Assessing the impact of political crisis in Cameroon, 1972-2018

Abstract

Given the number of years of incessant escalation of violent conflict in the Anglophone region of Cameroon, this region has remained very backward compared to its Francophone counterpart, despite covering areas with major resources in the country. The Anglophone region has contributed immensely to revenue generation in the country, stemming from its endowment in mineral resources, but very little from what is generated is spent by the government to develop this region, whereas the Francophone region, with few or no resources, has benefitted immensely. This lop-sidedness in wealth distribution has repeatedly provoked citizens in the Anglophone region to demand an equitable distribution of wealth, but the government, which seems to be in favour of the French-speaking region, has always replied with instruments of state coercion, thus escalating violent conflict in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon. This violent conflict has severe implications for human security and sustainable development, as cases of conflict in this region have attracted global interventions. Despite these interventions from neighbouring African states, France, and peacebuilding organizations and other countries, calls for dialogue to resolve the conflict have persistently broken down, and conflict continues in the region. Although scientific studies have examined the implication of this conflict on development and foreign direct investment in Africa, the problem with several of these studies is that they gloss over the root causes of the conflict. For most of these studies, the cause of the conflict rests with the ruling government and the teeming population of the Francophone region. This has created serious limitations in addressing the cause of the conflict from the perspective of the underdevelopment and growing exclusion of the people from the English region from the decision-making process. It is a fact that not many of the scientific researches see this as the leading cause of the conflict in Cameroon. This study bridges this gap by examining the causes, impact, and pathways to peace in the Cameroonian political conflict. The study therefore contributes to the existing body of knowledge by proffering a nuanced understanding on possible mitigation strategies to this conflict in Cameroon, 1972-2018.

Relying on qualitative research design that was complemented by semi-structured interviews, results of the study show that political conflict in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon is a reflection of political, economic, and social marginalisation of the Anglophone minority, underdevelopment, inequality, economic exploitation, disrespect for identity, and the abrogation of the Foumban Constitution. The enormous economic earning capacity of the natural resources found in the conflicting regions of North and South – the Anglophone regions – to the economy of Cameroon is huge compared to that of the Francophone region. Results also demonstrate that the conflict has severe human and food insecurity implications, as citizens in this region suffer from displacement, sudden death, unlawful arrest, heavy militarisation, and state coercion. In addition, results illustrate that the mitigation pathways by the government to resolve the conflict were not adequate to preclude a recurrence of conflict. The study concludes that the government of Cameroon still has to undertake massive consultations and engaged dialogue with peace-building organisations and other international bodies in order to resolve the political crisis plaguing the two Anglophone regions.