An Anglophone Problem?

Maps of Cameroon from 1960-1972

Recently I have read a lot of write-ups on social media and listen to panellist who have all been trying to grapple with what they call “the Anglophone Problem”. Their utterances and descriptions of the problem usually is vague and superficial.  Politicians have come in with a denominator of dividing public opinion so as to make the problem look isolated with no importance. But they must recognize that social crises are the core values of any progressive human society. It is through grievances and social upheavals that most governments in Africa are called to the realities of the common man.

It is now becoming more evident every day that the Cameroonian society is experiencing an array of crises that could, through a combination of complex interplay, create some potentially dangerous shifts — or ‘tipping-points’ — for our everyday social lives. On one hand we are nearing a cusp in how we have abused our cultural and colonial heritage through a combination of deliberate human interventions to subvert one section of the country. On the other hand there is a growing feeling within the two main Anglophone regions of the Northwest and Southwest, that something is seriously out-of-balance with the present administration and regime. In all cases there is a considerable disrespect of the constitution that Cameroon is a Bilingual and Bijural country. Even though this is only a page of a document that has been raped by the regime in power that choses to apply whichever section for its personal interest.

Leading sociologists have shown that societies are far more likely to break down when they’re overloaded with cleavages, marginalisation and discrimination (Emile Duhkiem). As the quality and quantity of stresses increase, the society tends to respond by making its internal institutions more complex. They start looking at details and ask themselves why this and not that. As a state/nation/civilization increases its level of internal complexity, more energy is required to stabilize the system and maintain its working capacity. In other words, the complexity of any system must be regularly fed by an appropriate degree of Participative democracy, rather than a system of dominance and exclusion. When a society gets to this point, there is need to read and review the very basic elements that keep social cohesion by defining in absolute terms the problem, root causes, symptoms and then a way forward.

Who is An Anglophone?

Anybody who studies and uses English language as his/her first language is an Anglophone and same with a Francophone. If we go by this simplistic and pragmatic definition of who an Anglophone is, then it’s safe to say that the problems we are witnessing is not an Anglophone problem. If we reduce it to a simple linguistic problem, then we will fail in tackling the real root problem.  The connotations that have been given to this problem as being an Anglophone problem is so artificial and not true. As an illustration, a person originating from the South Region who was sent to Akwaya as a teacher, ends up having his children as English speakers. The children are all Anglophones, but do they have the same problems like a child born of parents from the two main “Anglophone” Regions? Or another man from Ekondotiti who is in Ayos, has children who grow up and are educated in French. These children are Francophones by education, but do they have the privileges of la Republique? Based on education, you are either an Anglophone or a Francophone, but the problems of where we come from still haunt you. The children of the man from Ekondotiti born and educated in la Republique will still face the same difficulties, whereas, those of a person from La Republique even if they were born and educated in Oku, will still be considered “Citizen Number One” The simplest way to understand this is to have a detailed look on administrative documents in Cameroon. There is always a question of “Division of Origin” and not division where you were born. They once asked my daughter in school her division and she said Wouri, but the school administrator insisted that, it’s not where you are born, but where your parents come from. Thus it’s a problem of Jus Solis, Jus Sanguinis. It is not by error that Nfor Ngalla and the rest call us Southern Cameroonians or Ambazonia. That’s why the Mwalimu George Ngwene posits in his write up, why all Anglophones are Members of the SCNC. People like Victor Julius Ngoh is a prime example of who is an Anglophone by education, but his roots are elsewhere. You can see in his write-ups that are principally designed to frustrate and insult Anglophones.

For those who still think that, the question of these strike actions are baseless let me give them some few symptoms of the problem:

Education: An array of problems exist in this domain. How can a country that has 6 ministries related to education (Higher Education, Secondary education, scientific research, Basic Education, Employment and vocational training, Sports and Physical Education) who all come from one system of the educational Board? If this is not an open and thoughtful attempt to stifle the English subsystem. Can these ministers who are predominantly La Republique and exclusively Francophones understand the Anglo-Saxon system of education?

Sometimes back, the French system came up with the need to reduce and harmonise primary education from 7 to 6 years. In that meeting the English subsystem also asked that the Probatoir be dropped. As we speak, it’s been over 10 years that primary education in the English subsystem has been reduced to 6 years, yet we still have probatoir.

What does CAP, Probatoir and Baccalaureate mean to an English student? Why are our technical schools still under this spell?  Haven’t we asked enough?

