Anglophone lawyers and teachers have refused to lift their call to strike. The representatives of the English-speaking teachers unions recently stated that parents are called upon to keep their children at home until the call to strike is lifted. The Anglophone leaders have set up an agenda of 8 points among which is the creation of a new institutional framework to examine their problems.

Anglophone lawyers have also renewed their strike movement for an unlimited period. The situation has become more intractable following police brutality on a peaceful demonstration organized by students of the University of Buea.  The Buea campus is now dead and the students are calling for the “de-francophonisation” of their university. 28 acts of violence perpetrated by the forces of law and order have been documented dated November 28^th 2016.

Prime Minister Philemon Yang who himself had been a Francophone spy ever since his Yaounde University days is expected to issue a statement today. These strikes have once again dug up the “anglophone problem”. But this time, the piece is hard to swallow. Philemon Yang spent two days of negotiations (25-26 November) with the leaders in Bamenda. Unfortunately, he came back empty-handed.

More than once in the history of Cameroon, the Anglophone community have experienced eddies related to claims. However, after negotiations with the Government, Anglophones have often had to retreat without any change. The new Anglophone leadership of teachers and lawyers intend to put a stop to this marginalization forever.

Thus, the problem is deeper than a question of the provisions of the texts of the Organization for the Harmonization in Africa of Business Law (OHADA) in English, or the Francophonisation of the English-speaking education system. It is a matter of giving the Anglo-Saxon culture its place in Cameroon. On 28 November 2016, the Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic (SGPR) received the Secretary General of OHADA. And on the antennas of the state radio and television, it was announced that the OHADA texts is now available in English.

Some French speaking political elites have recently opined that Cameroonians are one people, but Yaoundé must take into account the specificities of each. They have also joined the call for a round table where the different belligerents will debate on an equal footing.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai