Southern Cameroons National Council - Creation

Creation

After achieving independence in the 1950s, Cameroon took territorial control over the area of British Cameroons and adopted a federal structure giving some autonomy to the former British area. When Biya came to power in 1982, he began centralizing power and creating a single-party state. In 1993, the All Anglophone Conference formed pushing for a return to the autonomy provided to the Southern Cameroons under the federal system. In 1994, the Bamenda Declaration of large members of the AAC decided to work toward secession rather than autonomy. This resulted the next year in the creation of the Southern Cameroon People's Conference (SCPC) formed as an umbrella organization bringing together student, trade organizations, and political organizations committed to independence, rather than a return to autonomy. The Southern Cameroons National Council was the elected body in charge of organizing SCPC efforts with the initial chairman being Sam Ekontang Elad.