Emmanuel Mbela Lifafa Endeley (10 April 1916 – June 1988) was a
Cameroonian politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who led Southern Cameroonian representatives out of the
Eastern Nigerian House of Assembly in
Enugu
Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...
and negotiated the creation of the
autonomous
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
region of
Southern Cameroons
The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British Empire, British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Re ...
in 1954.
Early career and activism
Endeley was born on 10 April 1916 to Mathias Lifafa and Mariana Mojoko Endeley;
his family were wealthy members of the
Bakweri
The Bakweri (or Kwe) are a Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are closely related to Cameroon's coastal peoples (the Sawa), particularly the Duala and Isubu.
Early survey discussion of these topics may be found in Ardener 1956 ...
ethnic group and his father was a chief of Bakweri. Endeley was born in
Buea
Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of 300,000 (at the 2013 Census). It has two Government Hotels, the Mountain Hotel and P ...
then under the Colony of
German Kamerun
Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern p ...
until administrative control was divided between the French and British after the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
was signed.
He was educated at a newly created British government school in
Buea
Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of 300,000 (at the 2013 Census). It has two Government Hotels, the Mountain Hotel and P ...
and then proceeded to a Catholic Mission School in
Bonjongo both in British
Southern Cameroons
The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British Empire, British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Re ...
. Endeley completed his secondary education at
Government College, Umuahia
Government College Umuahia, or GCU, is an independent secondary school for boys located on Umuahia- Ikot Ekpene road in Umuahia, Nigeria.
Twenty years after the establishment of Kings College, the first government-owned high school, by the Briti ...
in Nigeria. His initial intention was to enroll at
Yaba Higher College
Yaba Higher College was founded in 1932 in Yaba, now a suburb of Lagos in Nigeria to provide tertiary education to Africans, mostly in vocational subjects and teaching. The college staff were transferred to start the University of Ibadan in 1948 ...
to study agriculture but then turned his attention to medicine, later earning a government scholarship to study at the
Nigerian School of Medicine in
Yaba in 1935.
In 1942, he joined the colonial service and took the post of assistant medical officer with his own district, in 1945, he served as chief medical officer in Buea, he also served in a similar capacity in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
and
Port Harcourt. In 1946, his medical license was suspended after a professional charge was brought against him,
Azikiwe
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the n ...
and NCNC in which the youth league was aligned fought against the charges and Endeley gained back his license in 1950 and he returned to practice medicine privately.
Endeley was concerned with providing a voice for workers in British Southern Cameroons and for citizens of that territory in general. As a medical student in 1939, he helped form the
Cameroon Youth League (CYL) in Lagos and became its General Secretary. In 1944, he was a founding member of the
Bakweri Improvement Union. In 1946, after the
United Nation's approved a British trusteeship for Eastern Cameroon, a development corporation was established to stimulate growth in agricultural produce. When Endeley returned to British Cameroons, he joined union organisers of the
Cameroon Development Corporation
The Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC) is one of Cameroon's major exporters and employers. The company was formed in 1947 for the purpose of developing and running plantations of tropical crops in the country. The CDC is an agribusiness ...
(CDC) in Southern Cameroons. A trained medical officer, Endeley was new to union politics when he joined the Cameroon Development Corporation Worker's Union but he studied labour regulations and was able to build the union to a formidable strength. He became union secretary the following year and was union president in 1949. Endeley organised and participated in petitioning United Nations delegations and in organising general strikes. He was a founder of the
Cameroons National Federation (CNF) in 1949 and later served as its president. CNF was later known as Cameroons National Congress.
Political career
Endeley was a delegate to the constitutional conference at
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
that introduced a new constitution, permitted elections into legislative seats and approved African nominees to a Council of Ministers. When elections were conducted in British Cameroons, Endeley led Cameroons National Congress won the plurality of votes in the area.
In 1951, Endeley was elected to the
Eastern Nigerian Assembly in
Enugu
Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...
