32 years of New Deal- Anglophones still lost in the crowd?

When one looks at the political landscape in Cameroon, one gets the impression that English speaking Cameroonians do not yet know what they are in for. This is disheartening because it is more than half a century since reunification took place.

Last Thursday, 6 November, CPDM militants joined President Biya in celebrations marking thirty two years of his reign. Both English and French speaking Cameroonians joined in the feasting. But the question that begs an answer is: did Anglophones have enough reason to celebrate with Biya?

All over the world, democratic politics remains a game of numbers. It is a game in which the majority takes all. Based on this therefore, French speaking Cameroonians always tend to view their English speaking brothers as people who are asking for too much. If English speaking Cameroonians want more from this polity and if maximum fulfillment is what will give them that sense of belonging then they must go back to the drawing board.

The constitution The 18th January 1996 constitution which is being progressively implemented by President Paul Biya, does not give a ‘special’ status to Anglophone Cameroon. Rather, the two provinces that make up that unique political blocks are treated like all other regions in the country. By not asking for a special status to be accorded them in that constitution therefore, Anglophones committed the same errors that their forefathers committed during reunification in 1961 and during the conversion to a unitary state in 1972.

It is this lack of constitutional protection that has left Anglophones emasculated and vulnerable to any manipulation that the French speaking majority deems fit to resort to. And when Anglophones complain, it makes them look naïve in the eyes of not only their French speaking brothers but to observers worldwide. Like all other mistakes, political blunders too can be costly and difficult to overturn.

Integration and assimilation National integration is an area in which President Biya is likely to live a monumental legacy. Over the past 32 years, Cameroonians have come to accept themselves and their uniqueness to a point where they feel their national identity irrespective of which part of the country they find themselves residing.

Too, the Bilingual culture is spreading with leaps and bounds. This not withstanding, the average Anglophone sees a bleak future. This is because the general trend in Africa now is towards greater sub regional integration. The future of Cameroon lies in opening up and being more involved in the central African sub region. So, if Anglophones have not been able to find a footing in Cameroon, one wonders what they will do in a sub region in which not even one nation has English as its official language.

Is decentralization the answer? The English speaking Cameroonian feels marginalized 32 years since Biya came to power. And Anglophones were not better treated during Ahidjo’s reign.

In ministerial appointments for instance, they worry that not only too few ministries are headed by Anglophones, but certain key ministries remain elusive to them.

Ministries like those of education, defence, territorial administration, economy and finance, external relations remain a monopoly of Francophones. As if this is not bad enough, even when Anglophones are appointed as ministers, very few are given a portfolio.

Presently, out of the over 36 ministers with portfolios in Cameroon, only two are Anglophones (Ngole Ngwese of Forestry and Tutu Muna of Arts and Culture). Some regions like the Centre, South, East etc. have as many as six ministers with portfolios each.

Similarly, certain state-owned corporations have never been headed by an Anglophone: Sonara, SNH, Camwater, Sonel, CRTV, SOPECAM etc. Consequently, Anglophones working in such establishments have never been given that sense of being part of this nation.

Strength in unity

Considering the plight of Anglophones in Cameroon today, one sees the need for a forum through which they can speak with one voice and present a common front. Something like the All Anglophone Conference AAC of the 90s could serve as platform to enable Anglophones come up with a common position to present to their French speaking brothers.

The truth is that even effective decentralization will not completely address the Anglophone minority problem talk less of this piecemeal decentralization which the regime has adopted. Put differently therefore, the 1996 constitution does not provide measures that could resolve the Anglophone minority problem in this country.

And since Anglophones are here to stay, they need to find ways of protecting their political future and enhancing their gains constitutionally. Five decades of begging have done no good because of the nature of politics. Most African politicians are ardent students of Machiavelli who taught that: “in politics, you do not beg, you grab; you do not act reasonably, you fight; and in that fight the winner takes it all.”

Only when the constitution states clearly what number of ministerial positions are to be reserved for Anglophones, which high public offices must be rotatory, what percentage of national revenue must be allocated to Anglophone provinces and so on can Anglophone complains hold any water. If Anglophones feel strongly that the colonial language they inherited is a consequential yardstick from which to take sides, then they must act fast and put something on Biya’s table before he marks his next anniversary.