Last Saturday, 6 March 2021, interview of Ambazonia’s Vice President, Dabney Yerima, on South Africa’s major TV broadcaster, SABC News, was a breakthrough for the pro-independence movement in the Southern Cameroons in their quest to get their plight covered by the international media. The 7pm primetime interview by Ms Francis Herd was intense but fair and is expected to open diplomatic and humanitarian doors after an exposure to a viewership of over 30 million in the South African sub-region.

During the 13 minutes interview, Dabney Yerima was asked to clarify why the pro-independence movement calls their newly created country Ambazonia when the state does not exist in the international community of nations. The exiled Ambazonian leader invoked the theory of self-determination and insisted that the people of Southern Cameroons have never been a part of French Cameroun and is within their rights under international norms to seek sovereignty.

Pressed on the issue of multiple factions in the Ambazonia struggle, the Ambazonia Vice President asserted that there is only one group leading the people of Ambazonia to freedom with President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who is now serving a French Cameroun concocted life sentence in Yaoundé, as the leader.

Ms Francis Herd used her killer punches and pushed the Southern Cameroons Vice President to explain if the conflict has any meaningful justification. Yerima was unequivocal in affirming that the Southern Cameroons war of independence has been bloody but worthy. He showered praises on the members of the British parliament who recently called on the UK government to intervene in finding a solution to the crisis.

As millions of children in the war-torn country have not been to school for over four years, Mr Yerima was questioned to explain the Ambazonia Interim Government’s policy on school attendance. He opined that “we have left the decision to send children to school with parents. We recognise that these are some of the sacrifices that the people of Ambazonia will have to make to attain the independence. We are also looking at opening community schools in areas that are safe for us to do so”

The Ambazonian Vice President expressed the Southern Cameroons Interim Government’s gratitude to the US Senate for passing US Senate Resolution 684 which called on the US government to explore placing targeted sanctions on members of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate regime in Yaoundé for gross human rights violations in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The exiled Ambazonian leader furthered by calling on the United Nations to establish a fact finding mission to the Southern Cameroons and pointed out that only such a mission would be in position to uncover the gross human rights abuses committed by the soldiers loyal to the Biya French Cameroun regime.

By Vera Eyere Asu