Anglophone problem
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The Anglophone problem, as it is commonly referred to in
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 ...
, is a socio-political issue rooted in Cameroon's colonial legacies from the
Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
,
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
, and the French. The issue classically and principally opposes many Cameroonians from the Northwest and Southwest regions, many of whom consider themselves Anglophones, to the
Cameroonian government The Republic of Cameroon is a decentralized unitary state. State power In the Republic of Cameroon, the President of the Republic and the Parliament exercise 'State power' as per Article 4 of the constitution of Cameroon. Executive power 'Execut ...
. This is based on the fact that these two regions (formally British Southern Cameroons) were controlled by Britain as a mandated and
trust territory United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Natio ...
of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
respectively.


Background

While many Northwesterners and Southwesterners believe there is an Anglophone problem, some do not. In fact, the term "Anglophone" today creates a lot of controversy, as many former
French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
Cameroonians who are either multilingual or speak only English (most of whom have gone through the English sub-system of education) consider themselves Anglophones. The root of the Anglophone problem in Cameroon can be traced back to the Foumban Conference of 1961 which united the two territories, with different colonial legacies, into one state. The Anglophone problem is increasingly dominating the political agenda of Cameroon. This problem has led to arguments and actions (protests, strikes, etc.) that argue for
federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...
or separation from the union by the Anglophones. Failure to address the Anglophone problem threatens Cameroon's ability to create national unity between the two groups of people.


Origins


European colonization

The roots of the Anglophone problem can be traced back to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when Cameroon was known as
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 ...
. Germans first gained influence in Cameroon in 1845 when Alfred Saker of the
Baptist Missionary Society BMS World Mission is a Mission (Christian), Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. It was originally called the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen, but for most of its ...
introduced a mission station. In 1860, German merchants established a factory: the Woermann Company. On 5 July 1884 local tribes provided the Woermann Company with rights to control the Kamerun River, consequently setting the foundation for the later German colonization of Kamerun. (What was called the Kamerun River is now the delta of what is called the
Wouri River The Wouri (also Vouri or Vuri) is a river in Cameroon. Cameroon has two major rivers, the Sanaga, the longest at about 525 km (325 miles) long and the Wouri, the largest. The Wouri forms at the confluence of the rivers Nkam and Makombé, ...
.) In 1916, during World War I,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
joined forces to conquer the colony. Later, 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 ...
would award France and Britain mandates over Cameroon as punishment of the Germans who lost the war. Most of German Kamerun was given to the French, over of territory. The British were given
Northern Cameroons 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 N ...
, about of territory, and
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 ...
, . Each colonizer would later influence the colonies with their
European languages Most languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. Within Indo-European, the three largest phyla are Rom ...
and cultures, thus rendering them as Anglophones and Francophones. The large difference in awarded territory has resulted in present-day Cameroon having a huge majority Francophone population and a very small minority Anglophone population.


Gaining independence

Following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, a wave of independence flowed rapidly throughout Africa. The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
obliged that Britain and France relinquish their colonies and guide them towards independence. There were three political options for British Southern Cameroons. They could become independent by uniting with
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
or with
French Cameroun French Cameroon or French Cameroons (french: link=no, Cameroun) was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. History Beginnings The area of present-day Cameroon came under Germ ...
. No option of self-determination by becoming independent was given. The most desired option was independence with the least popular being unification with French Cameroun. However, during the British Plebiscite of 1961, the British argued that Southern Cameroons was not economically viable enough to sustain itself as an independent nation and could only survive by joining with Nigeria or La République du Cameroun (the Republic of Cameroon). Though documents on the United Nations' "Non-Self-Governing Territories" state, "integration should be the result of the freely expressed wishes of the territory's peoples", the United Nations would later reject Southern Cameroons' appeal to have independence as a sovereign nation placed on the ballot. The plebiscite questions were: # ''Do you wish to achieve independence by joining the independent Federation of Nigeria?'' # ''Do you wish to achieve independence by joining the independent Republic of Cameroun?'' The United Nations documents defined the basis of integration as: "Integration with an independent State should be on the basis of complete equality between the peoples of the erstwhile Non-Self-Governing Territory and those of the independent country with which it is integrated. The peoples of both territories should have equal status and rights of citizenship... at all levels in the executive, legislative and judicial organs of government." With this promise in mind, in February 1961, British Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria, while British Southern Cameroons voted to join La République du Cameroun.


