Cameroon Anglophone Research Articles

A Legal Appraisal of the Causes of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis

The Cameroon Anglophone Crisis, which erupted in 2016, stems from longstanding grievances among the Anglophone population regarding marginalization, governance issues, and cultural rights within a predominantly Francophone nation. This legal appraisal examines the historical context, highlighting the post-colonial legacy that has shaped Anglophone identity and political aspirations. It analyzes the key main Causes of the anglophone crisis bringing out facts such the constitutional problem, socio-political causes and the role of the diaspora and the media. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology which makes use of the doctrinal method as one of the main methods which deals with content analysis of primary and secondary data. Unstructured interviews and observation were also used as part of the methods of obtaining data. The ensuing results reveals that the main cause of the crisis is one of ideology which was birthed as far as the period of reunification which has remain unaddressed till date. Hence, it laid a foundation for the researcher to recommend a sincere and all-inclusive dialogue amongst the concerned parties amongst others.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Humanitarian and Peacebuilding Role of NGOs in the Cameroon Anglophone Conflict: A Survey of the Affected Communities

Assessing the Effectiveness of Humanitarian and Peacebuilding Role of NGOs in the Cameroon Anglophone Conflict: A Survey of the Affected Communities

Missed or misused opportunity? Social cohesion, national dialogue and peacebuilding in Cameroon

ABSTRACT This paper uses the multidimensional aspects of social cohesion which comprises different elements of trust, equality, inclusion, and participation, to show how political actors can impede efforts to foster social cohesion in conflict affected societies. It identifies key opportunities that were either missed or misused by elites during the national dialogue process intended to resolve Cameroon's Anglophone crisis. Historically, the relationship between elites and the Anglophone population in Cameroon has been characterised by fragile social cohesion due to marginalisation experienced in Anglophone communities. The actions and power-preserving efforts of elites have exacerbated inequalities, political exclusion and mistrust, thereby affecting social cohesion. Based on field observation, semi-structured interviews and secondary data, this paper identifies and analyses five scenarios where Anglophone elites could have acted differently to enhance social cohesion, but failed to do so. Rather, their actions towards the population further weakened social cohesion and facilitated the instrumentalisation of the 2019 national dialogue in Cameroon. Considering the unique characteristics of this case, future dialogue processes, especially those addressing marginalisation concerns, should prioritize strengthening social cohesion and refrain from overlooking its relevance by merely treating it as a desired outcome of a dialogue process.

Whose Right Is Right? The Dialectics of Remedial Secession and Territorial Sovereignty in the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis

The Cameroon Anglophone crisis which began as a protest by Teachers and Lawyers trade unions toward the end of 2016 has evolved into an intractable conflict that threatens to dismember the West African nation. Most scholarly literature on the conflict so far has been focused on the origins, causes and possible remedies. Very few have touched on its theoretical underpinnings. This paper explores the theoretical foundation one which both parties in the conflict have premised their struggle or counter-struggle. It examines the Cameroon Anglophone crisis through the lenses of a conflict between “Remedial secession” on the one hand and “Territorial sovereignty” on the other. Both of the aforementioned concepts are fundamental to understanding the context and motivation of both sides and the main bone of contention that animates this conflict. The paper argues both international law and empirical evidences in their current form lend more credence to claims of territorial sovereignty than remedial secession. It lays out conditions under which the threshold for remedial secession can be attained.

O.6.2-8 Enforcing physical education in the official examinations in Anglophone Cameroon

Abstract Purpose Cameroon has two main educational systems: English and French, which have a colonial heritage. The controversy is that each educational sub-system has its own curriculum. In the French-speaking part of the country, sports and physical education are mandatory for obtaining the CEPE, Baccalaureate, and any other public examination. In the English-speaking part, sports and physical education are yet to be included in the curriculum. The goal of this policy paper is to change the narrative of the curriculum of public examinations in Cameroon's anglophone educational sub-system by following the example of the country's French part. This policy paper targets curriculum developers, the General Certificate of Education Board, and the Ministries of Education. What will be innovative is that students from English-speaking Cameroon will also be included in sports activities at an early age. Project or policy description Development: We used the Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Policy Audit Tool (HEPA PAT) to collect data at the ministries of education, the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, 197 public schools, and 204 health care facilities. Content analysis, ethnographic studies, and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis are used to assess why average French-speaking Cameroonians have a longer life span, are physically active, and participate in more high-level sports than their English-speaking counterparts. The Cameroon Government Certificate (GCE) of Education Board is in charge of putting this project into action. Sports and physical education should be required courses for both the ordinary and advanced levels of the GCE. We will implement the process and conduct an impact assessment. With the process evaluation, we will monitor if the program is meeting the intended goals. The impact evaluation will give a broader view of the outcome of the program. Conclusions When this policy is put into place, the English-speaking part of Cameroon will have HEPA and be pushed to be as healthy and fit as the French-speaking part.

