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| 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 10th
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.
