A TRUST BETRAYED: The Transfer of British Southern Cameroons to a Successor Colonialist -- Part 2 of 3

The termination of UN trusteeship over the British Southern Cameroons was, to say the least, controversial, and did not result in the 'self-government or independence' for the territory promised in Article 76 b of the Charter of the UN. When what took place is intelligently analyzed it is clear that there was simply a succession of colonialists. Cameroun Republic succeeded to the UK as the new colonial authority in the Southern Cameroons. The territory therefore simply moved from being a dependency of one power, Britain, far away across the seas and tired of administering the territory. It became a dependency of another power, Cameroun Republic, next door, lately de-colonized by France and eager to add to its tiny and limited maritime coast by grabbing new territory that gave it enormous natural resources as well as greater and better access to the sea. British Southern Cameroons moved from internationally supervised British colonial rule to brutal colonial rule by Cameroun Republic, a political, economic and cultural colonialism that is far more dehumanizing and exploitative. That colonialism remains unchecked on account of the fact that it is not subject to any organized international scrutiny.

British Cameroons: Agreements were Null and Void

My father used to tell me that before I crossed his door post to go to school; my successes and grades were already incised on the walls of his house. I would pensively dismiss what he was saying as a prank. If I got poor marks in my mathematics lessons which were not my favorite discipline,   I attributed my failure to myself, my teacher or both.  If I had aces, I did not blame anyone. I glowed in darkness and worked harder like a bee. Eventually, I got to know that the street of life could never be paved with aces. Kings and queens at the end get decapitated. We witnessed King Haile Selassie I (Ras Tafari) of Ethiopia's demise in the hands of the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam who after plundering his country made an exit to Zimbabwe in 1991. We saw Master Sergeant Doe of Liberia dying on his podium being severed limb by limb till he died. We saw our beloved President Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso speaking his mind before his assassination. What have we not seen and yet to see?   If successes could emanate from our homes, similarly our failure could stem from there. The fundamental question is how did the failures of the British Cameroons come from their home?