TIBOR, “MINI STATES” ARE EVERYWHERE
By RAY TIMAH, Southern Cameroons Political Scientist
I have no issues with the outing of Mr. Tibor Nagy, US Secretary of State For Africa except for his mentioning of the need to avoid the creation of more “Mini State” in Africa. By that, it is fair for anybody to assert that his position is influence by the size of Southern Cameroons and not the legality or legitimacy of the independence quest. Citing a predictable poverty and foreign aid burden as a tenet for “mini States” even makes it clearer, that the respectable diplomat cast the wrong dice.
I don’t mean to be disrespectful to the prolific diplomat, but his statement is weak by all ramifications. Is like asking a woman in the hearing of her violent husband, to remain in an abusive marriage because of the existence of poverty among divorcee. This is more of a free boxing license awarded to the beast of a husband to strangle the wife since poverty and debt burden awaits her exit.
WHAT NAGY FORGOT
Just a quick reminder, the Mini State he cited (Southern Cameroons) was the first to have a free, fair and transparent Election in Africa, where an opposition won and came to power through a peaceful transition. In essence, we are not struggling to create a mini-state, we are restoring a State whose people had embrace and manifested democratic principles even before the so-called “LARGE STATES”.
The restoration of our statehood is an act of restorative justice and justice is not granted by looking at the height, weight or shape of a man, it is granted base on the provision of facts, within a framework of established principles that exposes the TRUTH. If size was a standard variable, then, Kosovo would’ve been left to perish. Or if “Mini State” is a hallmark of Poverty and foreign aid, then a Macro State like Nigeria would’ve been free from poverty, while Swaziland would’ve been in penury. I think his statement is not logical and falls short of any moral and legal argument even within the context of US Foreign policy. Take for instance…
MINI STATE ARGUMENT VIS-A-VIS SOUTHERN CAMEROONS.
In 1947, the State of Palau became a UN trust territory under the administrative authority of the United States of America, just as British Southern Cameroons was a trust territory under the authority of the British. Palau who shares maritime boundaries with the Philippines, Indonesia, and Micronesia, was persuaded to Join the Federated State of Micronesia in the 1975 UN-sponsored referendum.
Unlike British Southern Cameroons who were cornered with 2 disastrous choices, the people of Palau and the Trust Pacific Island States were given 6 open options to choose
1) Independence
2) Commonwealth
3) Free Association
4) Statehood
5) To retain the current status
6) Another Status.
Palau rejected the move to vote for independence and form the Federated State of Micronesia which was a combination of other pacific Island States under the Trusteeship.
The vast majority of Palauans argued that any attempt by the US or the UN to push Palau to join the other pacific island state and form the Federated State of Micronesia was a violation of article 76 sub 1b of the UN charter which reads…
“The basic objectives of the trusteeship system shall be: To promote the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the trust territories, and their progressive development towards self-government or independence as may be appropriate to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned, and as may be provided by the terms of each trusteeship agreement”
They voted to maintain the current Trusteeship Status and later file for Self government in a compact with the US. 4 referendums to seal the Compact agreement was rejected by Palau and the 5th was successful.
The US respected their right to decide as a people without taking into consideration the size of landmass or population. UN #Resolution 683 of 1990 as (seen on the shot below) didn’t discriminate against the size and patiently waited for them to make their decision. And in 1994 Palau became a sovereign State and was admitted into the United Nations on the 15th Dec 1994 as the Republic of Palau.
WHAT IS THE SIZE OF PALAU.
The Republic of Palau has a population of about 22.000 people as per the world bank report of 2019 which is about 20 times less than the Population of Buea. Palau has a capital city that has a population of about 316 people.
The surface area of the Republic of Palau is about 466 square kilometers which are almost half the size of the Buea Municipality with a surface area of 780 km r square. Not just Palau, the combination of Maldive, Micronesia, Mariana island and the Republic of Paula is not up 1.5 million people. Even the total landmass of the above mentioned UN member states cant equate that of Southern Cameroons.
IN AFRICA
The population of Seychelles(97,000), Sao Tome and Principe(194,000), Cape Verde (525000), Djibouti(961,000), Swaziland(111,900), Mauritius(1263000) put together does not amount to the population of Southern Cameroons. Botswana with a population of about 2.3 m people is doing great.
