CAMEROON NATIONAL ANTHEM, A THREAT TO
NATIONAL UNITY AND INTEGRATION
Introduction:
This piece of
intellectual work sets to x-ray a set of discrepancies that exist in the
National Anthem of Cameroon thus placing the continuous unity of the nation at
the risk of disunity and disintegration. For what the common eyes cannot
adequately deduce with ease, Cameroon has visibly two ‘distinct’ national
Anthems. Both versions of the anthem; English and French do not in any way mean
the same thing despite the same melody and rhythm.
Background and Context:
In 1928,
young students from the Ecole Normale de Foulassi some
kilometers away from Sangmelima[1]
now capital of the South region of Cameroon, supposedly had composed a certain
song for the purpose of rallying students in school. The song was referred to
as “chant de ralliement” translated in English to mean a rallying song. It was
composed by Rene Djam Afame and its lyrics, written by Rene Djam himself and
two of his fellow classmates; Samuel Minkyo Mbamba and Moise Nyatte Nko’o. The
song existed in Foulassi School until it was adopted on November 5, 1957
by the Legislative Assembly of the UN Trust Territory of French Cameroon, to be
used as the National Anthem of La Republique du Cameroun upon Independence
slated for January 1 1960.
Prior to the
plebiscite of 11th February 1961, British Southern Cameroons as
Trust Territory of the United Nations under British rule, conducted Elections
in 1959 whereby, John Ngu Foncha won and
replaced Dr. E.M.L Endeley as the Prime Minister of the Trust Territory.
Charged with the new task, John NGU Foncha was therefore the person to finally
lead British Southern Cameroons through Independence and set the pace for a future
British Cameroons.
In February 11 1961, the people of British Southern
Cameroons voted in the Plebiscite to achieve independence by joining la
Republique du Cameroun which had gained Independence a year earlier. In April
10 1961, with respect to UN Resolution 2101(S-XI), the Trusteeship council
forwarded the report submitted it by the Plebiscite Commissioner Abdul Djalal
of IRAN. The commissioner in submission stated that the plebiscite had been
effectively organized and conducted by
the Administering Authority in accordance with the Legislation promulgated for
this purpose and that he was satisfied that, the people of British Southern
Cameroons had the opportunity to express their wishes freely and secretly at
the polls.
Immediately
after the 1961 plebiscite, the leaders of British Southern Cameroons started
negotiations on how to speed up the joining process with the nation of La
Republique du Cameroun. July 1961 saw the advancement of the joining process at
the Foumban conference[2]. A month to the Foumban Conference, the
Southern Cameroons’ Delegation met in Bamenda to seek and make proposals on what
will be presented at the Foumban Constitutional Conference in order to form the
Federal government. In July 17th 1961, the Foumban conference held
and both parties came out with modalities in which the Federal government will
function and a Federal Constitution.
At the end of
the conference, the 25 man delegations from the British Southern Cameroons,
were obliged to sing the National Anthem of La Republique du Cameroun, a song
very unfamiliar to them yet made no comments as to the song they sang. However,
Dr Bernard Nsokika Fonlon the translator and official photographer of
the 25 man delegation to Foumban, reasoned out, and then wrote a song for the
British Southern Cameroons when they came back from Foumban in July 1961.
The silence and
slight dissatisfaction as to the outcome of the Foumban conference from all the
members of the Southern Cameroon’s Delegation to Foumban, received a huge blow
of criticisms from renowned professors of History like Professor Victor
Julius Ngoh.
Victor Ngoh
argued that;
“At the end of Ahidjo’s closing remarks in Foumban, all the delegates
rose in unison and started singing the Cameroun National Anthem except for Dr
Bernard Fonlon… None of the other Southern Cameroons Delegates knew the
National Anthem since it was only in French. One wonders what the southern
Cameroon delegates sang when their French speaking counterparts were singing their
national Anthem”[3]
After the Foumban
conference of July 1961, Southern Cameroons was finally granted
Independence in October 1, 1961. The territory of southern Cameroons formerly
under United Kingdom administration hence forth became known as West Cameroon
and existed under that status alongside East Cameroon as a Federal nation until
the referendum of 1972, which dissolved the Federal government and formed the unitary
government.
