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Thursday, January 26, 2017

Francophones Should Support the Southern Cameroons Struggle

Narratives on the Anglophone Cameroon struggles may give the impression that Anglophone Cameroonians are against Francophone Cameroonians thus leading Francophone Cameroonians to be apprehensive of what Anglophone Cameroonians seek. The idea of the Francophone system being forced down the throats of Anglophone Cameroonians may give the impression that Anglophone Cameroonians are against Francophone Cameroonians. This would be to simplify the matter. What Anglophone Cameroonians are decrying is a form of plunder by successive post-independence regimes in Cameroon that have ridden rough shod not only against the spirit and letter of what Cameroon was supposed to be but against the well-being of the peoples of this geographical triangle. Southern Cameroonians would not be protesting and being killed by the Biya regime today if they had the end of the deal which the independence agreement stipulated. Sticking to this deal would have provided the benefit of peace which, I believe, all Cameroonians seek.

The decrying of the marginalization that assimilates Anglophone Cameroonians into a unitary system is a function of the despoliation which the Biya and Ahidjo regimes have visited on Cameroonians for over fifty years now. The Anglophone struggle should not give the impression that Francophones have a more decent life in Cameroon than Anglophones. This is far from the truth. The justice Anglophone Cameroonians seek is a justice that would also benefit Francophone Cameroonians. The centralization of the government in Yaoundé has robbed both Francophone and Anglophone Cameroonians of their voices and creative potential and so Francophones should support the Anglophone cause because regional autonomy has the potential to unleash the creativity and dynamism of both the Francophones and Anglophones. The current Anglophone crisis actually gives a cover to Paul Biya because the silence of Francophones may give the impression that the Biya regime has been good to them. This is also a false impression.

The current crisis should therefore not be seen as only an Anglophone Cameroonian struggle but rather as a Cameroonian struggle. Francophones should be supporting the Anglophone cause because in doing so, they also raise their voice against a regime that is despoiling them.

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