The Foumban Conference of 17–21 July 1961

The purpose of the Foumban Constitutional Conference was to create a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
for the new Federal state of British Southern Cameroon and La République du Cameroun. The conference brought together representatives from La République du Cameroun, including Amadou Ahidjo, their president, with representatives from Southern Cameroons. Two weeks before the Foumban Conference, there were reports that more than one hundred people were killed by terrorists in Loum,
Bafang Bafang is a town and commune in Cameroon situated in the Haut-Nkam division of the West Province. It lies at the heart of the territory of the Bamiléké people, and has a population of roughly 33,324. (2012) Religion Its cathedral, Cathéd ...
, Ndom, and
Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
. The reports worried unification advocates who wanted British Cameroon to unify with French Cameroun. For the conference, the location of Foumban had been carefully chosen to make Ahidjo appear as if he had everything under control. Mr. Mbile, a Southern Cameroonian representative at the conference noted, "Free from all the unrest that had scared Southern Cameroonians, the Francophone authorities had picked the place deliberately for the occasion. The entire town had been exquisitely cleaned up and houses splashed with whitewash. Food was good and receptions lavish. The climate in Foumban real or artificial went far to convince us that despite the stories of 'murder and fire,' there could be at least this island of peace, east of the Mungo." Before the Foumban Conference, all the parties in Southern Cameroons, the Native Authority Councils and the traditional leaders attended the Bamenda Conference. This conference decided on a common proposal to present when negotiations with La République du Cameroun arrived. Among many things, the Bamenda Conference agreed on a non-centralized federation to ensure there was a distinction between the powers of the states and the powers of the federation. Most of the proposals from the Bamenda Conference were ignored by Ahidjo. Some of these proposals included having a
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
legislature and decentralizing power, but instead a
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
system was established with a centralized system of power. At the Foumban conference, Ahidjo presented delegates with a draft constitution. By the end of the conference, instead of creating an entirely new constitution, the contributions of the Southern Cameroons delegates were reflected in suggestions made to the draft initially presented to them.
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 Ahidjo intended for the Foumban Constitutional Conference to be brief; however, delegates left the three-day conference with the impression that there would be sequential conferences to continue the drafting of the constitution. Mbile later noted, "We may have done more if we had spent five months instead of five days in writing our constitution at Foumban." The Constitution for the new Federal Republic was agreed in Yaoundé in August 1961, between Ahidjo and Foncha, pending approval by the House of Assembly of the two states. In the end, the West Cameroon House of Assembly never ratified the Constitution. However, on 1 October 1961, the Federal Republic of Cameroon nevertheless came to fruition. On 6 May 1972 Ahidjo announced his decision to convert the
Federal Republic A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...
into a
unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...
, on the provision that the idea was supported via referendum. This suggestion violated the articles in the Foumban document that read: 'any proposal for the revision of the present constitution, which impairs the unity and integrity of the Federation shall be inadmissible,' and 'proposals for revision shall be adopted by simple majority vote of the members of the Federal Assembly, provided that such majority includes a majority of the representatives ... of each of the Federated States,' not through referendum. Such violations easily allowed for the passing of the referendum that turned the Federal Republic into the United Republic of Cameroon. Taking into account these actions, the evidence shows that the Francophone's intentions may have not been to form a federal state, but rather to annex Southern Cameroons and not treat them as equals. In 1984, Ahidjo's successor,
Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.
, replaced the name "United Republic of Cameroon" with "La République du Cameroun," the same name the francophone Cameroon had before federation talks. With changes in the Constitution of 1996, reference to the existence of a territory called the British Southern Cameroons that had a "functioning self-government and recognized international boundaries" was essentially erased.