With a song
already composed and written by Dr Bernard Fonlon, a dramatic irony saw
the song to have become the National anthem of the country and was finally
given an official recognition and adoption by the National Assembly in July 12
1978.The English song from Fonlon was loosely referred to as the English
version of the 1957 French Anthem. They both became the official anthem of Cameroon.
Something unusual or simply put, ignorant thus happened; these two versions of
the National Anthem were never translated or even unified as was done with other
issues like the flag and other national symbols throughout the period of
Federation and the Referendum. It was in fact a huge political blunder to the
leaders and politician of both East and West Cameroon and the United Republic
of Cameroon at the time. Ignorantly or paradoxically put, Cameroonians sang two
different national anthems from 1961 to 1978 and even thereafter till present
day 2015, taking them to mean the same thing in the other official language.
In the
National Assembly[4]
session held on July 12, 1978 and chaired by the President of the House Solomon
Tandeng Muna, a motion for translation and harmonization of the two
national Anthems was raised in the house for deliberations. Unfortunately, this
motion was quickly discarded by the House. The house did so by officially adopting
the English version written by Bernard Fonlon, to be officially recognized to
co-exist with the French version of 1957.
The national Assembly unanimously
voted for the co-existence of the two anthems based on an argument that ;
“It was impossible to literally harmonize the two versions because the
French and the English Text could not be translated literally given that the
National Anthem is poetry interpreted into music”[5].
This was far
too naïve of the Cameroon Legislators at the time. It revealed the level of
impatience that had existed in the Cameroon Law makers before now. A little
time, caution and patience would have made the legislators to realize that the
musicology and lexicology of the Anthems could never have meant the same thing
even from the greatest Shakespearean poetries. The great failure in 1978 did
not only prove a weakness in the part of the Cameroon Legislators to strengthen
the socio-cultural and political ties, national unity and integration of a new
country, but went further to create wide-open further national dis-unity and
disintegration gap for a future Cameroon. ‘The July 12 1978 session of the
Cameroon National Assembly’ enforced the gross contrast and the unofficial
style of the most important national symbol of Cameroon’s unity; the National
Anthem.
For the
National Assembly to openly reject and disregard the motion to translate the
French version of the Anthem into English Language and the English version into
French Language, grossly implied that the House was openly upholding and
recognizing the, duality, autonomy and tenacity of both anthems which had been
existing since the Independence of the two parts of Cameroon.
Drawing therefore
from 1978 until today, the nation of Cameroon has been singing the two distinct
anthems from which premise I therefore authoritatively say that, Cameroon is
one country with two distinct National Anthems and until the two are merged
into one to formed a better and more harmonized national anthem, the people of
Cameroon and the entire world should have been seeing Cameroon and will continue
to see Cameroon as an image of reality in the face of true national unity.
I very well
understand the multilingual and cultural diversity of the nation Cameroon. I do
understand that, the process of unity and national integration has not been
easy to achieve since the days of Independence and Unification in the early
1960s and through the Referendum in the 1970s. Yet as important as other
national symbols like the flag, national day celebrations, laws are and which have
been duly modified over and over again all in a guise to meet the exact picture
of the unified peoples of Cameroon[6]
, the Cameroon National anthem has to mandatorily go through the same process
for the same purpose of modification and to a large extent, harmonization.
The
national day celebrations have been modified several times just to reflect and
catch the real image of our diverse cultural heritage from May 10th
to January 1st and now to May 20th each year. If such
modifications have been made on Cameroon’s national symbols, I wonder what may
be standing as a stumbling block to the modification of the national Anthem. If
the two national anthems cannot be modified to reflect what the Cameroon people
truly are, then I shall advised the complete change and re-writing of a new
national Anthem for Cameroon that will truly define and reflect the true image
of the peoples of the Republic of Cameroon.
On the other
hand, in the absence of modifying the extreme lapses of the Cameroon national
anthem, there will be a continuous threat to the consolidation of national
unity, sustainable peace and National integration. This is because once the
citizens of Cameroon especially from both parts of the country; the Anglophones
and Francophones, start to discover these lapses, they will start agitating and
finding visible avenues and grounds to pose a threat to and destabilize the normal
functioning of the nation.
