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148 The Anglophone problem and the secession option in Cameroon Eric Ebolo Elong INTRODUCTION The Anglophone problem has stimulated extensive research and debates in Cameroon’s history. There has been substantive publication on this subject especially by sociologists, anthropologists, historians, political scientists, lawyers and journalists. Nonetheless the focal point of these studies has always revolved around the causes, manifestation and impact of the Anglophone problem. This chapter departs from the above-mentioned premise by critically examining the circumstances that led to the emergence of this problem with emphasis on who is an Anglophone and the role of the Francophones and Anglophones in orchestrating the Anglophone problem. The Anglophone problem is defined by Ngoh as the desire of the inhabitants of former British Southern Cameroon (present-day Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon) to assert their identity on an equal basis with the Francophone, in the political, economic, social and the cultural life of the Cameroon nation (Ngoh 2004: 214). This chapter attempts to analyse the historical antecedents which led to the emergence of an Anglophone problem in Cameroon with emphasis on the Anglo-French partition of the territory in 1919 and the constitutional arrangements which took place in Cameroon at post-independence.The chapter argues that the term ‘Anglophone’ is increasingly becoming ambiguous: especially as the term in the present context is exclusive, at a time when the term is emerging increasingly as one without borders (Ndobegang 2005).That is, many Cameroonians of Francophone descent are enrolling in the English schools and this further complicates who can be identified as Anglophone. Moreover, considering the fact that the British Southern Cameroons was administered as part of the Eastern Region of Nigeria between 1922 and 1953 one can arguably state that its culture was Anglo-Nigerian. The study identifies the major actors and steps taken by the Anglophones to internationalise their problem. It navigates into the formation of Anglophone pressure groups like the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), Southern Cameroons People Organization (SCAPO), and Cameroon Anglophone CHAPTER 8 149 THE ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM AND THE SECESSION OPTION IN CAMEROON Movement (CAM) among others and their shift from a two state option to that of total independence of Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. It also discusses the ramifications of this crisis as it threatens the national integrity of the nation and how the Bakassi Peninsula crisis has accentuated the increased clamour by the Anglophones to secede from the Republic of Cameroon. By and large, the chapter identifies the major implications of these movements in state-building and assesses how some Anglophone pressure groups have found a new expression in internationalising their plight through the Internet. The chapter holds that cyber nationalism has created an effective tool of networks of resistance to Biya’s government policies and has increased momentum for the secession option. The Anglophones resorted to this option due to the determination by Presidents Ahidjo and Biya to weaken the federation and unitary state respectively at the expense of the Anglophone minority. It further analyses the implications of this problem on nation building in Cameroon. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OFTHE ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM Cameroon was annexed on 11 July 1884 by the Germans. The territory comprised of a multiplicity of ethnic groups and polities which varied in size and administrative system. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 in Europe further complicated the history of the country: Britain and France jointly invaded German Kamerun and defeated the Germans in 1916. On 17 March 1916 the territory was partitioned between the French and the British (Elango 1987: 9). The British sphere consisted of two disjointed, narrow strips of territory in the west stretching from Lake Chad to the Atlantic coast and bordering Nigeria. It comprised about one-fifth of the total area and population of Cameroon. The French sphere consisted of the remaining four-fifths of the territory and population. In 1922, the League of Nations (LON) confirmed this division and authorised the British and French to administer their spheres as separate LON mandates, an arrangement which the UN later confirmed as UN trust territory (LeVine 1971: 17). The French part of the territory became known as French Cameroon whereas the British section became known as British Cameroons. It comprised of British Northern and Southern Cameroons and was administered separately by the Northern and Eastern Regions of Nigeria. British Southern Cameroons ceased to be administered as an integral region of Eastern Nigeria in 1954 when it gained a quasi-regional status from Nigeria. In...

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