Anglophone crisis: US diplomats Orders Cameroon to Return to 2 State Federation

As the security and social crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone region rages, a former United States ambassador is advocating a return to federalism as the only viable solution.

Herman Cohen, a former assistant Secretary of State for Africa says the government must go back for the original federal system that was in his view ‘illegally abolished’ during the tenure of the country’s first President, Ahmadou Ahidjo.

Ahidjo, Cameroon’s first president, governed with a federal system for the first twelve years of his presidency. But in 1972, the federal system was abolished for a United Republic of Cameroon directed from Yaoundé.

The abolition of that federal structure caused Anglophones to complain of discrimination, a situation that led to protests currently witnessed in the two English speaking regions of the country. 

The situation has now taken a violent turn as separatists’ elements have staged guerilla style attacks on security forces killing over twenty-seven of them according to the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji.

The two Anglophone regions (North West and South West) have also been under curfew for the last few months.

Ahidjo, stepped down as president in 1982 and Paul Biya took over the reign. The current governance structure concentrates power in the presidency despite two chambers of the legislature – the 180-member National Assembly and the 100-member Senate.

The President is elected for a seven-year mandate. The presidency creates policy, administers government agencies, commands the armed forces, negotiates and ratifies treaties, and declares a state of emergency if need be.

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The president appoints government officials at all levels, from the prime minister (considered the official head of government), to provincial governors and divisional officers.

But the US diplomat has strongly opined that should the country return to its one time federal structure, Anglophones will have no reason to complain as they will be given the opportunity to deal with their own problems. However, the current regime has often rebuffed such calls for a return to a federal system of government and regards it as a dishonor to the wishes of the forebears of the country.

There is also a stiff crackdown against those advocating for the outright breakaway of the English speaking regions of Cameroon from the rest of the country. This has led to several death as well as arrest of several citizens as well as military staff.

By FHM