A Salute to Our African Nations: Sudan and Cameroon  

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER:

This article continues our salute to the independence anniversary of African nations. This acknowledges our respect and appreciation of our brothers and sisters among us as we work together to build better lives. 

Sudan’s path to independence was shaped by a long history of powerful African civilizations and successive waves of foreign rule. Known in antiquity as Nubia, the region was home to the Kingdoms of Kerma and Kush, which thrived politically and culturally for centuries before declining in the first millennium A.D. After the fall of Kush, Christian Nubian kingdoms dominated until around 1500, when Arab migration accelerated the spread of Islam. In the 19th century, Sudan fell under Egyptian control backed by Britain, and in 1899 it became the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium—nominally ruled by both powers but effectively governed by Britain.

Sudanese nationalism grew in the early 20th century as educated elites and political movements demanded self-rule. After World War II, pressure for independence intensified amid global decolonization. Negotiations between Britain, Egypt, and Sudanese leaders led to self-government in 1954, and on January 1,1956, Sudan formally gained independence. However, unresolved regional, ethnic, and religious divisions would soon challenge the unity of the new nation.

Cameroon’s path to independence was shaped by layered systems of foreign rule that followed strong precolonial chiefdoms and kingdoms. In 1884, Germany established the colony of Kamerun, exploiting its agricultural and strategic potential. After Germany’s defeat in World War I, the League of Nations divided the territory between France and Britain, creating French Cameroon and British Cameroons. Under French administration, nationalist movements—most notably the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC)—emerged, demanding independence and political representation, often facing repression from colonial authorities.

On January 1, 1960, French Cameroon gained independence as the Republic of Cameroon under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. A year later, following a UN-organized plebiscite, the southern part of British Cameroons voted to join the new republic, forming a federal state that reflected the country’s French and English colonial legacies. In 1972, a constitutional referendum replaced federalism with a unitary state, reshaping governance. While Cameroon achieved early post-independence stability, tensions rooted in this colonial divide continue to influence its political landscape today.