Cameroon was a central hub in the slave trade and was later colonized by the Portuguese, Germans, English, and French. Still, many don’t know that Cameroon was created on a map in Berlin without the consent or participation of any African. The initial Cameroon lost territories to Congo, the RCA and Equatorial Guinea. Finally, it is hard to believe that parts of Cameroon were attached to Nigeria before rejoining Cameroon with others staying in Nigeria. In some villages, some houses are in Francophone areas while others are in the Anglophone section.
These different divisions and foreign interventions divided families, shattered tribes, created tensions, planted seeds of hatred and discord and left a country with 8 regions speaking French and 2 regions speaking English. When Paul Biya took power in 1982, this disparate entity called Cameroon was still to be consolidated and given a Republican character. It required a visionary and a man of passion to realize this gigantic task. Hate him or love him, Paul Biya realized this prowess with maestro, possibly explaining the attachment of Cameroonians to his person.
Let us examine several of the key elements he employed in shaping present-day Cameroon.
1- A new constitution: the new constitution that was adopted under Paul Biya’s leadership has kept the country united.
2- Federal to unitary: changing from federal to a unitary state consolidated national unity and the feeling of belonging to one country.
3- Form of the state: from federal to unitary and from provinces to regions, all these have cemented Cameroonians to their country.
4- Political reforms: most of the reforms that have been done by Paul Biya have been to make Cameroonians belong to a country and not a tribe or foreign language.
5- Political appointments: there is no village or region that has been left out when it comes to political appointments intensifying the feeling of belonging to one country.
6- Regional balance: just as in political appointments, development projects and other advantages have been shared equally to all regions of the country, contrary to what detractors say.
7- Two languages of equal status: today it is hard to know who is an anglophone and who is a francophone because both languages were given equal status under Paul Biya. The Younger generation is especially bilingual to the point that you sometimes cannot distinguish which is their original linguistic heritage.
8- Liberty laws: In 1990, it was Paul Biya who passed the freedom of the press, freedom of association, freedom of manifestation and many other freedoms, including that to create political parties.
9- The case of the press: Cameroon has one of the freest presses in Africa. A wide range of newspapers, TV stations, and online platforms reflects Paul Biya’s commitment to press freedom and your ability to freely express opinions.
10- The case of freedom to move and settle: Cameroon is maybe the only African country where you can find people from all tribes living peacefully in another village. Paul Biya affirmed that Cameroonian citizens have the freedom to travel and reside anywhere within the country at their discretion.
11- The case of education: Today almost every village in Cameroon has a school and all the regions have universities, with anglophones doing francophone studies and vise versa as the new normal, exactly as designed by Paul Biya.
The very sensitive and heavy francophone/anglophone heritage complicated by the numerous tribes has been turned to an advantage for Cameroonians. Speaking both languages and having both cultures have opened doors for Cameroonians all over the world. In many families today, some are anglophones while others are francophones to the advantage of all.
His ability to make the anglophone-francophone issue an advantage instead of a handicap maybe one reason why so many Cameroonians want him to stand for this year’s presidential election.
Caroline Musoko
