a fraudulent referendum.
You cannot use a document born of illegality to legalize that illegality.
The 1996 Constitution says Cameroon is "one and indivisible." But it was written by the same regime that:
· Rigged the 1972 referendum
· Abolished the federation
· Changed the country's name in 1984
· Suppressed all opposition
This is not a constitution. This is a weapon.
---
SECTION 8: THE HIDDEN FACTS
Let us now expose what they have tried to bury.
Hidden Fact #1: The UN never approved the abolition of the federation.
When Southern Cameroons joined the Federal Republic of Cameroon in 1961, it was under a UN-approved framework. The UN recognized the federation as the legitimate outcome of the plebiscite.
But when Ahidjo abolished the federation in 1972, there was no UN approval. There was no international oversight. There was no consultation with the people of Southern Cameroons.
The federation was destroyed without the consent of the international community that had created it.
Hidden Fact #2: The 1972 referendum was illegal under the federation's own constitution.
The Federal Constitution of 1961 had a provision for amending the constitution. But it required the consent of both federated states.
West Cameroon did not consent to the abolition of the federation. The referendum was a unilateral act by the East Cameroonian government.
It was not a constitutional amendment. It was a coup d'état.
Hidden Fact #3: The international community has recognized the distinct status of Southern Cameroons.
In 2017, a communication was filed with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights on behalf of the people of the "former UN Trust Territory of the Southern Cameroons." The complaint traced the territory's history from 1916 through the League of Nations mandate, the UN Trusteeship, and the 1961 plebiscite.
The fact that this complaint was filed—and that it traces a distinct legal history—demonstrates that Southern Cameroons is not just a "region" of Cameroon. It is a territory with its own international legal personality.
Hidden Fact #4: The "one and indivisible" principle was imposed, not agreed.
The phrase "one and indivisible" appears in the 1996 Constitution. But it did not appear in the 1961 Federal Constitution.
The 1961 Constitution established a federation of two states. The 1972 Constitution abolished that federation. The 1984 law erased the name of the federation. The 1996 Constitution added the phrase "one and indivisible."
Each step was taken without the consent of the people of Southern Cameroons.
This is not a principle. It is a slogan imposed by force.
---
SECTION 9: THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION
So let us return to their claim: "Cameroon is one and indivisible."
Our response is simple:
Cameroon is one and indivisible—if you exclude Ambazonia.
Because the truth is:
· Cameroon was two territories before 1961
· Cameroon was two states in a federation from 1961 to 1972
· Cameroon was one unitary state from 1972 to 1984 (but the union was fraudulent)
· Cameroon became "Republic of Cameroon" in 1984—the name of French Cameroun only
· Cameroon has been one and indivisible only since 1996—according to a constitution written by the regime that destroyed the union
You cannot claim "one and indivisible" when you destroyed the union that made us one.
You cannot claim "one and indivisible" when you erased our name from the country.
You cannot claim "one and indivisible" when you rigged the referendum that abolished our federation.
You cannot claim "one and indivisible" when you have spent decades marginalizing, oppressing, and killing our people.
You cannot claim "one and indivisible" when we never agreed to be one with you in the first place.
---
SECTION 10: CONCLUSION – THE TRUTH CANNOT BE BURIED
They will continue to chant "one and indivisible." They will continue to post it on their pages. They will continue to send their paid agents to attack our pages with their slogans.
But they cannot change history.
The documents exist. The plebiscite results exist. The UN resolutions exist. The 1961 Constitution exists. The 1972 referendum fraud is documented. The 1984 name change is recorded. The 1996 Constitution is public.
The truth is not on their side. It is on ours.
Cameroon is two. It has always been two. And it will always be two—until the people of Southern Cameroons decide otherwise.
We are not a region. We are a nation.
We are not a minority. We are a people.
We are not divisible from Cameroon. We were never fully joined to it.
Long Live the People's Federal Republic of Ambazonia!
The Truth Cannot Be Buried.
---
