Striking a balance between the Separatists and Federalists agendas and charting a pathway for a United Cameroon

By Jackson W. Nanje

Cameroon as a country is divided into ten (10) states or regions as they are commonly referred to nowadays. The country was discovered by the Portuguese (1492) who later named it Rio dos Cameroes (River of Prawns). However, during the European Scramble for Africa in 1884, the territory became German’s. And with the end of World War I, in 1919, the Allied Forces sent the Germans packing out of Cameroon and France and England became the new occupiers of Cameroon. The West of Cameroon was occupied by England and the East by France. The presence of France and England therefore signified that there were two Cameroons with bi-cultural setups. When the two colonial powers left Cameroon in 1960, there began the amalgamation talks between the two Cameroons which, once upon a time (before 1919), was one. But 41years apart had done a lot of damage in the cultural and linguistic set up of the two peoples and there was no magic wand to subject both cultures to the pre-1919 boundaries.

While the French Cameroon was marred with a laissez-faire doctrine in which accountability or auditing was an old-fashion system, the English Cameroon was all about control and accountability to keep the government employees in check. Corruption in the English system was non-existent. because it had been curtailed through the regular auditing system not common in the French Cameroon. So, when the two Cameroons came together again through a Referendum in 1972, doing away with a system that has kept the English Cameroon intact was strange to them. The structures that kept English Cameroon intact were non-existent in French Cameroon and likewise, structures in English Cameroon were gradually replaced over the preceding years with the French-type structures that run contrary to the English Cameroon values and they have continued till date. It is this incremental erosion of the English Cameroon structures and marginalization of their people thereof, over the years that caused first, the lawyers, to write to the Cameroon government (the President) in 2015 to redress their grievances. A year later, since the President decided to ignore their grievances or petition like he does to every other request by citizens of the country, the lawyers took to the streets in full protest a year later in 2016.  The teachers equally joined the lawyers in demanding for a redress of their educational grievances, which was being gradually eroded and replaced by the French system of education unacceptable to English Cameroonians. What has been even more serious than the grievances of the lawyers and teachers is the pent-up anger and frustration of being marginalized by French Cameroon in all aspects of their lives. And despite the more than the 40% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) emanating from these regions, and much of it from the South West Region, the French-ruling government have been treating them as inferior citizens. There is practically no economic opportunity accorded to them and their political ambitions, dashed. The had had it and were prepared and were prepared for a combustible outcome or a confrontation with the government not to be fooled again, but to ask for a form of government that will be suitable for them. The lawyers and teachers’ crises provided these deprived individuals the window of opportunity to vent their pent-up anger against a system that runs contrary to their values and which is marginalizing their people. There’s no argument in the English Cameroon that they have been marginalized and seeking a redress of their problems; however, their goal now is deciding what form of government is suitable for them that will adequately address their grievances. They English Cameroonians have toiled with three systems of government that will address their worries during these three riotous years: two States Federation, ten States Federation and a complete separation from French Cameroon that will bring them back to the 1919-1960 boundary lines. In a nutshell, what form of government shall be a good fit for English Cameroon: Federal or Separatist? Let us look at the two forms of governments.

                                                      Federalists

A federalist believes that he or she must be part of a whole. In this type of system normally, states have shared responsibilities with the federal government.  The 10^th amendment of the United States Constitution is an example of how clearly power is shared between the federal and the States governments. It states: the powers not delegated to the United States (Federal government) by the Constitution, not prohibited by it to the States (State government) are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

In a federal system of government say the ten-states model, which many in Cameroon were espousing for (and they may still be craving for), before things degraded to force the English-speaking Cameroonians to harden their stance on the secessionist agenda, each state will oversee the running of their affairs but shall be respectful of federal laws emanating from the national government. The federal government shall carry out road and out projects through the national territory whereas each state will do so in their respective states. It is important to know that in this system of governance not known to majority of Cameroonians, all-natural resources like oil, waters, gold, bauxite, timber etc., belongs to the national government; however, the revenue obtained from these resources are appropriated to all the states in what we call revenue sharing. In addition, under this system, the states, municipal and local governments shall be responsible in hiring their own workers be it police officers, mayors, governors etc. Each state has the obligation of creating employment possibilities for their people not the Federal government. The people shall elect those whom they want to be their representatives in local, municipal councils, state chambers and federal government not the president of the republic as it is presently the case. Citizens of each state shall pay their taxes in their local jurisdictions however; the taxes shall be shared by the authorities between the state and national governments. The important thing to note is that, states cannot violate federal laws and likewise.