Transport: As much as so many people were worried about the OHADA law not having an English translation, its worst in the domain of transport. There is just not one single Aviation law in Cameroon in English. (http://www.ccaa.aero/index.php/fr/espace-documentation-lois-et-codes). Tiko use to be an international airport before independence, yet there is nothing left for us to savour. Roads to and in Bamenda are a dishonour, the ring road is yet to see the light of day, the Kumba mamfe road is an on and off project etc.

Energy: Hydroelectric engineers have affirmed that, the Menchum fall can naturally generate electricity that can serve the entire country and beyond. But Southern Cameroonians will wait for a miracle for that to happen, while Memvele, Sonlolo, Mikim etc have absorbed huge cash from the state.

Health: How can we even talk of an equity when there is no reference hospital in the two Major English speaking regions? How frustrating it is when an old man from widikum is transferred to Douala and he is received with a bonjour by a nurse.

Our Vestiges: Where is powercam, where is the market and produce board, where is Amity Bank? Just so many questions without answers. What happened to our PWD, our community development programs? Where is the head office of the Cameroon cooperative league? I prefer to end here, because the list is in exhaustive and annoying. Bilingualism is a sham on its own.

The problems are many, complex and multifaceted. It will be important for the government to design effective mechanisms to respond to these threats of national unity and integration. But, it is also incumbent on the striking unions to collaborate, design strategies and have a coordinated front. A disjointed organisation, will only serve the powers that be and give them the ability to pick and choose. As said by the Hon Ayah Paul:

The Anglophone is an exemplary crusader for peace. History is there to corroborate that assertion. There is, for instance no contention that there still exists prominent monuments of how Francophones found sanctuaries in our lands as escapees from wars and terrorism. No honest man would dare to deny that few people other than the Anglophones would have suffered with such mature endurance the mistreatment inflicted on them for over half a century, sadly, by the very people the Anglophone had sheltered and treated with phenomenal generosity!

In his unfailing humility, all that the Anglophone has requested over the decades has been dialogue. After AAC 1 and AAC 2, the Anglophone did muster courage and reduced into writing matters that warranted revisiting. For years after submitting the memorandum, the Anglophone waited, begged, prayed and supplicated domineering Yaoundé for even just acknowledgement of receipt in vain. From utterances by some Francophones in authority, it was as if it was intolerable audacity for the Anglophone even just to express dissatisfaction!

It was out of this frustration that the Southern Cameroons’ National Council – SCNC – was born. Its motto till date is “The force of argument and not the argument of force”: meaning, it had and still has predilection for dialogue. When Yaounde replied with ruthless brutality, the peace-loving Anglophone quietly sought but legal redress, understandably, on the international arena. More than two decades since an auxiliary organ of the United Nations of which Yaounde is a member recommended dialogue, Yaounde has continued to prefer the use of torture, maiming and killing. It has been very like the master not being accountable to anyone under the sun for the absolute authority he has over his slaves, including the authority to terminate human lives!

If today it has finally dawned on Yaounde that repression radicalizes while dialogue defuses, it does not have to be just dialogue – Yaounde picking and choosing which Anglophone group to dialogue with. That is divide and rule; and conscious we are that the intention is to weaken us. If Yaounde has become reasonable, giving up the resorting to atrocities to impose its rule, let Yaounde come out with a solemn declaration, inviting Anglophones to the round table. Round table because it will be intercourse between two peoples equal in status! In that event, Anglophones would take a sovereign resolution as to who should speak in their name. That is an inalienable right of the Anglophone – the true Anglophone!

Anything else is unacceptable digression!

Conclusion:

It is my own view that we can — and will — make the shift ‘in time’ towards a positive breakthrough in this struggle. However, whether this will be a smooth ride or not will depend largely upon our own individual and collective actions and responses. Communal humanity possesses great capacity for resilience and re-adaptation. Within us we have the capacity to facilitate a perceptual shift within our various social realities: we can, quite literally, change Cameroon and make it what we wish. Part of this change may come through a new renaissance that has been growing within our political agenda, elites, and civil society organisations. Today, it is almost unanimous from all Political elites that, there is need to rebuild the foundations of our beloved Cameroon. We are not lacking in the creative vision and energies needed to shift into a more harmonious and sustainable Cameroon. What we need is a united front, dedicated leaders and selfless patriots to rethink our unity. A Cameroon for us.

Moses Ngwanah
Social Thinker