Imbalanced Development of Transport Infrastructure in Anglo-French Cameroons and Its Impact on the Political Evolution of the Territories, 1916-2022

Abstract

This paper seeks to evaluate the impacts of the uneven development of transport infrastructure in former British Southern Cameroons and French Cameroun on the political evolution of both entities. It investigates the rationale behind the introduction of modern transport and communication systems in Cameroon by various colonial administrations, and the spatial differences of the infrastructure development, so as to ascertain the role of the imperialists in creating the transport problem plaguing the country. Exploring primary and secondary historical sources, this write-up argues that the desire to ease the evacuation of tropical raw materials by German planters and merchants engendered the development of the transport system in Kamerun. Conversely, the Anglo-French compelled by some key provisions in the Mandate and Trusteeship Agreements did not all ensure the socio-economic development of their respective spheres of influence in the former German Protectorate. Consequently, French investments created disparity in the transport set-up first within Cameroun, as it was concentrated on the port city of Douala and its environs, and with the British Southern Cameroons, which remained largely neglected. It concludes that this apparent British disregard for the improvement on the transport groundwork in her own sector, later influenced the political debate during the independence struggle, as some Southern Cameroonians advocated for the (re)unification option simply to benefit from the development guarantees from leading French Camerounians. However, such assurances hardly came to fruition leaving many Anglophones hapless within the post-independent state. In summary, the article recommends an all-encompassing development policy of transport infrastructure to be adopted by the government of Cameroon, so that it can hearken to the aspirations of former Southern Cameroonians.