Addressing the Grievances of the Anglophone Part of Cameroon and the Founding of "The New Cameroon"

First Published  on Sunday, November 27, 2016 by the blog  "New Cameroon Views"

 By Janvier Tchouteu

The disillusionment, frustration and anger of the peoples West of the River Mungo (former British Southern Cameroonians, former West Cameroonians)---native born and or indigenous (aboriginal) over the bad treatment they have been receiving in the hands of the usurper French-imposed system (the political establishment), a system that is not a reflection of the post-independence government  their forefathers had in mind when they voted for independence  through (re)unification with the former French Cameroun( that became La Republique du Cameroun---the Republic of Cameroun on January 01, 1960) is real, should not be taken lightly  and should be addressed in a serious manner. The Biya regime, like its predecessor the Ahidjo regime, and the French-imposed system as a whole loses any sense of relevance for their gross mismanagement of the reunification and independence project, an outcome that is hardly surprising for people who never fought for, never campaigned for, and never supported the reunification and independence of the lands of the former German Kamerun (British Cameroons and French Cameroun).

Every opportunity to mitigate or resolve the grievances of  Anglophone Cameroonians West of the River Mungo should be seized, even though Cameroonian civic-nationalists (union nationalists who honor our forefathers who fought and died for and who voted for the reunification and independence of the lands of the former German Kamerun), believe that an optimal resolution of the Anglophone problem would be realized under a New Cameroon where the anachronistic French-imposed system has been completely dismantled and where the original objectives of reunification and independence would be the cornerstone of building a Cameroon that is progressive, liberal, free, democratic, just and prosperous. 

However, even as we set our sights on this optimal or partial solutions, even as we denounce the French-imposed establishment made up  of French-puppets and their collaborators drawn from every region, ethnic group, religion, and linguistic entity; even as we oppose this establishment led and dominated in Cameroon by French-favored groups, we should always bear in mind the fact that the establishment is rejected by the vast majority in all the regions, ethnic groups, religions and linguistic entities in the land. That way, the fight to restore the full rights of the people of the former West Cameroon does not make it a fight between Anglophones and Francophones; that way, a rejection of the system does not mean Cameroonians hold the Beti-Fang peoples or the Fulani peoples responsible for the Biya and Ahidjo regimes; that way, the grievances of Cameroonians against France's underhanded control of Cameroon does not become translated into a  perception of France as an enemy, but rather as a  country with the potential of becoming Cameroon's best friend that got led by governments of bad faith that made it to fail to become a genuine partner, a France that only needs to  turn things around and reconcile with a people whose open heart can even accommodate France as a "Brotherly Nation".

Such a prospect of founding this "New Cameroon" would require honesty, genuineness, and adherence to historical truths from all the parties. The French puppets in Cameroon would have to stop parlaying the distorted history of Cameroon that the anti-Cameroonian forces in the governments of France dished out for them to serve to the Cameroonian people, anti-people narratives that succeeded in brainwashing so many over the decades, lies that denigrated the noble and honorable sacrifices Cameroonian civic-nationalists made for the land's reunification and independence. And even the Anglophobes and Francophobes, and even the Anglophone nationalists and Francophone nationalists (minorities on both sides of the River Mungo) who do not cherish the original goals of reunification and independence would need to cease trying to make enemies out of Anglophone Cameroonians and Francophone Cameroonians. 

It does not help when we make comparisons of Cameroon, whose situation is unique in the world, with other countries. Cameroon still has the potential to become the pride of Africa or the curse of the continent. The New Cameroon would become the model around which the future "New Africa would be built. Cameroon stands to become "The Light of Africa". We should not allow the detractors to take our eyes away from the source of that light---Union-Nationalism.