The Anglophone problem

Despite the non-acknowledgement/denial of the Anglophone problem from Francophone government leaders, there exists a discontent by Anglophones, both young and old, as to how Anglophones are treated. This discontent presents itself in calls for federation or separation with movements that are garnering strength. At the core of Anglophone grievances is the loss of the former West Cameroon as a "distinct community defined by differences in official language and inherited colonial traditions of education, law, and public administration." On 22 December 2016, in a letter to
Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.
, the Anglophone Archbishops of Southern Cameroons define the Anglophone problem as follows: # The failure of successive governments of Cameroon, since 1961, to respect and implement the articles of the Constitution that uphold and safeguard what British Southern Cameroons brought along to the Union in 1961. # The flagrant disregard for the Constitution, demonstrated by the dissolution of political parties and the formation of one political party in 1966, the sacking of Jua and the appointment of
Muna Muna may refer to: Places * Muna (Mikulovice), a World War II POW camp and ammunition factory in the Czech Republic * Muna, Estonia, village in Rõuge Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Muna, Iran, village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Mu ...
in 1968 as the Prime Minister of West Cameroon, and other such acts judged by West Cameroonians to be unconstitutional and undemocratic. # The cavalier management of the 1972 Referendum which took out the foundational element (Federalism) of the 1961 Constitution. # The 1984 Law amending the Constitution, which gave the country the original East Cameroon name (The Republic of Cameroon) and thereby erased the identity of the West Cameroonians from the original union. West Cameroon, which had entered the union as an equal partner, effectively ceased to exist. # The deliberate and systematic erosion of the West Cameroon cultural identity which the 1961 Constitution sought to preserve and protect by providing for a bi-cultural federation.


Separation

Movements that advocate the separation of English-speaking Cameroon from French-speaking Cameroun exist, led by the Cameroon Action Group, the
Southern Cameroons Youth League The Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) was an Ambazonian independence movement, led by Ayaba Cho Lucas and Ebenezer Akwanga. While Ayaba went on to become the leader of the Ambazonia Governing Council, Akwanga saw SCYL transform into the Afric ...
, the
Southern Cameroons National Council The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is a political organisation seeking the independence of the former anglophone Southern Cameroons from the predominantly francophone Republic of Cameroon (République du Cameroun). It is a non-v ...
, the Southern Cameroon Peoples Organization and the Ambazonia Movement.


Federation

Advocates of Federation want a return to the constitution agreed upon in the 1961 Foumban Conference that acknowledges the history and culture of the two regions while giving equal power to the two. This federation had been dismantled on 20 May 1972 by the larger French-speaking Cameroon and extended the latter's executive power throughout West Cameroon. Federation advocates include the instrumental Consortium of the leaders of three Cameroon-based trade unions: Lawyers, Teachers, and Transporters. It also includes some Cameroonians in the diaspora led by a well-organized US-based Anglophone Action Group, Inc. (AAG). AAG was one of the first groups in the diaspora to endorse the Cameroon-based Consortium as a peaceful alternative to achieving a return to the pre-1972 federated system. Opponents of federation include the ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement.


Unitary

Unitarianism do not want Federation or Separation, but rather a decentralized unitary government; whereas, now the government is highly centralized in power. This violates the tenets of the 1996 Constitution as decentralization has yet to be implemented.


Struggle for political representation

In March 1990, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), led by
John Fru Ndi John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
, was founded on the perception of widespread Anglophone alienation. The SDF was the first major opposition party to the People's Democratic Movement, led by Paul Biya.


Symptoms of Anglophone discontent

Below are various reasons that Anglophones feel marginalized, systemically, by the government. * The National Entrance Examinations into Schools that develop the human resources of Cameroon are set by the French Subsystem of Education. This makes it difficult for Anglophones and Francophones to compete on an equal playing field. The Examination Board members are all Francophone, which places some bias against Anglophone candidates. * There are five Ministries that concern education and none of them are Anglophone. * Of the 36 Ministers who defended the budgets for the Ministries last month, only one was Anglophone. * In the 1961 Constitution, the Vice President was the second most important person in state protocol. Today, the Prime Minister (appointed Anglophone) is the fourth most important person in State Protocol, after the President of the Senate and the President of the National Assembly.


