Anglophone Cameroon Literature waxing ever strong!

I was scandalized the other day when I heard an Anglophone Professor of Literature dismiss Anglophone Cameroon Literature with uncanny levity. He is a Professor I admired so much when he taught me at Ngoa Ekelle in the late 1980s. His mastery of his subject used to be exceptional and his manner of imparting knowledge masterly nay extraordinary. In addition, he was evidently one of the not-too-many lecturers at the time who were not enticed by the lusciousness of their female students’ laps.

Indeed, I shuddered in disbelief when I heard him (I deliberately withhold his name) say there was nothing like Anglophone Cameroon Literature. “What is it! What is it!” he shamelessly hollered. “Those who say it exists are simply misguided. We talk of Cameroon Literature, nothing short of that!”

Dishonesty par excellence

That is what dishonesty can do to an intellectual. And this dishonesty is kept alive just because such personalities have been given juicy positions which they do not want to lose. In such circumstances, they become – take it or leave it – nothing but pseudo intellectuals.

Yes, my teacher has transformed himself into a veritably spurious intellectual over time, just because he is drinking from a stream which he thinks will never dry up or which may not recede anytime soon. Otherwise, how would he not understand that Anglophone Cameroon Literature exists and is doing unquestionably well? If Prof is doubting this fact, let me put things to him in black and white.

What is Anglophone Cameroon Literature?

Anglophone Cameroon Literature denotes the entire body of literary works (poetry, drama and prose) written by Cameroonians who originate from former West Cameroon, now known as South West and North West regions . This means that works of literature penned by those who hail from former East Cameroon, that is, any of the other eight regions of the country, do not fall within the realm of the said Literature – no matter whether the authors write in English or have their works translated into the Queen’s language.

If there is Anglophone Cameroon Literature, then there is Francophone Cameroon Literature as well, even though natives of the former East Cameroon and our ‘Francophonized’ brethren such as my teacher would never call their literature so, for the purpose of pushing forward what many Anglophones call “their assimilation drive.”

These two literatures exist side by side because by virtue of Cameroon’s cultural heritage, it is a bicultural country. It could be an accident of history, but it is a fact. The contents of these two literatures can never be the same because no two cultures are ever the same.

The Sankie Maimos, the Kenjo Jumbams, the Nsanda Ebas, the Tekere Meshacks, etc. are the pioneers of what is now known as Anglophone Cameroon Literature. The Bate Besongs, the Bole Butakes and the Victor Epie Ngomes ensured its continuity, and today many younger writers have sprung and are still springing up to keep the flowers of the said literature blooming.

Owing to the fact that literature mirrors the society from which it emanates, much of what constitutes Anglophone Cameroon Literature reflects the woes and aspirations of Anglophones who are treated more or less as second class citizens in their own country. Thus their writings are suffused with themes such as marginalization, impunity, dictatorship corruption and what have you.

These and other related themes pervade the works of younger writers such as John Nkemngong Nkengasong, Mbuh Tennu Mbuh, Tangyie Suh Nfor, Mathew Takwi, Hans Nyah Ndah, John Ngong Kum, Douglas Achingale, just to mention these. Their writings are what some critics have referred to as protest literature. In fact, Anglophone Cameroon writers write not to canoodle the powers-that-be, but rather to throw stones at them for trampling on their rights, with a view to reversing their warped mentality. How come my teacher does not see all this?

Anglophone Cameroon Literature enjoys the same status as African American Literature in the USA. It has the same status as Jewish American Literature still in the USA as well as Quebecois Literature in Canada. These literatures came into existence because some classes of people were being oppressed in their respective communities. Has my teacher ever heard any American or Canadian scholar raise their voices in protest against these literatures? Why is it that travesties of this kind happen only in Cameroon?

Determination

If the Professor’s intent, just like that of our Francophone barons, is to annihilate Anglophone Cameroon Literature, then he has missed the point and will definitely not succeed in his surly mission. By trying not to recognize our literature, they are only fuelling us to write more and trenchantly so. We are in a period in our history when Anglophone Cameroon writers have become more conscious of their plight and are churning out works in greater quantity than they have ever done.

As Anglophone Cameroonians, we may have lost our collective name, we may be discriminated against in our workplaces and refused political power, but we cannot lose our literature. Far from it! Our literature is our collective soul and the main mirror through which we view our society with therapeutic eyes. So we must keep it alive, especially as the Anglophone Cameroon Writers’ Association (ACWA) is strong, virulent and vibrant.

We remain optimistic and will write till the last drop of our ink! To paraphrase Mahatma Ghandi, we have never lost optimism. In seemingly darkest hours hope has burnt bright within us. We cannot kill the hope ourselves…there is no defeat in us.

A lutta continua!