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European Journal of Social Sciences Studies ISSN: 2501-8590 ISSN-L: 2501-8590 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/soc Volume 2 │ Issue 5 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.821232 POST PLEBISCITE PETITIONS AND REQUESTS FOR THE PARTITION OF SOUTHERN CAMEROONS Rose Frii-Manyi Anjoh1, Joseph Lon Nfi2 PhD, Senior Lecturer, 1 History and History of International Relations, Faculty of Arts, University of Buea, Cameroon Phd, Lecturer of Political History in the Faculty of Arts, 2 University of Bamenda, Cameroon Abstract: The 1961 UN-organised Plebiscite provoked serious ethnic tension, bitterness and calls from some quarters for the partition of the British Southern Cameroons. The ethnic groups that voted for independence with Nigeria were not satisfied with the results of the plebiscite and were not ready to join the Republic of Cameroon. They clamoured for the partition of the British Southern Cameroons following the voting patterns so that those who voted for Nigeria could join Nigeria freely. This article based on archival and secondary sources attempts a survey of the crisis, the requests by the defeated ethnic groups for the partition of the British Southern Cameroons and the response of the Yaoundé authorities and the United Nations. The study argues that the requests for the partition of the Southern Cameroons were made out of fear that the reunified Cameroon could lead to the domination and exploitation of the coastal ethnic groups by the more dynamic and land grabbing ethnic groups of the Bamenda Grassfields and not out of some phobia for the French Cameroonians. Keywords: Southern Cameroons, plebiscite, reunification, ethnic tension, petitions For downloading the full article, please access the following link: http://oapub.org/soc/index.php/EJSSS/article/view/127 Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 79