The 1994 CFA Franc Devaluation — Winners & Losers
What if the African presidents refused devaluation? What options did they have?
On January 12, 1994, the CFA franc was devalued by 50% overnight. Prices doubled. Savings evaporated. A generation lost...
Two Paths Through the Lost Decade — Cameroon vs. Nigeria
What if Cameroon had done what Nigeria did — rejected the IMF loan but implemented the same policies...
In 1986, oil prices collapsed. Cameroon and Nigeria faced the same crisis. One accepted an IMF loan. The other rejected...
Cameroon's Petroldollars - Where Did the Billions Go?
What if Cameroon had saved its oil revenues like Norway?
Oil was discovered in 1977. The economy boomed. Then everything collapsed. By 1993, Cameroon was half as rich as it had...
Ernest Ouandié — The Last Maquisard
What if the catechist had kept silent?
The last commander of the UPC's armed struggle. Captured in Mbanga after years in hiding. Publicly executed by firing...
Ahmadou Ahidjo — The Unifier or the Centralist?
What if Ahidjo had never resigned?
A Muslim Fulani from the north who unified French and British Cameroon, then dismantled the federation he created. He...
Ruben Um Nyobé — The Man Called Mpodol
What if the traitor did not betray him?
The UPC leader who demanded immediate independence from France. Assassinated in 1958. His name was forbidden for 32...
The Germano-Douala Treaty (1884) — Too Late Hewett.
What if the Douala kings had waited one more week for the British?
After the flag went up, Germany had made its claim visible. To challenge it now would mean war with a European power....
May 20, 1972 — The Referendum that Re-coded the Nation
What if the 56,646 registered voters who didn't show up had voted 'NON'?
On the surface, the math is unforgiving. Even if every single one of the 56,646 registered voters who stayed home had...
Félix-Roland Moumié — The Poisoned Revolutionary
What if Moumié had survived Geneva?
Took over the UPC after Um Nyobé's death. Assassinated in Geneva in 1960 by French secret service using thallium...
The Ahidjo-Biya Transition (1982) — The Quiet Handover
What if the French Doctor Had Told the Truth?
On November 4, 1982, the people of Cameroon woke to news that stunned the nation and the continent.