The funniest part is that Nagy is asking a former class B trust territory to grant decentralization to another former class B territory. As a people, we have accepted all forms of insults, but we shall define our self. Whether Nagy was speaking with a diplomatic tongue or not, only Southern Cameroonians will decide their fate. #collaborate and you will listen to the twist of many tongues.
RAY TIMAH
8 comments
Brilliant write-up indeed. We are tired of double standards. It is time for Ambassonians to take their destiny into their hands.
Even though Cris Anu in his latest outing on ABC has stated that Tibor Nagy’s comment was a 2018 edition of his opinion on the topic of our struggle, the government in Yaoundé and its apologists the likes of “ma kontri pipo dem” have ran away with it, claiming that it buttresses their stance for a ‘one and indivisible’ Cameroun. Folks, neither Mr. Tibor Nagy nor any other person or organization will EVER determine for Ambazonians what is good for Ambazonians. It is INDEPENDENCE and nothing else but INDEPENDENCE, come rain or shine.
Thanks Mr. RAY TIMAH for putting in considerable effort in researching and presenting the facts for the world and our detractors to see and read for themselves. Long live our brave fighters on ground zero, Long live the people and territory of Southern Cameroons now called Ambazonia. Rest in Peace victims of LRC massacre. You all are martyrs forever etched in our memories.
YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT ALL THE COUNTRIES MENTIONED ARE ISLANDS !
Interesting that you learn something new every day even if it is faulty . Never knew Djibouti and Swaziland were Island countries. You may want to read your map of Africa, again!!
SOUTHERN CAMEROON IS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE A MINI-STATE. YOUR ASSESSMENT IS FAULTY, MR TIBOR NAGY. NO TO A LOBSIDED UNION, NO TO A DECENTRALIZATION THAT WILL NEVER WORK. West Cameroon (WC) was not a mini-state before it joined a union in 1961 with La Republique du Cameroun (LRC) formerly known as East Cameroon. WC was one of the most vibrant and functional democracies in Africa before it joined LRC, which was in turmoil, as it was engaged in a chronic bloody civil war against UPC freedom fighters treated as the so-called “marquisards”, who had fled to take shelter in the bushes and even in West Cameroon. Why does Mr. Nagy go to the extent of treating West Cameroon as a mini-state, when Seychelles, Comoros, Djibouti, etc. are doing well even though they are smaller in population and/or size than West Cameroon?
Mr. Tibor Nagy keeps on talking about decentralization which has failed from all perspectives. As a failure, decentralization is seen in particular as a strategy to dilute and water down the autonomy of West Cameroon, by reducing it to regions that can easily be manipulated and subjected to the autocratic rule of dictators (Ahidjo and Biya so far) on a divide-and-conquer basis. Given that decentralization carries no weight in terms of good governance and the elimination of the endemic corruption that characterize the kleptocratic attitude of most nationals of LRC, it is apparently unrealistic to merge two autonomous peoples with two different cultures – one, West Cameroon, which believes in a transparent and not a sham democracy and the rule of law, and the other, East Cameroon, which has been used to living in anarchy and a total disrespect for the rule of law.
East Cameroun basically has weak socio-economic institutions and an even weaker political foundation, allowing a single individual, Mr. Paul Biya, to rule for 37 years, after his predecessor, Ahidjo had ruled for more than 22 years. Up till now LRC does not even have a proper ratified constitution that cannot be altered by the whims and fancies of the dictator. Is this the hell you want West Cameroon to stay in union with? A common sense question for Mr Nagy to ask is why in a union of two states of equal status only East Cameroonians, Ahidjo and Biya, have ruled Cameroon so far, as if West Cameroonians were totally nonexistent.
It is because, in reality, West Cameroonians are despised and marginalized – a tendency that cannot be altered, inasmuch as East Cameroonians invariably claim a numerical advantage, which was not part of the founding criteria for the union. Therefore, as the union has not worked, and decentralization has made and will continue to make matters worse, as it will water down West Cameroon’s constitutional autonomy, the most logical, practical and permanent solution is two let the two autonomous independent states go their separate ways. How long will it take the world to understand this basic reality, as innocent Ambazonians continue to be slaughtered by Biya and his militiamen?
