After the Foumban
Conference – which was a milestone in the reunification process in Cameroon –
there was great need to consolidate the said process through very positive and
concrete actions from both former Southern Cameroons and former La République du
Cameroun.
No sooner had the conference taken place than cracks started appearing on
the walls of the reunification house, thereby questioning the foundation of the
entire reunification deal. One of these cracks was depicted by Bernard Fonlon in a secret memo to President Ahidjo
concerning the malaise in the federation. He wrote:
In order to close with proposals practical
and precise, I will spell out clearly the claims of the KNDP. We demand:
1)
That discussion, negotiation and agreement
should become the rule in this coalition as from this day, in order to ensure
for the KNDP a dignified participation in this Government and an effective
contribution in the…, the elaboration and implementation of all Government
policies;
2)
That a general framework and particular
applications of it in the diverse fields should be defined and adopted jointly
by the two parties to give coherence and direction to all Government action;
and that concrete programmes should be drawn up to embody these policies:
3)
That a machinery should be set up at party
and Government levels for the efficient and effective carrying out of the above
proposals; at the party level, a permanent committee should be set up where
representatives from both sides shall meet regularly to draw up Government
policy;
4)
That the constitution should be revised to
provide, inter alia, for a Council of
Ministers in which Government projects from all ministries shall be fully,
freely and frankly debated before they are submitted to the Head of
State…….that all Government decisions should be taken in council;
5)
That an ad hoc committee should be set up
right away to work out the details of these suggestions;
6)
That these proposals should be studied,
worked out and put into effect before the final dose of the transitional
period, that is, before the forthcoming presidential elections.
Such
then are the proposals of the KNDP; we hope they are clear and precise.
These proposals and many other
events signalled the beginning of what is known today
as the Anglophone Problem, a problem which has developed into a multi-faceted gruelling and gruesome conflict pitting Anglophones against
Francophones in Cameroon, as well as Anglophones
against Anglophones in
the said country, a problem which has developed into a violent and bloody
crisis between the Cameroonian Government and some Anglophone separatist groups.
One of the facets of this problem is the lack of solidarity or unity among Anglophones
in some very sensitive issues or areas concerning their existence and survival
as well as the consolidation of their union with their Francophone brothers and
sisters. Some of these issues or areas concern the Public Service matters, life
within the armed forces, politics, life in trade unions and other associations
and institutions, the Bilingualism Week and the current Anglophone Crisis which
is rocking Cameroon.
In Cameroon’s Public Service, some
Anglophones shabbily treat their Anglophone brothers and sisters. A good number
of them prefer to associate more with Francophones so
as to obtain as many privileges as possible since Francophone civil servants in
Cameroon’s Public Service are in the majority. Other Anglophone civil servants even
go as far as tarnishing the image of their Anglophone peers or discrediting them
in so many domains for the sake of self-aggrandizement, while another group of
Anglophone civil servants openly or hiddenly work
against the interests of Anglophone communities so as to protect their
interests. In a nutshell, a good number of Anglophone civil servants are ready
or willing to sacrifice their Anglophone geographical, linguistic, social and cultural
background for the sake of acquiring a better or more lucrative professional
status or profile.
It is in this light they go as far as writing
administrative or official notes, letters, applications, reports, speeches, etc
in French instead of English. Their zeal to write in French is very inordinate,
up to the extent that they do not care whether their excessive use of the
French Language negatively affects their level of spoken and written English.
Similarly, this situation also obtains when they speak during meetings,
seminars, conferences, workshops, etc. They are always eager to speak mostly in
French, even if the level of the French they speak leaves much to be desired.
They speak to their Francophone colleagues mostly or always in French. What a
pity!
This unfortunate situation is
exacerbated by some aspects of the modus operandi of the armed forces. To be more precise, some Anglophones who are
part of the police force, the army and the gendarmerie feel that, in order to
be very comfortable in the said forces, you must use the French Language even
when it is not necessary. A good number of Anglophones in these forces have
almost adopted the French Language as their official language. Some of them
take this blunder too far by even speaking to their Anglophone brothers and sisters
in French!