Since the
1990s until 2015, there has been an increasing rise of tension between the
Anglophone sector of the country and the government of Cameroon. The rise in
tension has yielded to a series of problems which most of them have loosely
referred to it as “The Anglophone Problem”[7].
The question many people would like to ask is; what is the Anglophone problem
in Cameroon? The Anglophone problem has posed and is still posing a continuous
threat to national integration, sustainable peace and unity in Cameroon today.
The Anglophone problem led to the formation of a Liberation movement known as
the Southern Cameroon’s National Council (SCNC)[8].
The creation of the movement in the late 1990s has seen a continuous threat to
sustainable peace and unity in Cameroon. It has seen the government of Cameroon
being forcefully dragged into court to answer various questions as regards the
SCNC’s claim. This is done at the level of the international community in the
presence of the world. The SCNC over the years has gathered a series of arguments
to advance and prove its claim for Independence from Cameroon and somewhat uses
the issue of the discrepancies in the national anthem as part of its pleadings
to say that, the deliberate ignoring to translate the two versions of the
anthem, is a clear indication and a divine lea-way to prove that, Cameroon has
never been and will never be one. If the country has never been one and will
never be, what then is the purpose for living together for more than 50years since
after independence?
It is because
of this continuous force from the separation movements that the government of
Cameroon has declared its complete laceration from the national boundaries of
Cameroon. The government of Cameroon argues that, the group’s motives are
illegal and not genuine. They are only out to destabilize and undermine the
territorial integrity of the Republic of Cameroon. The government of Cameroon
has therefore declared the group illegal and it’s using security forces
regularly to interrupt and disrupt all meetings and activities of the group.
The sanctions on the group extend to arrest, torture and detention of its
leaders, students and anyone impliedly or expressly known to be linked to the
group.
The truth
whatever way it is presented would always be that no matter the damage caused
to the SCNC movement, it continuous to pose a wild threat to the continuous
existence of the Anglophones and the Francophones as brothers of the same
country. And unless such a problem is
resolved by finding common grounds to settle for peace and dialogue between the
government of Cameroon and the SCNC, whereby a re-definition of the terms of re-unification of Anglophone Cameroon and
Francophone Cameroons is done and the Anglophone Problem solved, as well as
solving the discrepancies in the National anthem, the SCNC, and other
liberation groups shall always find common breading grounds to threaten the
peace and stability and the territorial integrity of Cameroon as a nation.
A detailed Analysis of the two
versions of the Cameroon National Anthem.
An attempt to
compare the two national anthems of Cameroon will completely x-ray what
everyone would be eager to see, hear and read. A detailed analysis will prove
that starting from the circumstances of the case; both songs were composed and
written under completely different times and situations and events.
Analysis
As To The Origin of the National Anthems.
The French
version of the anthem was composed in 1928 in the American Protestant Teachers’
Training College; Foulassi meanwhile the English version was composed in 1961
by Dr Bernard Fonlon. The French version was aimed first at rallying students
in school to come together. That explains why the song had its name at the time
“chant de ralliement”. It existed in the school and started attracting
attention to the public until it gained admiration from 1948 by the politicians
of the UN Trust Territory of French Cameroon.
It is through politicians like Rueben
Um Nyobe that necessitated the rise of the song because most of the leaders
of the Trust territory at the time went to Foulassi School. In 1957, the song
was elevated and approved by the Legislative council of the Semi Trust Territory
as its national anthem upon Independence which was to come in 1960.It is by
such means and circumstances which saw the coming to play of the French version
of the national anthem. Meanwhile, the English version of the anthem came only
in 1961, when the country had completed the plebiscite vote of 1961 to attain
Independence by joining La Republique du Cameroun.
After the Foumban
Conference, Dr Bernard Fonlon one of the 25 delegation members to the
conference, discovered that their Independent country does not yet have a
national anthem. He found out that at the Foumban conference, his brothers from
Southern Cameroons had joined the their French speaking counterparts in singing
their national anthem in a completely different Language, a language they
barely understood and a song they barely knew its meaning. Fonlon’s foresight
and agitation saw the kind of mixed feelings that arose within the 25 man
delegation after the conference.
