Northern
Cameroon adopted the basic design of the current Cameroon flag in 1957,
while still under colonial rule (France in the north and Britain in
the south). The
design consists of three vertical stripes similar to the
French national flag, except the French colours are replaced with the
pan-African green, red and yellow (Ghana was the first modern African
state and Cameroon the second to adopt the widely used pan-African
colours). In 1961,
two yellow five pointed stars were introduced to the flag, this was to
signify the unification of the two, former colonial, Cameroon territories. The
current Cameroon flag dates from the 20th of May 1975 when a single
yellow five-pointed star (replacing the duel stars) was introduced into the
centre of the red vertical stripe.
The pan-African colours of
red, yellow and green have been adopted by many African ex-colonies
and symbolise African independence and unity.
It is believed the colours
originated from the flag of Ethiopia, the oldest independent nation in
Africa. |