Another pathetic dimension of the Anglophone
side of the Anglophone Problem is observed during the Bilingualism Week in
Cameroon. This is a week which can enable the Anglophones to showcase the
importance of their belonging to, or presence in, the Cameroonian Union (union
with their Francophone brothers and sisters) by ensuring that there is an
urgent need to guarantee and perpetuate the constitutional equality of English
and French.
This could be done by Anglophones
through several means or mechanisms, for example, by ensuring that Anglophones
speak mostly in English during the said week, by calling the attention of the
powers that be to the need to uphold the said constitutional equality, by
organizing fora,
conferences, etc which promote the cultural, social
and linguistic status of Anglophones, etc. Unfortunately, this proposal is far
from being considered by Cameroonian Anglophones.
One of the ignoble Anglophone ramifications
of the Anglophone Problem hinges on the
North-West /South-West Divide.
Logically, it is expected that Cameroonians who hail from the North-West and
South-West Regions of Cameroon should cooperate in all aspects of public life
pertaining to their welfare since they constitute the linguistic minority of Cameroon.
Conversely, a good number of these Cameroonians, especially members of the
elite, go against this logical expectation. It is in this light that they fuel
all sorts of antagonism, tension and hatred aimed at dividing the North-West
and South –West Regions, thereby undermining Anglophone’s fruitful attempts to
present a solid front in their struggle to stay afloat in their union with Francophones.
The
attitude of Anglophones in trade unions
and other associations and institutions aggravates the Anglophone Problem. In
Cameroon, Anglophones have produced cracks on their solidarity wall when it
comes to unity in action so as to obtain desired results. This deplorable
situation has been noticed within professional groups or institutions such as
the Bar Council, the teachers’ trade unions, etc. In these groups or institutions, Anglophones have
conspicuously exhibited selfishness and tactlessness, thereby reducing their
chances to better organize themselves so as to present a common front with more
coherent, convincing or cogent arguments for their welfare.
The
current or ongoing harrowing Anglophone Crisis has gone a long way to show
that some Anglophones are the enemies of Anglophones. A good number of
Anglophones and violence-inclined groups controlled by Anglophones are wreaking
havoc or destruction in the North-West and South-West Regions. They
are freely involved in horrifying cases of kidnapping, murder, ransom demands,
maiming, looting, arson, etc.
Indeed, some Anglophones are seen terrorizing other Anglophones! The despicable
acts of terror go a long way to erode the ability of Cameroonian Anglophones to
present a unified or solid front in their struggle for self-determination. They
instead antagonize as well as plunge into chaos or distress a good number of
Anglophones, Anglophone families, groups and communities.
In a nutshell, it could be inferred
that paradoxically, Anglophone Cameroonians are consciously and unconsciously compounding
the Anglophone Problem and Crisis in one way or the other. In order to reverse
this pathetic situation, there is need for enlightened Anglophones in Cameroon
to sensitize their fellow brothers and sisters to the need for a collective and
sustained fight (a fight involving all Anglophones) against all the
aforementioned ills or vices.
Such sensitization may produce what Jean-Marie Denquin
calls “significant or considerable progress”, significant or considerable
progress in the resolution of the Anglophone Problem and Crisis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A)
Books
1)
Jean-Marie Denquin, Vocabulaire
Politique (Que Sais-Je ?), Paris, Presses Universitaires de France,
1997
B)
Articles
2)
Mokum, N., “We (Anglophones) May Have Been Betrayed!”, The Guardian Post, Yaounde,
17 March 2019
Sinior, S.,
“Anglophone Crisis: Tears and Tongues of Victims”, Cameroon Panorama, Buea, Buea Catholic Printing Press, June 2018
C)
Legal
Instruments
3)
1996 Cameroon Constitution
D)
Other
Instruments
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Cite this Article: Kijem JY (2021). The Anglophone Side
of the Anglophone Problem and Crisis in Cameroon. Greener Journal of Social Sciences, 11(1): 1-4.
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