A Historical Snapshot of the Anglophone Impasse in Cameroon

The paper labeled: A Historical Snapshot of the Anglophone Impasse in Cameroon is a critical review of the asymmetric economic, socio-cultural and political systems established by the former East Cameroun (hereafter known as the Republic of Cameroon) leaders to accentuate their control over the populations of the former West Cameroon (hereafter known as the Northwest and Southwest regions) hence giving rise to what many level-headed critics and scholars of Cameroon's socio-cultural, economic and political history have coined the Anglophone problem. This paper attempts to give a historical and political overview of what we have described in all its ramifications as exacerbated levels of marginalization in every sphere of human life, by the dominant regimes of former East Cameroun against the Anglophones. Anchored within the paradigm of centralization and assimilation, we argue that the current socio-political impasse destabilizing the Northwest and the Southwest regions of Cameroon can only be resolved if sufficient attention is given to the country's historical underpinnings. Succinctly put, the current Anglophone stalemate can attain a watermark negotiation level only if the incumbent regime revisits the founding document that established marriage between the two Cameroons. We are talking about Article 47 of the 1961 Federal Constitution which many Anglophone critics contend, guaranteed perpetuity of status even outside the power of a referendum and that abolishing federalism allowed them to proclaim sovereignty from the union.