By EkinnehAgbor-Ebai, Boston USA
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| EkinnehAgbor-Ebai |
The violent crackdown on peaceful
Anglophone protests that has resulted in the death of innocent civilians is
yet, another blight on the toga of Cameroon’s battered international image,
that speaks directly to the intransigence of a government which continues to
deny itself the opportunity to dialogue to address the Anglophone problem. But
Cameroon as it is; is not working and while there are justifiable reasons to be
cynical and incredulous over comments by Anglophone problem-deniers, all
Cameroonians must summon the courage to frankly examine the moral questions of
justice and equitable distribution of resources, even as they discuss the basis
and terms of their coexistence. The nation has reached saturation point in the
groundswell of Anglophone marginalization, but quick fixes like a two or ten
state federation cannot fully resolve the Anglophone problem; which to say the
least, is a Cameroonian problem.
As
an urgent national imperative, President Paul Biya should call a national
conference which would afford an opportunity for aggrieved parties in the
polity to table their grouse. As it is, Cameroonians should look in the
direction of a federal system of government and a fiscal policy that grants
control of resources to federating units on whose land the resources are
located. Such a federation will be a veritable starting point for the journey
to a just, prosperous and united Federal Cameroon that allows all the component
units to run as far as they can go. History is beckoning on Paul Biya and
giving him a chance at self-redemption and national rebirth; and he should
understand this is by far more fundamental than seeking a continuation in
office. He should grab the opportunity for statesmanship and greatness with
both hands, while there is still time.
A
new Cameroon is possible; but it must be a federal Cameroon with a new
constitution on the basis of a 15-State federation which, though not perfect,
will nonetheless be a good enough template in the quest for a true Cameroon.
The 15-States will emerge from a holistic realignment of the existing 10
regions, and structured in a way as to have less friction and tension between
the central government and the federation units. Any effort at tinkering with
the currently skewed “feeding bottle” system with two operational constitutions
is a non-starter. It is supremely perplexing that 20 years after the 1996
constitution became law; the government has failed to fully implement its
provisions, especially those related to regional decentralization. This speaks
directly to a lack of political will. Thus, the country is in dire need of a
federal structure.
To
be sure, such a new federal structure is fraught with obstacles because the
present structure has produced people with deeply entrenched vested interests,
especially in the executive and legislative branches of government. Therefore,
the change will not come easily. But with iron political resolve by the
president to do what is right for the country; coupled with a united coalition
for change comprising Anglophone and Francophone political and opinion leaders,
civil society groups, the media and the general citizenry, genuine federalism
can be achieved.
Hypothetically,
one of the new states can be created from the Far North region where the Fulani
make up a large portion of the population and have dominated the politics of
the region; much to the chagrin of smaller groups like the Kirdis, Kanuris,
Mundangs and the Tupuris, who have been marginalized by the Bororo-Fulani. The
Mundangs and Tupuris whose territories lie adjacent to one another can easily
be granted their own state.
The
second new state should be a Bassa region. It is unacceptable that a major
ethnic group like the Bassas should be scattered across four different regions
wherein they have little political clout to articulate and defend their
interests. The UPC uprising, the political expediency that informed the
decision to divide and align the Bassas to the Centre, Littoral, West and South
regions, where they remain eccentric minorities is over. To many Bassa
politicians disenchanted with the status quo, the UPC remains their political
platform of choice in the present dispensation. A Bassa region will save the
nation such monumental embarrassment as when Omer Betow; a UPC Parliamentarian
from Tiko, South West region, stood on the floor of the national assembly to
campaign for a Bassa province. It will also remove such politically incorrect
labels as “Eleven Province” and “Bassa Victoria” from our political lexicon.
The
third new state should be carved out of the Centre region where the Ewondos and
Eons are dominant. While these Beti groups have dominated politics, owing in
part to Yaounde being the nation’s political capital, there are other ethnic
groups in the center region who feel sidelined. Language aside, there is little
that binds the Grand Mbam; which includes the Babutis and Yambassas,
concentrated in and around Bafia-Banen territory of Mbam-et-Inoubou (Bafaia);
and mbam-et-Kim (Ntui), with Etons from Monatélé or Emondos from Yaounde.