Excellent one there we are tired of this rubish from la republic du Cameroon and Ambazonia statehood shall be restored come rain come sun
AMBAZONIA, A COUNTRY OF SIGNIFICANT SIZE. First, a point of correction. Djibouti and Swaziland are not island nations. Djibouti in the horn of Africa is smaller in population and size than Ambazonia. It is virtually half the size (some 23 000 sq km) of Ambazonia and in terms of population (below or just about 1 million inhabitants) – just about one quarter of Ambazonia, a country some conservative estimates put at over 4 million.
Many embassies (US, France, China, Russia, Germany, etc) are represented in Djibouti, which is well located in terms of geo-strategic considerations (access to the Gulf of Aden, etc.) Similarly, Ambazonia provides easy access to the Atlantic Ocean via the natural deep sea port of Victoria.
Swaziland like Lesotho are small enclaves within South Africa, which are each smaller in size geographically and in terms of population than Ambazonia. Rwanda (approx. 26000 sq km) and Burundi (approx 27000 km) each are each smaller in size geographically than Ambazonia. Gambia (approx 12000 sq km) is far smaller than Ambazonia with a size of more than 40000 sq km). Guinea Bissau and Equatorial Guinea are each far smaller in terms of population than Ambazonia. Gabon is virtually 2 million inhabitants, just half of Ambazonia’s population. With some 5 million inhabitants, the Republic of Congo has virtually the same population size as Ambazonia.
The foregoing statistics grossly contradict Mr. Tibor Nagy’s thesis that Ambazonia is a mini-state. There must be a hidden agenda, on the basis of which Mr. Nagy underestimates both the population and geographical size of Ambazonia, which compare reasonably larger than a good number of countries in Africa and many more worldwide. It is high time Mr. Tibor Nagy start adhering to the truth, rather than attempt to project any falsehoods as reasons for Ambazonia being a “mini-state”. In view of the foregoing, Mr Nagy will find a hard time to contradict the truth that on basis of relevant statistics alone that qualify Ambazonia for statehood from every perspective, and taking into account the the fact that Ambazonia was already a functional democracy at independence in 1961, no further rational argument can be raised against Ambazonia’s independence NOW.
LONG LIVE MR. TIBOR NAGY.YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST ASKED THESE SUB-HUMAN CREATURES IF THEY WORE CLOTHES IN 1880.YOU SPOKE THE TRUTH TO THEM FOR NO ONE CAN AFFORD THE LUXURY OF A NEW STATE FOUNDED ON “BANTU” PRINCIPLES WHEN THEY CAN ONLY DESTROY AND NOT CREATE OR INVENT.WHEN YOU THE GOOD WHITE MAN CAME IN 1800’S THEY WALKED ROUND NAKED WITH BIG BLACK HORSES OR DICKS.HOW THE FUCK DO THEY TURN AROUND AND TALK OF AN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC BEFORE 1961 WHEN THEY WERE FIRST CARCO OF THE GERMANS UP TO 1919,THEN THE BRITISH UNTIL 1961 AND THEN CAMEROON???THERE WILL NEVER BE AND WAS NEVER ANY REPUBLIC OF AMBAZONIA OF FOREST AND GRAFFI BANTUS WHO HATE EACH OTHER WITH PURPLE PASSION.AMBAZONIA IMAGINARY REPUBLIC PURPORTS TO BE ANGLO-SAXON !GOODNESS ME!ENGLAND WOULD BE THE FIRST TO RECOGNIZE ITS OWN!THANKS FOR TELLING THEM THE TRUTH BUT THESE SUB-HUMAN BANTUS ARE STUCK IN THEIR STUBBORN WAYS HENCE THE BARRAGE OF EMAILS AND WRITE-UPS BY THEM CRITICIZING YOU.MISS JUDITH NWANA CAN CRY ME BUCKETS BUT THE WORLD WILL NEVER SEE ANY IMAGINARY REPUBLIC OF AMABAZONIA CREATED BY THE ASYLEE IN ENGLAD DIMINUTIES OLUMBA OLUMBA BLOOD DRINKING MAD MAN CALLED GOJI DINKA AND THE BOWANGO BABOON CALLED NJO LITUMTUMBE.FUCK AMABAZONIA IMAGINARY PUTATIVE REPUBLIC.THEY WALKED NAKED IN 1880 AND WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE MENTALITY OF BIG DICK DESTROYERS!PIECES OF SHIT.AMABAZONIA MY ASS.