The history of Cameroon is not merely a chronicle of post-colonial transition; it is a harrowing account of a “hidden war,” a state-sponsored genocide, and the calculated installation of a puppet regime designed to preserve French interests at any cost. From the 1950s to the present day, Cameroon’s political landscape has been defined by two men—Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya—and the blood of hundreds of thousands who dared to dream of true sovereignty.
Advertisement
1. The Colonial Blueprint: From Shrimp to Stolen Sovereignty
The entity known as Cameroon is a colonial construct. In 1472, Portuguese explorers named the region Rio dos Camarões (River of Shrimp). By 1884, the territory was signed away during the Scramble for Africa. Two local leaders, King Bell and King Akwa, signed the Germano-Douala Treaty, effectively selling the rights to their entire nation for 27,000 German marks—roughly $40,000 in today’s currency.
The German era was defined by brutal extraction and human rights atrocities. When the Baka people resisted, they were hunted like animals; some were even shipped to Germany to be displayed in cages at zoos alongside monkeys. Following Germany’s defeat in World War I, the League of Nations split the territory: France took the larger eastern portion, and Britain took a western strip. This artificial divide sowed the seeds of the “Anglophone Crisis” that persists today.
2. The Rise of the UPC: Real Independence vs. “Pacification.”
In 1948, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) was formed. Led by the charismatic and brilliant Ruben Um Nyobé, the UPC was a true grassroots movement. By 1955, it had 80,000 members and hundreds of village committees. Nyobé’s platform was clear:
-
Reunification of British and French Cameroon.
-
Total self-governance.
-
A fixed date for independence.
France, fearing the loss of its economic grip, labeled the UPC as “communists” and “terrorists.” In May 1955, peaceful protests were met with machine-gun fire, killing dozens. On July 13, 1955, France officially banned the UPC, forcing its leaders into the maquis (the forest) or exile.
The Hidden War
What followed was what France called “pacification,” but what history recognizes as a brutal colonial war. High Commissioner Pierre Messmer and Lieutenant Colonel Jean Lamberton, both veterans of the defeat in Indochina, applied “total war” tactics:
-
ZOPAC (Cameroon Pacification Zone): Entire regions were declared forbidden zones where anyone found was shot on sight.
-
Regroupment Camps: Civilians were forced into concentration-style camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards to cut off the UPC’s food supply.
-
Psychological Warfare: Resistance fighters were decapitated, and their heads were displayed on spikes in village squares to terrorize the populace.
While official French records admitted to only a few thousand deaths, independent researchers and village records suggest a staggering toll: between 100,000 and 400,000 people were killed. In a country of 5 million, this was the systematic extermination of nearly 10% of the population.
3. The Manufacturing of Ahmadou Ahidjo
With the UPC’s leadership being hunted down—Ruben Um Nyobé was shot in the back by French troops in 1958—France needed a compliant face for “independence.” They chose Ahmadou Ahidjo, a former telegraph operator who had been groomed within the French administration.
Advertisement
French officials later admitted to rigging the 1947 elections to ensure Ahidjo’s rise. On January 1, 1960, Cameroon was granted “independence,” but it was a theater of sovereignty. Ahidjo signed “cooperation agreements” that gave France control over the military, the currency (CFA Franc), and strategic resources.
The Systematic Assassinations
Ahidjo spent the first decade of his rule eliminating the remaining UPC leaders with French assistance:
-
Dr. Felix Moumié: Poisoned by French agents in Geneva in 1960.
-
Osende Afana: Beheaded in the forest in 1966; his head was reportedly flown to Yaoundé for Ahidjo to inspect personally.
-
Ernest Ouandié: The last major leader, captured and publicly executed in Bafoussam in 1971.
4. The Handover: From Ahidjo to Biya
By 1966, Ahidjo had established a one-party state under the UNC (Union Nationale Camerounaise). He built schools and roads, but the economy remained a French subsidiary.
In 1982, something “weird” happened. At age 58 and in good health, Ahidjo resigned. The reason remains a subject of intense debate, but it is widely believed that French President François Mitterrand, who despised Ahidjo, pressured him out. Ahidjo handpicked his Prime Minister, Paul Biya, to succeed him.
The Comparison of Power
| Feature | Ahmadou Ahidjo (1960–1982) | Paul Biya (1982–Present) |
| Origin | Northern Muslim | Southern Catholic |
| Style | Disciplined, Centralized | Reclusive, “Absentee Ruler” |
| Rise to Power | Installed by the French military | Handpicked by Ahidjo |
| Legacy | Built the infrastructure | Presided over long-term stagnation |
5. The Bloody Divorce and the 1984 Coup
Ahidjo assumed Biya would be a “paper pusher” he could control from the shadows. He was wrong. Biya quickly began purging Ahidjo’s loyalists from the cabinet. The tension peaked in 1983 when Biya accused Ahidjo of a plot to assassinate him.
On April 6, 1984, the Republican Guard (mostly loyal to Ahidjo) launched a bloody coup attempt. The presidential palace was besieged. Estimates of the dead range from 71 to over 1,000. Biya survived and used the aftermath to execute 35 guards and sentence Ahidjo to death in absentia. Ahidjo, the “Father of the Nation,” was stripped of his citizenship and died a stateless man in Senegal in 1989. His body remains in Dakar to this day.
6. The 43-Year Silence
Since 1984, Paul Biya has maintained a grip on power that has outlasted his predecessor. He inherited a system designed by France and Ahidjo to crush dissent. Under Biya, the “silent genocide” of the UPC era remained a forbidden topic for decades.
Today, Cameroon remains a country where the past is buried in mass graves. The system installed to protect colonial profits continues to function, while the people who fought for a truly free Cameroon—the heroes of the UPC—remain largely unhonored in the land they died to liberate.