The
two other states could be carved out of the two Anglophone regions. The people
of Bui, Menchum and Donga-Mantung will obviously feel “liberated” from the
suffocating grip of the Baforchu Mafia, who’s Godfather AchidiAchu; though
enfeebled by old age and health co-morbidities, vehemently opposed the creation
of the Far Northwest province, championed by the late Hon. SN Tamfu. Granted,
the ancestors of the Far Northwesterners voted for re-unification with Nigeria
during the 1961 plebiscite; but that is not a license for the present generation
to be held hostage by an event which took place 55 years ago via a process that
had little or no input from people now fused into an entity without the
slightest regard for their feelings, diverse cultures, languages, ethos and
norms and in crass defiance of their dislike for an arrangement, wherein anyone
from the Northwest region is euphemistically called a “Bamenda man.” If
politics is indeed a game of numbers, why should the Banso man occupy the
back-seat in Northwest politics? A Far Northwest province will realign the
Santa-Mankon-Bali-Metta political axis.
The
fifth state should be created out of the Southwest region. With its population,
geographical landmass and human resources, it stands to reason that Manyu
should be elevated to a region. After all, there is historical precedent based
on VIKUMA-Victoria, Kumba and Mamfe Divisions of then Southern Cameroons. The
new state should encompass the former Grand Manyu, to include Manyemen, Nguti,
Lebialem and Widikum which constituted the original Mamfe Division.
Needless
to say, these suggestions are by no means exhaustive. Nigeria for example began
with four regions; moved to six and today there are 36 states. The USA began
with the 13 colonies and today there are 50 states plus DC and the territories.
Admittedly,
more states would be created for other major groups lie the Bamouns, Mbos,
Batangas, Orokos, but a 15-state federation offers a veritable opportunity for
Cameroonians to reaffirm their faith in the country’s unity. Federalism has
been variously defined but whatever reservations anyone may have federalism is
not secession. Some see it intriguingly as a centralizing ideology for unity
and overcoming separatist impulses. Others see it as embracing the division of
power between central and regional governments with sovereignty shared by
mutual independence and interdependence. Federalism speaks decentralization. In
sum, it is the best way to manage diversity. Abiding in this diversity is an
opportunity for compromise and bargain. Federalism begins with a bargain and is
sustained by bargain.
When
history and circumstances have so conspired to put people with distinct
linguistic and cultural inclinations together in one country, the best and most
efficient system is a federation. It reeks of myopia to see federalism as
secession. The oft-heard refrain that federalism will allow Anglophones to
secede with their oil is a fallacy. The federating states would retain on the
principle of derivation, a specified amount of their respective mineral proceeds
and generated tax revenue. The balance from the exploitation of natural
resources – oil, timber, gold, diamond, iron, ore, bauxite; and cash crops like
tea, cotton, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, bananas and rubber – would go to the
Federation account to be shared amongst the states under laid down terms and
conditions. The federating states enjoying autonomy will then decide their
priorities and chart their own course of development.
Without
doubt, there are legitimate questions as to the economic viability of the
states but being diverse entities, the states are not and need not be equally
endowed with natural resources, nor do they have to develop at a uniform pace.
By virtue of the federation, extreme disparity in economic conditions can be
mitigated by a revenue sharing formula for federally collected revenue in the
order of 40% to the centre, 15% of which would be for derivation and 60% to be
shared equally among he federating states. Such an equitable revenue
distribution formula will mitigate cleavages and help less endowed states with
more funds than they are able to contribute to the common pool. This would
transform the states into development zones without the burden of a centralized
bureaucratic overload.
The
remedial actions undertaken in the direction of decentralization wherein
investment credits in certain sectors such as health and education are being
devolved to Mayors has been a recipe for cronyism and corruption by DOs, Mayors
and briefcase contractors. And rather than promote healthy completion among the
regions, it has de-empowered and reduced them to appendages of an imperial
central government. The net effect has been ethnic-inspired clientelism with
its attendant irredentism and conflicts that robs everyone and helps no one; it
fuels corruption, perpetuates injustice, undermines creativity, promotes
poverty and holds the country down. Cameroon needs states with functional
councils that are independent and fiscally responsible. There must be radical
devolution of power to local councils, being the tiers of government closest to
the people.
In
spite of all the agitations, it is highly unlikely that Anglophones are
agitating for secession. But the pressure pot which has been cooking 55 years
of Anglophone anger and frustration will explode if government fails to keep
the heat within a productive range to give dialogue and peace a chance.
Already, well-meaning Anglophones who still believe in the Cameroon project
have begun re-evaluating their options as the music gradually changes into a
war song. President Biya must act fast to defuse the ticking time bomb; time is
not on his side. Biya can book a place in history by doing the right thing;
call a national conference that would give birth to the Cameroon of everybody’s
dream. Or, he may elect to ignore the Anglophone problem and precipitate the
disintegration of the country and attract history’s harsh judgment. The
decision is his to make. For Paul Biya, history beckons!
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