Major National Dialogue: TALKING POINTS, FEDERATION/DECENTRALISATION!!

WHAT MATTERS IS THE CONTENT NOT THE NAME

In the wake of the teachers and lawyers sit-in strike in 2016, these corps asked for more English Language in schools and courts of the Northwest and Southwest to fend off what was termed ‘assimilation’ of the Anglo-Saxon culture by the francophone majority.

Preview of dialogue hall. (Photo credit. Lasha Kingsley)

 A consortium of teachers and lawyers was born in the course of the strike and clamoured for a return to the 1961 federal system as a panacea to the ‘Anglophone problem’. 

This was further trumpeted by the population of the Anglophone regions. The convening of the Major National Dialogue by the Head of State H. E Paul Biya on September 10, 2019, thus presents an opportune moment for this request for a return to federalism to be reiterated.

From September 30 to October 4, Cameroonians will gather at this historic event at the Yaounde Conference Centre, to mark a turning point in the life and future of Cameroon. Delegates to the dialogue from the Northwest and Southwest regions are poised to make federalism the centerpiece of their proposition. 

However, a return to federalism might present a difficult conundrum in terms of making core arguments against the government-preferred stance of decentralization and even more so in terms of implementation in the short run. 

 So what tangible, achievable option is there?

The core argument behind demands for a federation is that it assures Anglophones of greater autonomy in the management of their affairs- a sentimental attachment from the indirect rule and post-independence era until 1972.

Hence, it is about the devolution of power to the decentralized units (the regions). If this is supposed to be taken for its merits therefore, the essentially aspect of governance will therefore be the content and not the form. Anglophone delegates at the Major National Dialogue should focus on the type of power and resources devolved to the decentralized units.

 This will clear the path for Anglophones to manage their affairs, with minimal intervention of government delegates. Regional councils are to be made up of indigenes who will deliberate and vote on local development issues—from infrastructure to education through health policy, etc. 

1500 seats Yde conference center. (Photo credit. Etienne M)

Presently, this is the fastest and easiest way to self-rule. Anglophones can flesh the devolution already provided in the Constitution of Cameroon. Federation may take longer negotiations. 

Moreover, the Major National Dialogue has no locus standi to decide on the form of state. Hence, the MND can only propose for the parliament to decide later.  

Besides, the trend is leaning towards a ten-state or two-state (wherein the Anglophone regions are one). Any federation where Anglophones are not an entity undermines the nostalgia of the old days. Anglophones from the Southwest region have lingering memories of Northwest hegemony in the federation era. All the federal prime minister, the three well-known business magnets at the time came from the Northwest, for example.

 No doubt, the Southwest Chiefs proposed a ten-state federation.

Federation may  not be as rosy as the old guards paint it.

 At the end of federation, only CCASST Bambili and Saint Joseph’s College Sasse existed in 1972 as the only secondary schools in West Cameroon. Yoke power plant, for example, could only light Kumba. However, the Anglo-Saxon education system (pride of the Anglophones) built up till 2016, has been shattered in the last three years of the crisis. The time to rebuild is now and this is an emergency.