The Ordeal of Traditional Authorities and Sacraments in the Cameroon Anglophone Armed Conflict

One of the main challenges that the world and Africa have faced for the past fifty years has been the proliferation of armed conflicts. These armed conflicts mostly occurred paradoxically in areas rich with a variety of cultural heritage. In fact, since WWII, several areas harboring rich cultural heritages have been destroyed by armed conflicts. Frequent armed conflicts turn to destroy the cultural heritage which is an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions, and values. In reality, cultural heritage can provide an automatic sense of unity and belonging within a group and permit people to better understand previous generations and the history of where they come from. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the armed conflicts in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon (North West and South West regions) are gradually destroying the cultural heritages of communities that live in these two regions. The main question posed in this study is: what are the stakes of armed conflict on the socio-cultural heritage of the English-speaking regions of the republic of Cameroon? How can cultural heritage awareness contribute in resolving the armed conflicts in the area? And finally, what is the future of the people without a cultural background? This cultural effacement has been substantiated by the burning and profanation of traditional palaces with all their contents as well as, the looting, kidnapping, torture, and even killing of traditional authorities who prior to the War held the affidavit of all forms of unity, love and power within these traditional communities. Findings in this paper revealed that, so far, the armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon has seriously affected the socio-cultural heritage of several communities in the area of study The fact too that armed combatants of this region have rather concentrated on eradicating all the entire paraphernalia of chieftaincies and its network of norms f hierarchy has made the palaces hitherto held to be sanctuary of all cultures to become unsecured thereby, causing the fons to flee for survival elsewhere, also indicates the pressure brought by this armed conflicts to local norms and traditions. It submits that war does far more than kill just belligerents as it sinks far deep into the yards of effacing established customs and traditions that provide the adhesive threads for most generations. This submission is therefore valid not just for the current armed conflict plaguing the Anglophone regions of Cameroon but also for any society that has resulted to seek justice through armed conflict.

Journalism and secessionism: A contextual analysis of reporting in the Cameroon Anglophone crisis

This article examines journalism in Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis as a reflection of the broader dynamics of ongoing secessionist conflicts in Africa. Using the evolving rhetorical approach to media framing, the study analyses articles from one state-owned and one privately-owned newspaper in Cameroon to determine the thematic framing of the crisis with respect to the national media divide. The study also examines the level of importance given to the subject of the crisis and ascertains the degree of independence or journalistic objectivity in the reporting of the crisis. The article reveals that the crisis was mainly reported through themes relating to solutions and violence, indicating that focus was placed on finding solutions to the crisis while also highlighting the crisis’ violent nature. This differs from conventional approaches to crisis reporting, which typically emphasize problem definition and causal interpretation over solution-based reporting. According to the results, the theme of crisis was highly emphasized in news coverage as it appeared in the first three paragraphs of the majority of articles evaluated. It was also found that, despite the repressive controls over the media system, journalists were largely independent and official sources were not heavily relied on.

A Tale of Two “Sisikus”: The Evolving Trajectory of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

Cameroon has been plunged into a devastating civil conflict since December 2017 when President Paul Biya declared war on secessionists after the killing of four soldiers and two police officers in the South West Region. This paper approaches the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis from the theoretical premise of remedial secession. It argues that the evolution of the crisis from a moderate return to federalism pursued by “Sisiku” Agbor Felix Nkongho to the radical secession espoused by “Sisiku” Julius Ayuk Tabe can be understood within the framework of remedial secession. The cogency of this argument is examined against efforts made by the Cameroon government to tackle the crisis and the concept of territorial integrity. This paper concludes that the protracted nature of the conflict reflects the theoretical impasse between remedial secession and territorial integrity.