                                                                                                       

The Case of the former Southern Cameroons compared to Africa's other Sovereign Regions that became parts of other African States

 First Published  on Monday, November 28, 2016 by the blog  "New Cameroon Views"

As indicated before, Cameroon's case is unique...In the case of Quebec and Eritrea, they were incorporated into British Canada and Ethiopia respectively as "trophies of war", hence they could or can politely get out (through a plebiscite or referendum)---Quebec, or fight their way out---Eritrea. Eritrea did just that with the support of the new government of Ethiopia after the overthrow of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. Britain simply brought South Sudan and Sudan together, two entities that had no history before as a single entity; and it had to take decades of war and millions of deaths for the international community led by the United States of America that was against the Islamist regime of Omar Bashir, to allow a referendum that allowed South Sudan to go its separate way. And of course, Zanzibar was a British protectorate (a protectorate which in modern international law, is a dependent territory that has been granted local autonomy and some independence while still retaining the sovereignty of a greater sovereign state. The United Kingdom never granted independence to Zanzibar because it never had sovereignty over Zanzibar. the UK simply ended the Protectorate and made provision for full self-government in Zanzibar as an independent country within the Commonwealth. It was the revolutionary government that came to power in Zanzibar a month after Zanzibar's independence by overthrowing the pro-British monarch that negotiated Zanzibar's union with Tanganyika, thereby forming a new country called Tanzania. So, Zanzibar could have stayed independent if it wanted to. Southern Cameroons never had that option.

The case in Africa you could have even compared to British Southern Cameroons’s was British Somaliland. Somalis, who had never been united before found their homeland even more divided into three Somali colonial territories (French Somaliland, Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland.) during the partition of Africa, and the rest as a part of Kenya (North-east Kenya) and Ethiopia (Ogaden). Italian Somaliland became a British Trust Territory, like British Cameroons (British Northern Cameroons and British Southern Cameroons) after World War 2, which Britain administered separately from its protectorate British Somaliland. The Legislative Council of British Somaliland passed a resolution in April 1960 requesting independence and union with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland), which was scheduled to gain independence on 1 July that 1960. The leaders of British Somaliland and the former Italian Somaliland met and agreed to form a unitary state. However, Britain ended its control over British Somaliland five days before the scheduled unification date, so that the territory was briefly independent as the State of Somaliland before uniting on July 01, 1960 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic (Somalia).

Curiously enough, following the descend of Somalia into a failed state in the aftermath of the civil war that followed the 1977-1978 war against Ethiopia in its bid to unite Ogaden with the rest of Somalia,  the exit from power of President Siad Barre,  and the breakdown of the central government, a geopolitical entity emerged in May 1991, calling itself the “Republic of Somaliland”, and regarding itself as the successor to former British Somaliland as well as to the State of Somaliland (the short-lived independent state of five days). Yet no country or international organization recognizes it until today. There is no need to delve deeper into the Somalia quagmire.  And there are tons of other nominally independent states that are still unrecognized today who sacrificed blood to secede from the dominant state they were a part of---Nagorny Karabakh, Transnistria, Donetsk People’s Republic, Lugansk People’s Republic, and until 2008 Abkhazia and South Ossetia (That Russia and a few countries recognized following the Russo-Georgian war) and Kosovo (recognized by many Western countries), but not by up to half of the world. These entities have control of their territories, standing armies, government, and other trappings, but are not recognized as such, hence are not connected to the internal financial systems, international trade, international legal system, the United Nationals, and its affiliated institutions, etc.

In a nutshell, the retarding establishment can only address the grievances of   Cameroonians West of the Mungo piecemeal. But a true, fundamental, genuine and overall resolution of Cameroon’s No 1, minority problem is possible only in a New Cameroon, a New Cameroon that is possible after all the peoples of Cameroon, irrespective of religion, region, ethnicity or linguistic affiliation join hands and with all seriousness dismantle this French-imposed system that has kept all Cameroonians in a cesspool for close to six decades. 

And truth be told, I think the Northwest region is the least conscious of that reality as its politicians confuse the population into continuing the embrace of  conflicting forces that divide the ranks of exponents of change there, making them to strike blindly most of the time, so  that the formidable energy that the region generates gets scattered instead of being fully galvanized and channeled to effect cooperation with other forces  of change in Cameroon and in building the broader energy that can sweep this monstrous system out of power and realize the New Cameroon. We need to be critical and self-critical, we need to listen to the points of view of others, be open-minded, start calling a spade a spade and turn our backs away even from our family members and tribesmen who are helping to sustain the system in a symbiosis that is leading Cameroon to abyss. “Long Sense” is not the way forward. It is anachronistic in the cause to found the “New Cameroon” because its smacks of deception and dishonesty that a rational mind finds intolerable.