Prioritization of French over English

* State institutions put documents and public notices in French, with no English translations. * National Entrance Examinations into some professional schools are set in French only, sometimes even in English-speaking regions. * Most of the heads of government offices speak only French, even in the English-speaking regions. Visitors and clients to government offices are then expected to speak in French. * Most Senior Administrators and members of the Forces of Law and Order in the Northwest and Southwest Regions are French-speaking and there is a lack of effort for them to demonstrate an understanding of Anglophone culture. * Members of Inspection Teams, Missions and Facilitators for Seminars sent from the Ministries in Yaoundé to Southern Cameroon are mostly French speaking, and English-speaking audiences are expected to understand them. * Most of the Military Tribunals in the Northwest and Southwest Regions conduct their courts in French. * Finance documents such as the COBAC Code, the CIMA Code and the
OHADA OHADA is a system of corporate law and implementing institutions adopted by seventeen West and Central African nations in 1993 in Port Louis, Mauritius before it was revised in 2008 in Quebec, Canada. OHADA is the acronym for the French "''Organisa ...
Code are all in French. * The Magistrates in the Southern Cameroon regions are disproportionately Francophone. In addition, other government-appointed officials such as the Senior Divisional Officers, the Divisional Officers, Commissioners, and Commandants are disproportionately Francophone. There are Francophone principals in Anglophone schools, and Hospitals, Banks and Mobile Telephone Companies are predominantly Francophone.


Spiraling

, the Anglophone problem is still on-going. It has spiralled into violence with police officers and gendarmes shooting dead several civilians. Official sources have put the number at 17 dead, but local individuals and groups have talked of 50 or more. Radical members of some secessionist groups have killed several police officers and gendarmes. 15,000 refugees have fled Southern Cameroons into neighbouring Nigeria, with the
UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
expecting that number to grow to 40,000 if the situation continues.


Outcomes

Without clearly acknowledging the existence of the Anglophone problem, the President of Cameroon has attempted to appease tensions by making a number of announcements: * President Biya ordered the creation of a Common Law department at the Supreme Court and the School of Administration and Magistracy, ENAM. * In his 2017 traditional end-of-year address, he announced there will be an effective decentralization scheme implemented by the government. The issue of decentralization is one of the major tenets of Cameroon's 1996 constitution which was spearheaded by the Anglophone opposition groups in parliament. Several separatist or secessionist groups have emerged or become more prominent as a result of the harsh response by the government to the Anglophone problem. These groups desire to see Southern Cameroons completely separate from La République du Cameroun and form its own state, sometimes referred to as ''
Ambazonia Ambazonia, officially the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, also referred to as Amba Land, is an unrecognised breakaway state in West Africa which claims the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon, though it currently controls almost ...
''. Some groups such as the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front (SCACUF) used diplomatic means in an attempt to gain independence for the Anglophone regions, whereas other groups began to employ armed confrontation with artisan weapons against the deployed gendarmes and soldiers in those regions.


See also

* 2016–2017 Cameroonian protests *
Ambazonia Ambazonia, officially the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, also referred to as Amba Land, is an unrecognised breakaway state in West Africa which claims the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon, though it currently controls almost ...
*
Anglophone Cameroonian Anglophone Cameroonians are the people of various cultural backgrounds, most of who hail from the English-speaking regions of Cameroon (Northwest and Southwest Regions). These regions were formerly known as the British Southern Cameroons, being p ...
*
Cameroonian English Cameroon English is an English dialect spoken predominantly in Cameroon, mostly learned as a second language. It shares some similarities with English varieties in neighbouring West Africa, as Cameroon lies at the west of Central Africa. It is ...
*
Camfranglais Camfranglais, Francanglais, or Francamglais (portmanteau of the French adjectives ''camerounais'', ''français'', and ''anglais'') is a vernacular of Cameroon, containing grammatical and lexical elements from Cameroonian French, Cameroonian Engli ...
*
Anglophone Crisis The Anglophone Crisis (), also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing civil war in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of the 2 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameroon's Anglophone Problem English language Human rights in Cameroon Language policy in Cameroon Languages of Cameroon Linguistic controversies Linguistic rights Majority–minority relations Politics of Ambazonia