Although they were happy that they most of
their proposals from the Bamenda conference of June 1961 were adopted and the
Federal constitution had been created and adopted, Dr Bernard Fonlon, on his
own terms composed a song, which became adopted and used as the English version
of the Cameroon National Anthem.
For several
years throughout the period the two Cameroons existed as a Federal nation, both
versions of the national Anthem were sung in the country and the citizens
believed singing it in either official Languages means the same thing. It was
until 1978 in a session of the National Assembly when a motion was raised to
re-visit the issue of the national anthem and modify the two versions to mean
the same thing. It was at this point when some people started realizing the
huge mistake the national symbol of unity has been. The motion was however
overruled and a decision that both versions should continue as such and be used
as the meaning of the other.
Analysis
As To The Meaning of the Two Anthems
In looking at
the meanings in both Anthems, I would like us to go by a line by line
interpretation of their lyrics and see their exact meaning and translation.
|
English
lyrics
|
French
lyrics
|
English
translation of French lyrics
|
|
O
Cameroon, Thou Cradle of our Fathers,
Holy
Shrine where in our midst they now repose,
Their
tears and blood and sweat thy soil did water,
On
thy hills and valleys once their tillage rose.
Dear
Fatherland, thy worth no tongue can tell!
How
can we ever pay thy due?
Thy
welfare we will win in toil and love and peace,
Will
be to thy name ever true!
Chorus:
Land
of Promise, land of Glory!
Thou,
of life and joy, our only store!
Thine
be honor, thine devotion,
And
deep endearment, for evermore.
SECOND
PART
From
Shari, from where the Mungo meanders
From
along the banks of lowly Boumba Stream,
Muster
thy sons in union close around thee,
Mighty
as the Buea Mountain be their team;
Instill
in them the love of gentle ways,
Regret
for errors of the past;
Foster,
for Mother Africa, a loyalty
That
true shall remain to the last.
Chorus |
Ô Cameroun berceau de nos ancêtres,
Va debout et jaloux de ta liberté,
Comme un soleil ton drapeau fier doit
être,
Un symbole ardent de foi et d'unité.
Que tous tes enfants du Nord au Sud,
De l'Est à l'Ouest soient tout amour,
Te servir que ce soit le seul but,
Pour remplir leur devoir toujours.
Chorus:
Chère Patrie, Terre chérie,
Tu es notre seul et vrai bonheur,
Notre joie, notre vie,
En toi l'amour et le grand honneur.
SECOND
PART
Tu es la tombe où dorment nos pères,
Le jardin que nos aïeux ont cultivé.
Nous travaillons pour te rendre
prospère,
Un beau jour enfin nous serons
arrivés.
De l'Afrique sois fidèle enfant
Et progresse toujours en paix,
Espérant que tes jeunes enfants
T'aimeront sans bornes à jamais.
Chorus
|
O
Cameroon cradle of our ancestors,
Go,
upright and jealous of your freedom.
As
the sun, let your flag be proud,
A
symbol of ardent faith and unity,
May
all your children, from North to South
From
East to West, live in love!
May
serving you be their sole purpose
To
fulfill their duty forever.
Chorus:
Dear
Fatherland, dear land,
You
are our only true happiness.
Our
joy, our life
To
you, love and the greatest honor.
TRANSLATION
Thou
art the grave where our fathers sleep,
The
garden that our ancestors have cultivated.
We
work to make you prosperous
One
good day we will finally get there.
Be
Africa's faithful child
And
always advance peace
Hoping
that your children
Love
you without limit forever.
Chorus
|
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Cameroon,_Cradle_of_Our_Forefathers17/02/2015
at 03:45 PM.
Also see: http://www.lyricsondemand.com
Mendo Ze, Gervais; En
Relisant l’hymne national, O Cameroun berceau de nos ancêtres : Approche Historique et Linguistique, Paris : O.E.I.L,
2004.