THE GOVERNMENT OF CAMEROON AND THE ANGLOPHONE CIVIL SOCIETY CONSORTIUM: GLIMMERS TO THE CAMEROON ANGLOPHONE ARMED CONFLICT

After the reunification of Cameroon in 1961, some West Cameroonian political class began to cast their doubts on the centralized Federal System put in place. This system according to some Anglophones gave room for marginalization and assimilation of West Cameroon especially with the closure of its development agency. This somehow nursed grievances and in 2016, the bon a fide English Speaking Cameroonian lawyers and teachers rose up in a “peaceful civil disobedient protest” to express their disillusion, over the erosion of the Common Law Judicial System and the Anglo-Saxon Education System in Cameroon. This paper from this angle looks at the origin of the Consortium, Government position and the impact. The paper argues that, Government’s responses and policies towards the corporate grievances and the ban on the Consortium laid the foundation of a radicalized armed conflict in the Anglophone region and within this dispensation; other discourse towards a lasting solution became valuable. The major instrument used for data collection was interviews, secondary literature, author’s experience and a multidisciplinary approach to present the facts. This paper concludes that the failure to break even between the Government of Cameroon and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) introduced armed conflict with costly consequences.

Language and Communication Discourses in Conflict Management: A Case Study of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

This paper sets out to analyse the language and communication strategies that are being used in attempts at resolving the crisis; to determine if these strategies are liable in the escalation or de-escalation of the conflict. It has been noticed that the language and Communication used by the social actors to manage the Anglophone conflict in Cameroon has not been effective, and thus futile. This research aims at investigating the role language and communication play in the process of conflict management and resolution. It sought to examine the ways language is being used in resolving the Cameroon Anglophone conflict. This paper is undertaken within the framework of the Critical Discourse Analysis which studies the way social power abuse, dominance and inequality are enacted, produced and resisted through text and talk and Systemic Functional Linguistics which holds that one does not speak and write in isolated sentences but in meaningful units called texts which are produced in and influenced by context. The research approach used in this study was the qualitative design. The data was collected with the aid of 3 interviews and content analysis of 3 speeches of the Head of State on the Anglophone conflict. The data was analysed using the content analysis method. From the findings, it was discovered that the language and communication used in managing and resolving the crisis is not adequate enough to put an end to the crisis. The choice of words used by the actors rather cause pain, anger, and hurt in the hearts of the people rather than easing the pain, thus escalating the conflict. The findings of the study indicate amongst others that the actors of the conflict do not make use of the language strategies in their attempts at resolving the crisis probably because they do not give language the important role it plays in conflict resolution. The communication strategies used in managing the crisis is not efficient enough to successfully resolve it, and the vocabulary used by the actors of the conflict rather cause the conflict to escalate as they rather cause hurt and anger in the hearts of fellow actors, causing more violent actions to be exhibited.

Exploring the use of #MyAnglophoneCrisisStory on Twitter to understand the impacts of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis

Since October 2016, Cameroon has been involved in a violent conflict known as the Anglophone Crisis. This study examines the impact of the hashtag #MyAnglophoneCrisisStory on Twitter in capturing and amplifying the stories of people affected by the crisis. Using R, the authors extracted and analyzed tweets using this hashtag that were posted between 21 October 2020 and 3 November 2020. Only tweets posted in English and French languages were included. To understand the content of the tweets, the authors inductively coded and manually analyzed a total of 1064 tweets, replies, and comments. A categorical analysis revealed the presence of three different types of tweets: ‘Story’, ‘Response to Story’, and ‘Awareness and Advocacy’. The ‘Story’ category had four distinct themes: (1) Senseless Loss of Life: Shot and Killed; (2) The Disappeared: Lost and Kidnapped; (3) On the Move/Elusive Safety: Escape, Displacement; and (4) Prevention and Trauma, Mental Health, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This study supports the concept that even short tweets can have a significant impact and signals the need for more attention and research on this overlooked conflict. Future work can involve the use of more advanced analysis tools to conduct a more thorough examination of tweets.

Using Twitter to Understand the Effects of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis on Social Determinants of Health

ABSTACT Insufficient opportunities to collect data on public health exist in armed conflict regions. Increased use of social media during war and conflict has allowed for data collection in situations where information is usually difficult to obtain. In this study, Twitter, a public social media platform, was used as a source of data and information to gain insight into how the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis impacts public health in the population. Our findings revealed that Twitter was being used to share information and call for action. Analysis of tweets revealed 8 distinct themes, which illustrated the impact of the crisis on the social determinants of health: neglect from government related to the social determinants of health; education; loss of employment; increased poverty; housing and homelessness; social exclusion and oppression; women and gender inequality; and health services. This study provides insight into the significant impact on public health in Cameroon caused by the Anglophone Crisis, and demonstrates the potential benefits of social media for gathering information about public health in crisis situations.

