Ph.d Martin Ayong Ayim

Former British Southern Cameroons Journey Towards Complete Decolonization, Independence, and Sovereignty.: a Comprehensive Compilation of Efforts and Historical Documentation Ph.d Martin Ayong Ayim

Strong Pre-Plebiscite Position of British Southern Cameroons Leaders The two leaders (Endeley and Foncha, Former and current Prime Ministers) accepted completely dropping the idea of joining Nigeria or Cameroon, simply requesting of the British administering authority the granting of independence to the Southern Cameroons in its own right (Kale 1967: 70; Awasom 1980: 57). This decision was happily welcomed by the British Commissioner, J. O. Fields, and it led to the London Talks of November 1960. The London Talk was chaired by the British Secretary of State for Colonies. It was attended by the Commissioner J. O. Fields, and the Southern Cameroonian leaders including E. M. L. Endeley, J. N. Foncha, P. M. Motomby-Woleta, Reverend Kangsen, S. E. Ncha, Fon Galega II of Bali, and Fon Oben of Mamfe. Discussions on the independence of the Southern Cameroons were moving toward fruition, but not for long. The atmosphere soon changed dramatically, for it was filled with a diversity of views, and "so these other roundtable talks ended in smoke" (Kale 1967: 70). 19 Foncha and Endeley had to campaign to obtain independence for the Southern Cameroons, either by reunifying with Cameroon or the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in spite of themselves. The Southern Cameroons, therefore, presented "one of the most bizarre cases in history where a territory had to gain its independence by attaching itself to an already independent state" (Awasom 1980: 58). Whatever effort necessaryWhen you're willing to make an initial effort, you'll succeed sometimes. Take the next step, make a second effort, and you'll succeed more often. If you're prepared to make a third, fourth, or fifth effort, you'll reach a much higher success rate. And when you commit to putting forth whatever effort is necessary, you will achieve whatever you choose. Real and lasting success usually requires more than one attempt. If you make just a single attempt and then give