The United Nations had decided to put an end to all trusteeships by the end of 1960. All trusteeship territories were granted unconditional independence but British Southern Cameroons was faced with a choice: attaining independence by joining the French Cameroun Republic in a federation of two equal states or joining Nigeria as one of its federated regions. The reason for this position was based on the 1959 Phillipson Report, which claimed that Southern Cameroons was not economically capable of sustaining itself as an independent state. The United Nations initiated discussions with French Cameroun on the terms of association of Southern Cameroons if the outcome of the plebiscite was in favour of a federation of the two countries. The plebiscite was precipitously organised and took place in 1961 amid deep confusion and discontentment: most of the people neither wanted to join Nigeria nor French Cameroon, which spoke French, was in a bloody civil war, and had a very different political culture. The people of the Southern Cameroons could not understand why the option for independence had been denied them. The colonial power sought to prevent the emergence of any kind of pro-independence movement. This ensured that the people chose only one of the two options that were on the table and rather than other alternatives. With no better option available, Southern Cameroonians voted to associate with French Cameroun in a federation of two states, equal in status.