. Endeley was nominated to the Council of Ministers in 1952 as a minister without portfolio, between 1953 and 1954, he was the Minister of Labour.
He worked to have Southern Cameroons granted special regional status apart from Nigeria; when the
Southern Cameroons Regional Assembly was formed, he was one of its first members. In 1953, Endeley joined
John Ngu Foncha
John Ngu Foncha (21 June 1916 – 10 April 1999) was a Cameroonian politician, who served as 5th Prime Minister of Cameroon.
Career
Foncha was born in Bamenda. He founded the Kamerun National Democratic Party (KNDP) in 1955 and became Premier ...
and
Solomon Tandeng Muna
Salomon Tandeng Muna (27 March 1912 – January 22, 2002) was a Cameroonian politician of the Cameroonian National Union. He served as the first Prime Minister of the federated state of West Cameroon from January 11, 1968 to June 2, 1972. Additio ...
in breaking from the
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
The National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) later changed to the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens, was a Nigerian nationalist political party from 1944 to 1966, during the period leading up to independence and immediately ...
(NCNC) to form the
Kamerun National Congress
The Kamerun National Congress (KNC) was a political party in Southern Cameroons.
History
The KNC was established in 1952 as a merger of two pro-unification parties, the Kamerun United National Congress and the Cameroons National Federation.Mark ...
(KNC), which advocated autonomy for Southern Cameroons. In 1954, British Cameroons became a federal territory with its own House of Assembly and executive council.
However, Endeley's political views changed, and he advocated greater integration of the territory with Nigeria. In 1955, Foncha and Muna broke with the KNC to form the separatist
Kamerun National Democratic Party Kamerun National Democratic Party (KNDP) was a pro-independence political party active in Southern Cameroons (now known as Ambazonia) during the period of British Mandate rule.
Pre-independence
The KNDP was formed in 1955 by John Ngu Foncha. The p ...
(KNDP). Endeley allied the KNC with the
Kamerun's People Party (KPP), another pro-Nigeria group, but the coalition lost seats to the KNDP.
In 1957, Endeley squeaked out a victory to become the first
Prime Minister of Southern Cameroons; he was installed the following year. The following January, voters replaced Endeley with Foncha. In May 1960, his KNC merged with the KPP to form the
Cameroons Peoples' National Convention
British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of Ni ...
(CPNC) to be the main opposition party to Foncha's KNDP. Political opinion was strongly in favour of reunification with French
Cameroun
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, and the United Nations held a plebiscite over the issue on 11 February 1961. Endeley and the CPNC opposed; Endeley released a lengthy pamphlet urging the people of Southern Cameroons to vote "no". Nevertheless, the vote came in favour of reunification.
In the new federal state of
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, Endeley and the CPNC took the role of Foncha's main opposition in
West Cameroon
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
. Endeley supported President
Ahmadou Ahidjo
Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first List of Presidents of Cameroon, President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's inde ...
's moves to create a
one-party system
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
in Cameroon. He served in several more posts in Cameroon before his death. In 1965, Endeley became leader of government business for West Cameroon. He served as a member of the
Cameroon National Union
The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM; french: Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais, RDPC) is the ruling political party in Cameroon. Previously known as the Cameroonian National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politic ...
's central committee, and in 1966, he became president of the
Fako
Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...
section, a post he held until 1985. Endeley was also elected to the
National Assembly of Cameroon
The National Assembly (french: Assemblée Nationale) is the lower house of the Parliament of Cameroon. It has 180 members, elected for five-year terms in 49 single and multi-seat constituencies. Together with the senate, it constitutes the legi ...
. Endeley died in 1988.
References
* DeLancey, Mark W., and Mark Dike DeLancey (2000): ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon'' (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press.
;Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endeley, E.M.L
1916 births
1998 deaths
British Cameroon
Cameroonian activists
Cameroonian physicians
Members of the National Assembly (Cameroon)
Southern Cameroons
Government College Umuahia alumni
Kamerun National Congress politicians
20th-century physicians