A closer look
at this translation will see various kinds of interpretations to accord the
Cameroon National Anthem. The interpretations see areas where the anthems show clear
discrepancies in the songs. Some areas portray the songs as being completely
unrelated while some portions indicate a slight sentence similarity in terms of
meanings for the both songs. These analyses have been well set out to function
as a way forward towards the modification of the two Anthems in the nearest
future. It is a stepping stone to a complete harmonization of the two Cameroon
National ANTHEMS. The interpretations
are as follows:
|
N0.
|
ENGLISH VERSION
|
FRENCH VERSION
|
|
1
|
The English version is not a translation of the French version yet some
aspects like “O Cameroon Thou Cradle of Our Fathers” mean the same in French
|
The French version is not a translation of the English version yet “Ô Cameroun berceau de nos
ancêtres”, mean the same in English
|
|
2
|
The rhythms is the same for French
|
The rhythms is the same as for
English
|
|
3
|
Composed in 1961 at the time of
Reunification to be used as National Anthem for the Federal Republic of
Cameroon
|
Composed in 1928 at the time of
colonialism to be used for rallying students and not to be used as National
Anthem though it was later first on adopted in 1957 before the English
version even existed.
|
|
4
|
It excludes the historical and
socio-cultural trend and political realities of Cameroon. It equally avoids
the mention of God in any of its stanzas
|
It excludes the historical and
socio-cultural trend of Cameroon and political realities. It equally avoids
the mention of God in any of its stanzas
|
|
5
|
Different collective engagements or aspirations:
“Thy welfare we will win in toil and love and peace”.
|
« Que tous tes enfants du Nord au Sud, De l'Est à l'Ouest soient tout
amour, Te servir que ce soit le seul but, Pour remplir leur devoir toujours»
|
|
6
|
Omit more patriotic stanzas:
“From along the banks of lowly Boumba Stream,
Muster thy sons in union close around thee, Mighty as the Buea Mountain
be their team;
Instill in them the love of gentle ways, Regret for errors of the past;
Foster, for Mother Africa, a loyalty That true shall remain to the last”.
|
Omit more patriotic stanzas: Tu es la tombe où dorment nos pères, Le
jardin que nos aïeux ont cultivé. Nous travaillons pour te rendre prospère,
Un beau jour enfin nous serons arrivés. De l'Afrique sois fidèle enfant Et
progresse toujours en paix,
Espérant que tes jeunes enfants T'aimeront sans bornes à jamais.
|
|
7
|
Both pay more tribute to the land than its
People. See Chorus:
Land of Promise, land of Glory!
Thou, of life and joy, our only store!
Thine be honour, thine devotion,
And deep endearment, for evermore.
|
Pays tribute to land than people
Chère Patrie, Terre chérie,
Tu es notre seul et vrai bonheur,
Notre joie, notre vie,
En toi l’amour et le grand honneur
|
As a veritable
rallying and patriotic song for Cameroonians, the music meaning and basic logic
of the national Anthem has shown a clear dichotomy of contradiction between the
two songs than what Cameroon and the world paradoxically continue to see it.
The symbolism of this anthem portrays disunity and not unity. The Cameroon
Anthem does not represent the picture of the socio-cultural and political
realities of Cameroon. Cameroon being a country with two officially recognized
Languages of French and English does not apply the used and importance of such
languages when it is supposed to and on matters that need the use of both
languages at the best.
The National Anthem is a part cause to the many problems
Cameroon currently has. The Anglophone Problem is a child born from such a
political misfire. The Southern Cameroons’ National Council (SCNC) is a grandchild
of the discrepancies in the national anthem. I therefore implore Cameroonians
and the government to see a modification of the national anthem and unless the
national anthem of Cameroon is modified, the continuity to durable and
sustainable peace, consolidation of national Unity and progress will be put at
great risk if not a future jeopardy.
I implore the
government of Cameroon to entertain the worries of the Anglophones so that name
tags like “the Anglophone problem” shall be completely changed and transformed
into positive slogans of peace, national unity and progress.
The trend of events as of the time of
the Celebration marking the 50th Anniversary of Cameroon’s
Re-unification in Buea, capital town of the South West Region of Cameroon, saw the
issue of the national anthem started receiving due thoughts from the government
of Cameroon. Members of government and stakeholders met at Fulassi Sangmelima in the South region of Cameroon to
exhume the Cameroon National Anthem and trace the causes of our current state
of confusion and if possible see a solution to it.
