The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon

Abstract

The historiography of the “Anglophone Problem” has drawn a lot of ink from Cameroonian historians, lawyers, politicians, and scholars. This is because an Anglophone in the Cameroonian context is not necessarily a Cameroonian who speaks or writes English, or who is imbibed with the Anglo-Saxon culture. Cameroonians are confronted with who an Anglophone is, what is the Anglophone problem, the origin of the Anglophone problem, and why the Anglophone Crisis. An understanding of the Anglophone Problem has been complicated and compounded by the differences in political philosophy and culture between the Anglo-Saxon philosophy and the Gallic philosophy of governing the polity. The discourse on the Anglophone problem has been animated intellectually and politically by two schools of thought: one school of thought animated principally by the French-speaking (Francophones) and another school of thought animated by the English-speaking (Anglophones). It is important to note that, understanding the Anglophone Problem lies in the fact that it had a deep impact on the life of the Republic of Cameroon. However, the first school of thought argued that there is no Anglophone Problem per se, while the second school of thought argued that there is an Anglophone Problem. In order to better understand the Anglophone Problem, the researcher looked at some historical events that has or may have had an influence on the current situation. Important events in this context are for example the German rule in Cameroon 1884 -1916, the Anglo-French Condominium in Cameroon 1914 - 1916, the partition of Cameroon by Britain and France in 1916, the Foumban Constitutional conference in 1961, the 1961 plebiscites, 2016 demonstrations (Lawyers and Teachers) and The Grand National Dialogue in 2019. These historical and contemporary events gave the researcher a deeper understanding of the Anglophone Problem, reasons for the current situation, and the government efforts in resolving this Anglophone Problem in Cameroon.