When it is Time: Common Law Lawyers Continue With their one week Strike

Oui or Yes of 1972 in Cameroon

The historical background of Cameroon has once again been the fulcrum of discontent amongst its citizen. Cameroon is a special and unique country within the African sphere and the world platform. The country that was first idolised by Portuguese fishermen in 1472 who were amazed by its diversity and numerous species of prawn over river Wouri. This pushed them to call the Wouri “Rio Dos Cameros”-River of prawns. Then came the Germans who actually defined what was then known as Kamerun. But the most intriguing thing was the defeat of the Germans during the First World War. Cameroon like any other German territory was kept as a protectorate territory under the League of Nations and subsequently partitioned between the British and French.

Historical Context

In 1960, through a Plebiscite English speaking Cameroon-West Cameroon voted to join their “brothers” east of the Mungo. The tenets of this reunification were crystal clear-A federation, Two peoples with same rights and privileges, two official Languages, Education, Legal etc etc and the the country would be the Federal Republic of Cameroon. That was only short-lived as barely 12 years after- on may 20^th, 1972 a referendum was initiated to vote against the federal system for the creation of a unitary state against the wish of the Southern Cameroonian Minorities and against the principles that were enshrined in the constitution. This vote that had as Option “OUI-YES” was overwhelmingly voted for by the majority east Cameroon-La Republique. Southern Cameroonians felt the pinch of the deception and started crying foul. 



The regime in place, didn’t care much and continued with its scheme to assimilate a people. One of the two stars on the flag was removed, the name changed from Federal Republic to United Republic of Cameroon. And in 1984, through a presidential decree, the present Head of State changed the name of the country from United Republic of Cameroon to Republic of Cameroon. Southern Cameroonians felt betrayed, assimilated, annexed, debunked of their identity and saw this as a deliberate and systematic attempt to erode a people of their history, culture and identity. Tensions started building up and lead into a new dawn that started in the early 90s.

Multiparty Politics

The advent of multiparty politics in Africa and Cameroon. The Social Democratic Party was born and Southern Cameroonian immediately identified themselves with its leader –The Tazochia Asonganyi, Prof. Kalle K,  Fru Ndi, Ben and Akere Muna, Assiga, Akoneteh etc. It was some glimpse of light in the tunnel, but after the 1992 presidential Elections where the SDF claimed victory, the story became different. In a bit to get their messages across, Southern Cameroons elites decided to hold an “All Anglophone Conference-ACCI in Buea in 1993. On April 2-3 1993, anyone who was someone in the Anglophone community in Cameroon trudged to the Mount Mary Hospital – Buea for a constitutional therapy. This meeting showed that, when one people with one tradition gets together, they can for once be united. I was a little secondary school boy during this period in GBHS Mbengwi. My Language teacher then-Pa Mundam, told us, your destinies would be discussed in Buea this weekend. To me, this was like saying, we were going to have a new president. But, I didn’t care much and waited to see what will happen, until when the GCE Board was created. He majestically came to class and reminded us that, our struggles are paying off. I didn’t really know the essence of the GCE board let alone an Anglophone Conference. I was a local Bamenda boy, who knew Cameroon was just a wonderful world. Then I paused for a while and asked myself, why is it that almost all newspapers (Cameroon life) with great writers like Francis Wache, Bate Besong, Mbella Sone Dipoko, Tande Dibussi, Nouck Protous, Victor Ngoh, Charly Ndi Chia had captions related to this? Then came the version 2 of the All Anglophone Conference. This time in Bamenda as tradition required.

The Dawn

This episode ended with little more than the GCE Board and the SCNC, but there is an upsurge of another set of leaders in the person of Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor, Bobga Harmony and Abeng Roland who in May 2015 signed a memorandum in Bamenda and later in 2016 a declaration in Buea calling on the Head of State to look into problems plaguing the common law system in Cameroon. Their arguments have been very coherent, well-articulated and convincing. And as the voice of the voiceless, it has never become more opportune for them to act in Unison as they have. There is no Taboo in asking for the rights of the people we protect, there is no wrong in saying that were are SCNC-That’s our history and so, the entire NW and SW see in them people who can revert the annexation trend going on. Their efforts have seen sympathy from other domains of national life within the Southern Cameroons. The desire to keep our history, heritage and Identity is unconditional.

Just like Mwalimu George N. Posted on his website(http://www.gngwane.com/2015/05/why-all-anglophones-are-members-of-the-scnc.html) , Why all Anglophones are Members of the SCNC: Before and after the All Anglophone Lawyers’ Conference of 9th May 2015, claims and insinuations were linked to the real or imaginary interference of the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) with the deliberations and outcome of the conference. As would be expected the conveners of the conference have gone at length to dissociate themselves from SCNC control as if the SCNC was a pariah organisation.

SCNC is a product of the All Anglophone Conference (AAC) of 1993 and 1994 that brought together different shades of Anglophone opinion to be crystallized into a common vision. It was only after the Cameroon government failed to take on board proposals by the AAC that a new pressure group emerged like it is often the case in liberation theology to give visibility, potency and geo-political relevance and space to the Anglophone struggle.  It is here that the SCNC was born. It was no more a liberation of a people as it was for a territory that freely opted for a Union in 1961 but got short changed on 20 May 1972 with a unitary state.

And PIET KONINGS and FRANCIS B. NYAMNJOH “The Anglophone Problem in Cameroon” Also posit that, With the exception of those who are closely allied to the regime in power, the Anglophones have become  increasingly  aware  of  the importance of united action, and the positive response of concerned activists in both the South-West and the North-West to invitations to participate in AAC I and II is proof that the old provincial divisions have been somewhat reduced. The brutal clamp-down authorised in the South -West during the 1993 anti-smuggling campaign was  a decisive factor in drawing several hesitant members of the elite there into the ranks of the pro-federal pressure groups; and not even the appointment  in  September 1996 of  a  South -Westerner  as  Prime Minister  appears  to  have  affected  that - especially  since  Musonge made a ` false start ' by appointing as chief of cabinet someone from the Littoral Province.

The Government's continued denial of any ` Anglophone problem ' in Cameroon, and its determination to defend the unitary state by all available means, including repression, could lead to an escalation of Anglophone demands past a point of no return.

It is always difficult to have a united front. In fact not all South African supported Mandela in his struggles with apathied. It is obvious that some people will be bought over in this struggle, but the leaders must ensure that they remain coherent and avoid ambiguity. The resignation of Harmony Bobga as the representative of the Bar General Assembly in the northwest is an eloquent testimony and a clear indication of his mental strength and leadership. Barrister Kemeni and Barrister Nico Halle, might have tried their game, but the lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest have shown that, they can stand those intrigues. Some regime fanatics will pick and choose in order to discredit these actions, but the momentum remains with the lawyers.

Our government should also know that, it’s not only the legal domain that is in this struggle, even the educational, transport, health, cultural, sporting fields are all eviscerated. In fact, in the 1960s, Tiko was an international Airport, and where are we with it today? The lawyers from the Common Law system must remain firm and friendly. They have a majority in the bar council of Cameroon and had a bar council before the la Republique. When Folon refused to translate the French anthem into English, he did it for a reason. The regime in Yaoundé has the obligation to respect the constitution of Cameroon. It flies in the face of logic that, Cameroon in its constitution is defined a bi-jural country yet, there is no school that trains magistrates on common law practice. Cameroon still ratifies international treaties with little or no respect to its bilingual nature. A people pushed to the world, might just negotiate a bend of no return.

Moses Ngwanah