Among the stakeholders were;
Prof. Mendo-Ze, former General manager of CRTV, the Minister of Arts and
Culture Mrs. Ama Tutu Muna, among other personalities and 101- year- old Samuel
Minkyo Mamba, one of the students of the Teacher Training College Fulassi in
the 1920s still living. They converged while seeking approaches to review and
harmonize Cameroon’s National Anthem. The “BIG” question one would like to ask is;
who is to be blamed for the difference in text and meaning of the French and
English versions? Many people have pointed the blame to be in the English
version that was supposedly “just” translated in 1961 by Bernard Fonlon which
in fact was not the case.
Dr Bernard
Fonlon found out after the Foumban conference that upon all their arrangements
from the June 1961 Bamenda conference where they drafted proposals for the
Foumban Constitutional Conference of July 12 1961 in order to form a Federal
government, between La Republique du Cameroun and British Southern Cameroons,
The British Southern Cameroons did not have its own anthem as a nation.
Witnessing a situation where his fellow colleague and delegates from British
Southern Cameroons stood up and were singing the Anthem of a country they don’t
know and have not yet formally joined, trickled a double thought in his mind.
As such he decided to salvage the situation by
composing an Anthem for British Southern Cameroons’ state before fully getting
into the Federal Republic of Cameroon. An anthem that reflects on the past and
cultural heritage of a British Southern Cameroonian. It was on the part of the
Federal government to re-visit the issue of National Anthem when they realized
British Southern Cameroons has an anthem. It was not suppose to be an issue of
ignoring the fact that an anthem exists in English and so should be used as a
translation to the former.
It was not suppose to be an aspect of hasty
generalization and value judgments that the anthems basically could mean the
same since the country has re-united. It was the position of both the West and
East Cameroon state governments and the Federal government to sit the issue
down and identify possible discrepancies in order to avoid any future
socio-political or cultural problems for the country.
Secondly, I
see the National Assembly Session of July 12 1978 chaired by Solomon. T Muna at
complete fault for refusing to entertain the motion that sought to solve and
harmonize the national Anthems. If the issue could be brought up at such a time
in the country’s history, it meant the people started realizing the true
meanings of both anthems. It was incumbent for the National Assembly session of
July 12 1978 to have entertained and resolve the matter at that session or on a
later date. There were no justifiable grounds for the President of the National
Assembly and the Legislators to vote against the hearing of a matter as
important as the symbol of national unity of a nation. It instead went straight
into expressly adopting the English version without recourse to its meaning Vis-a
Vis the French version. It was a political blunder to speak forth. Yet the
session ruled over the plea and ordered the validation and adopted of the
English version to be used in Cameroon and to be sung in both languages.
The
two were ruled out as to mean the same thing with the other. I see this as
sheer laziness and impatience on the part of S.T Muna and the Cameroon Legislators
at the time Cameroon entered a unitary state.
If the
meeting in Foulassi before the time of the Celebrations of the 50th
Anniversary of Cameroon’s Re-Unification materialized on concrete terms, I would
believe such thoughts if put through deliberations and due consideration, a
complete modification of the Cameroon national anthem would have salvage the
illusory image of national unity which the country currently represent to its
citizens and to the international community.
The Way
Forward
It should be
known to all citizens of Cameroon that, The Republic of Cameroon has two
different National Anthems mistakenly taken to mean the same thing. The French
version was composed in 1928 by Rene Djam Afame, a student of the Protestant
Teachers’ Training College of Foulassi during the colonial days and the English
version of the Anthem composed by Dr Bernard Fonlon in 1961 during the days of
Independence and Reunification.
Cameroon
therefore has completely two distinct national symbols as national Anthem; one
is not the exact meaning or even the implied meaning of the other. For the
country to be seen as truly unified, the following steps must be taken to fix
the mistake of the past. Whoever produced the two national Anthems should not
matter at this point in time. Knowing who produced it or what government aided
it does not in any way help Cameroonians. What I would like every reader and
citizen of Cameroon to bear in mind is that the two anthems are not helping
national unity and integration in anyway. We must trace the roots of the
problem, acknowledge it and then deal with it. A person or group of persons
should not ignore this aspect of Cameroon’s unity because the error occurred in
the past. Professor Verkijika Fanso, a renowned Cameroon Historian and
Professor of History often said this;
Professor
Fanso Says;
“History is an interesting but delicate subject because the past we are
writing about is never dead to the present and also because it is written and
re-written. Whoever thinks that the dead do not bite and that the past is gone
for good, does not think History”
1. - There must be Acceptance of Fault.