African Political Theology and Post-Nationalist Nationalism: The Case of the Cameroon Anglophone Conflict

ABSTRACT This article is a Christian theological interrogation of the war in the Anglophone region of Cameroon between Cameroon’s army and Anglophone separatists who seek separation from Francophone Cameroon. It problematizes a facile understanding of Anglophone identity that places Anglophones on the one side and Francophones on the other, arguing that these identities are complex. It critiques theologies that appear to defend Anglophone separation arguing that these theologies are rooted in an inadequate understanding of liberation theology and a limited doctrine of providence. It proposes an African political theology that calls into question the theological legitimacy of the nation-state and seeks to transcend the binaries that often otherize and separate. This political theology, it is suggested, should have a pan-African and cosmopolitan vision.

President Paul Biya and Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis: A Catalog of Miscalculations

President Paul Biya and Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis: A Catalog of Miscalculations

Multilingualism as a Literary Code in Cameroon Anglophone Literature: A Study of TahProtus’s The Immortal Seed and Bole Butake’s Lake God

Multilingualism as a Literary Code in Cameroon Anglophone Literature: A Study of TahProtus’s The Immortal Seed and Bole Butake’s Lake God

Cameroon Anglophone Regions – Schools Targeted

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural SeriesVolume 57, Issue 10 p. 22909B-22909C National Security CameroonAnglophone Regions – Schools Targeted First published: 24 November 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-825X.2020.09712.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume57, Issue10November 2020Pages 22909B-22909C RelatedInformation

The Place of “Black Magic” and “Juju” In the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis: A Truncated Narrative 2017-2020

The Place of “Black Magic” and “Juju” In the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis: A Truncated Narrative 2017-2020

The Anglophone Question in Cameroon: Historical Context and Evolution from “Everyday” Resistance to Armed Conflict, 1961-2017

Since 2017, English-speaking regions of Cameroon have witnessed armed conflict in its towns and villages with far-reaching repercussions. This is perhaps one of the worst endogenous armed conflicts in Cameroon since independence in 1960 and reunification in 1961. What is even more engrossing to the mind has been the question as to how corporatist movements initiated by Cameroon Anglophone common law lawyers and teachers soon vitiated into armed confrontation on a scale that can only be compared to anti-colonial movements in French Cameroon from the 1940s to the 1960s. From this basic premise, this paper contends that the armed conflict witnessed in the Anglophone regions since 2017 did not emerge from a vacuum. It has been in gestation in the form of “everyday” resistance since at least the 1970s. The armed conflict has been a concomitant feature of historical milestones marked by accumulated grievances and frustrations, gelled by the growth of ‘Ambazonism’, propagated as the twin phenomena of liberalism and nationalism through the social media and sponsored and steered by an ensemble of Cameroonian Diaspora enjoying immunity afforded by geography and distance. The paper wields an avalanche of diverse sources ranging from archival, published and oral material to sustain its thesis. Keywords: Anglophone Cameroon, ‘Everyday’ Resistance, Armed Conflict and Ambazonism.

The Anglophone Crisis: The Birth of Warlords, the Impact of Warlords Activity on the People of North West and South West Region of Cameroon

Things are falling apart in Cameroon, as the marriage of inconvenience between the Former British Southern Cameroon (West Cameroon) and The Republic of Cameroon (East Cameroon) is about to explode into a violent crisis. Cameroon which is a member of the Central African community (CEMAC), shares borders with Nigeria which has an ongoing Boko Haram crisis, Chad is suffering from not only droughts but also Boko Haram crisis, the Republic of Central Africa also has political tensions, and Gabon amongst others. This article overviews the Cameroon Anglophone crisis and the Birth of warlords. The main objective of this study is to analyze the birth of Warlord, the impact of the Warlords on the people of (NW and SW), possible solutions to the crisis. In the process, the article also highlights gang violence by warlords and the Military of Cameroon, which includes: 1) Displacement of thousands of people (internal and external displacement), 2) imprisonment of thousands of civilians both those allegedly concerned and those innocent, 3) heavy loss of property by government and civilians not only in the two English speaking regions but the entire country as a whole. This article is a sociological analysis of the phenomenon, the birth of Warlords and the intensification of gang violence on the people of Northwest and Southwest of Cameroon. Using a qualitative case study based research strategy, this research investigates and analyzes the different system of government and other factors which can be used as a solution to the Anglophone crisis. The solution includes: 1) Federalism, 2) Unitary system, 3) Secession, 4) Dialogue, 5) United Nations and African Union, as actors and strategies that can be implemented in Cameroon.

Media Violence Reports on the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis: Implication on Buea Denizens

Media Violence Reports on the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis: Implication on Buea Denizens