Even the separatist converts today were once for federalism, but the government decided to ignore their plea for a federalist form of government or a representative government like they have done with every other request that the people have tabled to them for a redress. A government that choses to constantly ignore the demands of its citizens is not a government for its people, of his people and by its people. That government should therefore be changed or, the people have the rights to demand away from such a non-representative government.

                                                         Separatists   

I should remind readers that a separatist is not a form of government, but it is someone who does not want to be part of a government that does not represent his or her viewpoint. That is, someone who rejects a form of government that does not represent his/her values or aspirations. It is important to know that a separatist did not arrive at a decision to wanting to form a separate government overnight; it is a decision that has been fomented due to his or her poor economic or political treatment received from the government over time that has never, or no longer serves his or her interests.

The Separatist or Secessionist is used interchangeably here to denote same. While we understand that in the case of Cameroon the separatist or secessionist did not just arrive at the decision to ask for a referendum away from Cameroon, it is because of the continuously inhumane and repressive treatment by the Cameroon government who has taken much pride in dismantling the economic, educational, social and political infrastructures that has caused the English-speaking Cameroonians to harden their resolve to move away from the union with Cameroon. And, the government of Cameroon has had ample time (46 years; from the date of the 1972 referendum) and opportunities, to make good of the indelible wrongs they have done to the people of English Cameroon but have consciously failed to address these wrongs at each given opportunity.

Even though the peoples of English Cameroon are aware of the prize they must pay to gain freedom, they are absolutely determined, and so far, they have been paying with their lives for the last two plus years. The jury is sitting, and many are awaiting the verdicts. Will the Cameroon government fold?

                                    Charting the Pathway for a United Cameroon

Even with the separatist determination to carve a territory away from Cameroon and with the social, economic and political infrastructures in English Cameroon completely degenerated and disintegrated all so because of the ill-conceived and ill-advised policies of the French Cameroon-led government, there’s still hope that things may change for the better if the international communities mount the much-needed pressure on President Biya’s government which has regrettably received another seven(7) years mandate, to change the way he runs the country. As it stands, Cameroon is a francophone-run country and they see anglophones as incapable to run a country even though under their leadership, the people he trusts have produced the worst sets of corrupt and decrepit leaders on the surface of this earth. One would think that after Cameroon has been paraded as the worst corrupt country in the world for more than two years consecutively, they would have learned a lesson or two to start educating good leaders. To chart a way forward therefore the following must be done:

a.      Cameroon of the French must see Cameroon of the English as equal partner in development.

b.      There must be sincere dialogue and signed agreement with consequences of the violation clearly spelled out between the two countries.

c.       Cameroon must provide scholarships to educate future leaders of the country. And scholarships must be proportionately and evenly distributed to all the ten regions.

d.     Sound academic policies must be put in place with the goal to build a future republic that will respond to the ever-increasing needs of Cameroonians.

e.      The French Cameroon must invest heavily on infrastructural development in the English-speaking part of Cameroon and equally from investments from foreign governments in English Cameroon.

f.         There should be equitable distribution of administrative positions throughout the ten regions.

g.      The essential service appointments like the Armed Forces, Territorial Administration, Judiciary, Finance etc., should not only be reserved for the French-speaking Cameroonians as it has often been the case. These essential service appointments must rotate evenly amongst individuals of all regions.

h.      Return to a federal form of government (ten states model) which the people of English Cameroon have been accustomed to, and a system with accountability that has worked well for them,

It shall be these and others that the government of Cameroon must do if they intend to win the trust of English Cameroon. No lip service shall ever be a substitute for action.