Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den

Equatorial Guinea - "Once Upon a Coup" Airs on PBS Today (Preview)

A failed coup attempt…a British mercenary in a notorious African prison…a dictator suspicious of Western powers…and beneath it all, a spectacular underwater oil reserve that the world’s major powers would love to get their hands on.

It may sound like the latest John LeCarré bestseller, but in fact it’s the real-life intrigue of Once upon a Coup, WIDE ANGLE’s penetrating look at the mysterious goings-on in Equatorial Guinea, a tiny West African nation newly rich with oil and infamous for corruption. The story begins in 2004, when a group of mercenaries, including a British ex-special forces officer named Simon Mann, is arrested in Zimbabwe.

Memory Lane Video (February 11, 1961): The British Cameroons Plebiscite

UPDATE: Click here to watch video. (Youtube video embed not working)
Video erroneously labeled as 20th May 1972 West Cameroon plebiscite...

CAMEROON: Independence plebiscite

Reuters - 15 February 1961: A West African country divided in two..... this is likely to be the result of a plebiscite held in the Cameroons, on Feb. 11 and 12. Final results have yet to be announced, but in Northern Cameroons there is already an unbeatable majority in favour of union with Nigeria, while in the Southern Cameroons, it is reported that a final majority in favour of union with the Cameroon Republic is already certain.

Memory Lane Video (Buea, May 17 1958): Dr. EML Endeley at the Governor's Lodge

Scenes from Buea, Southern Cameroons, as new House of Assembly set to open.

UPDATE: Click here to watch video on youtube (Video embed no longer working)

Description of video

 1.
 Inside Secretariat, Buea - "Berlin" nameplate on safe door
 
 2.
 Bismarck on Buea fountain. Shots 1 & 2 to emphasise remnants of German influence still remain (Cameroons was German colony until First World War). Shot 7 also.

25 Years Ago... Former First Lady Germaine Ahidjo on the 1984 Coup Attempt

In this final installment in our ongoing series on the April 6, 1984 coup attempt, we finally hear from former First Lady Germaine Ahidjo. In Part 1, she responds to long-standing claims that the April 1984 coup was the handiwork of her husband Ahmadou Ahidjo, Paul Biya's predecessor. And in Part 2 she talks about the life of the Ahidjo family immediately after the coup, of the Ahidjos being stripped of their Cameroonian nationality by the Biya regime, and the death and burial of the former president in Dakar, Senegal, in November 1989 (French).

See also: Repaid in his own Coins: Ahmadou Ahidjo and the Politics of Ostracism

Memory Lane Video (March 13, 1962): President Kennedy Welcomes Ahmadou Ahidjo

President Kennedy welcomes President Ahmadou Ahidjo of Cameroon at Washington National Airport - March 13, 1962.

Mr. President:
I want to welcome you to the United States and to this Capital on behalf of the American people. I think all of us, living as we do a great many thousand miles from your own country, having a different history, separated in time and space, are impressed by the efforts that you personally have made, and your people have made, to build a viable and strong economy and country. 
   

Memory Lane (Video): Foncha, Ahidjo & the Cameroons Unification

A brief report on the unification of the British and French Cameroons. What expectations did Southern Cameroons leaders have of unification? What promises did the leaders of the French Cameroons make with regards to unification? How did the erstwhile equal relationship between Premier Foncha and President Ahidjo become be a subaltern one? Documentary contains very rare archival video footage and audio clips from the 1960s and 1970s. (In French).

Memory Lane (November 1982): The Ahidjo-Biya Transition

Rare video footage and report (in French) on Ahmadou Ahidjo's resignation as President of Cameroon on November 4, 1982 and Paul Biya's swearing-in on November 6, 1982 - at least some of us had the opportunity to witness, in our lifetime a (peaceful) transfer of power in Cameroon...  

Movie Trailer - Kuva Likenye and the Bakweri Armed Resistance to German Colonization

AFRICAphonie (with an OSIWA support) presents Kuva Likenye, a historical Documentary. Directed by Kome Epule Mathias. Editor: Njukeng George Njukeng. Script Consultant: Dibussi Tande. Narrator Muema Meombo. Executive Producer: George Ngwane.

For details on how to obtain a copy of the documentary, contact:

George Ngwane
Executive Director
AFRICAphonie
Tel: 77 66 84 79
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]