Anglophone problem
[1] The issue arises from Anglophone opposition to certain policies and actions of the mainly Francophone (French-speaking) Government of Cameroon, particularly around the bilingual federation agreed to in 1961 and later rescinded in 1972, which has resulted in marginalization and discrimination.
Germany first gained influence in Cameroon in 1845 when Alfred Saker of the Baptist Missionary Society introduced a mission station.
[5] Two weeks before the Foumban Conference, there were reports that more than one hundred people were killed by terrorists in Loum, Bafang, Ndom, and Douala.
By the end of the conference, instead of creating an entirely new constitution, the contributions of the Southern Cameroons delegates were reflected in suggestions made to the draft initially presented to them.
"[1] The Constitution for the new Federal Republic was agreed in Yaoundé in August 1961, between Ahidjo and Foncha, pending approval by the House of Assembly of the two states.
[7] On 6 May 1972, Ahidjo announced his decision to convert the Federal Republic into a unitary state, provided that the idea was supported via referendum.
[8] With changes in the Constitution of 1996, reference to the existence of a territory called the British Southern Cameroons that had a "functioning self-government and recognized international boundaries" was essentially erased.
[8] These actions suggest that the Francophone's intentions may not have been to form a federal state, but rather to annex Southern Cameroons and not treat them as equals.
[4] At the core of Anglophone grievances is the loss of the former West Cameroon as a "distinct community defined by differences in official language and inherited colonial traditions of education, law, and public administration.
[4] Advocates of Federation want a return to the constitution agreed upon in the 1961 Foumban Conference that acknowledges the history and culture of the two regions while giving equal power to the two.
Federation advocates include the instrumental Consortium of the leaders of three Cameroon-based trade unions for lawyers, teachers, and transporters.
AAG was one of the first groups in the diaspora to endorse the Cameroon-based Consortium as a peaceful alternative to achieving a return to the pre-1972 federated system.
[4] In March 1990, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), led by John Fru Ndi, was founded on the perception of widespread Anglophone alienation.
Most heads of government, senior administrators, and officials speak only French, even in English-speaking regions, and no effort is made to require them to demonstrate an understanding of Anglophone culture.
[11] 15,000 refugees have fled Southern Cameroons into neighbouring Nigeria, with the UNHCR expecting that number to grow to 40,000 if the situation continues.
These groups desire to see Southern Cameroons completely separate from La République du Cameroun and form its own state, sometimes referred to as Ambazonia.