The
government of Cameroon and the people must accept the fact that, indeed, there
exists a great deal of disparity within the English and French Versions of the
National Anthem. They government must admit that truly, there are two different
anthems in Cameroon that are being confused by every citizen to mean the same
thing.
By accepting the fault of the forbearers of
Cameroon’s re-unity, the people and government of Cameroon will indicate a
level of progress and assurance that the error shall be jointly corrected and
the likelihood of a greater, stronger and broader national bond and unity shall
exist within Cameroon and its peoples. On the other hand, if the government and
the people of Cameroon refuse that such a disparity does not exist in the two
versions of the anthems, then Cameroon shall continue to live under the shadow
of its own image.
Ignoring the fact at this point will facilitate the growth
and development of many destabilizing groups and even more separation groups as
is the case with the SCNC. But an acknowledgement of the discrepancies will
guarantee peace and shall scrape off of many socio-political and national
“head-aches” that currently harbor within the national territory as time bombs
from various sectors of the Country.
2.
Modification And Harmonization Of The Two Versions
After due
acknowledgment of the error, modification and eventual harmonization of the two
anthems shall be done easily. They government should create a national review
committee to carry out a thorough review process. Such committee must involve
representation from both sectors of the country; that is to say; from the
Anglophone and Francophone sectors of Cameroon. Modification
and Harmonization will be a stepping stone towards resolving many issues that
have plagued the country since after Independence. Notably the Anglophone
problem and the SCNC Problem may be brought to a final end.
Author: Ashu Hailshamy LL.B
Email: ashu.shamy@yahoo.com
[1]
Ecole Normale de Foulassi was an American Protestant Teachers Training College
in Foulassi
[2]
Prof. Victor J. Ngoh, Professor of History in the University of Buea holds
that; “The Foumban conference which ran from the 17th to 21st
of July 1961, had as its term of Reference, the coming together of the
delegation from the Republic of Cameroon and British Southern Cameroons to sit
down and come out with a draft constitution which will govern the federal
Republic of Cameroon”.
[3]
Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh, Southern Cameroons,
1922-1961: A Constitutional History (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited,
2001), p. 159.
[4]
The Legislative elections held on May 18, 1973
which elected S.T Muna, saw only one party in contestant; the Cameroon
National Union (Union Nationale Camerounaise - UNC) and it won 120
out of 120 seats in the National Assembly.
[5]
Oswald Baboke, La Lettre de la Reunification au
Peuples Camerounais: Historique du Cinquantenaire 1961, Yaoundé: D. BY JCAM
Production, p. 75.
[6]
The flag of green red yellow with three vertical stripes of equal sizes adopted
in the French Cameroun, was modified with the addition of 2 gold stars on the
green color indicating two states that have come together as the Federal
Republic of Cameroon. After the dissolution of the federation and adoption of a
unitary government, the flag was again modified with a single gold star on the
red and middle of the flag indicating one unitary state.
[7]
The genesis of the Anglophone problem in Cameroon
can be traced right from to World War I. According to Nicodemus Awasom,
`The Development of Autonomist Tendencies in Anglophone Cameroon,1916-1961
“ the
unequal partition of the country between France and Britain, following the defeat of Germany in
West Africa in 1916 sowed the seeds of future problems' in that this accounted for `the
ultimate emergence, in a re-unified Cameroon, of an Anglophone minority and
a French
majority'. This later created an Anglophone consciousness: the
feeling of being `marginalized', `exploited', and `assimilated' by the
francophone dominated state, and even by the francophone population as a whole
[8]
The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is a self determination and a non-violent organization
with the motto "The force of argument, not the argument of
force." seeking the independence of
the Anglophone Southern Cameroons from the Republic of Cameroon (La
République de Cameroun) Because the SCNC advocates separation from Cameroon, it
has been declared an illegal organization by the government of Paul Biya.
Security forces regularly interrupt SCNC meetings, arresting members and
typically detaining them for several days before release.
