Eighteenth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Cameroon, (known as “Africa in Miniature” because it possesses all the characteristics in Africa), is one of the most diverse countries in the world, taking into consideration its size and population. Located in Central Africa with a population of over twenty-two million people, the country has 250 ethnic groups, speaking 250 different dialects. Cameroon and Canada are the only countries where English and French are official languages. Cameroon was colonized by the Germans at the Berlin Congress 1884. After World War I, the country became a League of Nations Mandate territory, administered by France and Great Britain. After World War II, the country once again became UN Trust Territory, administered by the French and the British, with France receiving nearly three fifths of the territory, known as “French Cameroon,” while Britain was given a tiny portion which would be known as “Southern Cameroons,” English-speaking Cameroon. Since independence in 1960, Cameroon has remained peaceful, stable, and economically prosperous, thanks to policies initiated and implemented by “strongmen.” However, sluggish economic performance in the mid-1980s, coupled with the introduction of democracy and multiparty politics in the 1990s, unveiled immense problems and dilemmas, which few analysts, scholars, and even ardent admirers of the country anticipated. Cameroon’s political and economic woes have been compounded by what some scholars describe as the “Anglophone Problem.” The Anglophone region constitutes about a third of the land mass, and makes up twenty percent of the country’s population. The region is endowed with abundant natural resources but its economy and infrastructure lag behind, relative to the Francophone regions. Anglophones have lamented the poor treatment by Francophones, who regard Anglophones as “others.” Although the country prides itself as bilingual, Francophone dominated government have increasingly undermined the use of the English language in communication. Anglophones believe their brethren in the Francophone regions want to “assimilate” Anglophones into French culture.This paper explores the sources of contention between the two entities, highlighting the complexities of union in multiethnic, multi-religious, and multilingual societies, as well as possible solutions to the “Anglophone Problem.”