Exogenous Obstacles to Peace in the War for Ambazonia Sovereignty

Conflicts are easier to resolve when the causes are known. The causes of the war that were declared by French Cameroon against the English-speaking people of Cameroon in 2017 were well known. Tension had been brewing between the two culturally and linguistically distinct people for over half a century. It all began in 1961, the year when the people were hoodwinked into participating in a plebiscite that preconditioned their independence on two disagreeable options: independence “by joining” Nigeria or French Cameroon. None of the two options were envisaged or provided in the text of the UN Trusteeship Agreement that gave Britain the authority to administer and prepare the territory for independence and self-rule.