Anglophone problem

The Anglophone problem (French: problème anglophone) is a socio-political issue in the modern Republic of Cameroon, rooted in the country's German, British, and French colonial legacies. Anglophone (English-speaking) Cameroonians form a minority population of around 16 percent, mainly from the Northwest and Southwest regions that formerly constituted the Southern Cameroons, part of the former British Cameroon colonies. These Anglophone regions were formerly controlled by Britain as a mandate of the League of Nations, and then as a United Nations trust territory. During the Foumban Conference of 1961, territories with different colonial legacies were finally united into one state.^[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(French-speaking) Government of Cameroon, particularly around the bilingual federation agreed to in 1961 and later rescinded in 1972, which has resulted in marginalization and discrimination. It is increasingly dominating the national political agenda, and has led to arguments and actions for federalism by Anglophones, a separatist movement to form an independent state of Ambazonia, and an ongoing armed conflict since 2017 which constitutes the Anglophone Crisis. Failure to address the problem threatens national unity.^[2]

The term Anglophone itself can also be controversial, as many former French-speaking Cameroonians who are either multilingual or speak only English consider themselves Anglophones, despite the fact that some Northwesterners and Southwesterners do not believe there is an Anglophone problem.