With a heavy heart, many Anglophones remain reluctant to believe that the mere mention of SPECIAL STATUS, for the two English speaking regions of Cameroon, without any assuring definition so far of what is involved, is not convincing enough to conclude a deal on grievances that have caused so much devastation on a people. History reminds us that the people of these two regions had unquestionably enjoyed special status, on the basis of which they opted for reunification with the former French Cameroun.
We therefore believe that, it would be more convincing to restate this special status as it were in the beginning. This would obviously be necessary for the sake of clarity, in the course of any argument or debate. It would also be important in order to actually understand the true nature of the grievances of the Anglophones. After all, we remain convinced that, the just ended Dialogue was intended to seek the truth and the way forward towards peace and understanding.
In the beginning, this part of the country enjoyed the special status of a people with a government that thrived on a well defined and acceptable administrative system, a legislative, a legal and judicial system, an educational system, a well defined local government, sustained by a vibrant customary court system, that defined those delicate issues binding our cultural values together. They even designed a police behavioural culture that thrived on the respect for the human person.
In addition to all these were vibrant economic and financial institutions which were established by the administration of the people of this part of the country, such as the West Cameroon Marketing Board, which catered for the growth of the agricultural sector, supervised and managed the export and sale of agricultural produce as well as devising a price stabilisation formula that effectively protected farmers interest in cases of arbitrary fluctuations in prices in the world market.
The others, being the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, PAMOL, the West Cameroon Development Agency, Cameroon Bank, Cameroon Air Transport, CAT, the West Cameroon Electricity Undertaking which later became POWERCAM etc. were all active agents of development in the territory. The CDC, for instance, ran schools, Hospitals, workers shops, operated and effectively managed the then Victoria and Tiko seaports and generated revenue for the government. The Cameroon Air Transport company, established by the West Cameroon Development Agency, alongside the Cameroon Bank operated a small but promising internal air transport service. POWERCAM generated and distributed electricity at its early stage, to most parts of the territory and was expanding to cover the whole territory.
This territory enjoyed a well laid down electoral process, through which its legislators, local councilors and other officials were elected. A prime minister elected with the help of an electoral code that was never contested or doubted, or suspected for any form of partiality and election malpractices, all this based on account of its neutrality in the organization of elections.
The list that constitutes the package of special status for the people of this part of the country is long and special indeed, such as no other region in this country can boast of having legitimately possessed. This being the nature of the special status that the people of this area had been dispossessed of, it can only be honest enough for the president, in whose hands the recommendations have been lodged, to consider this issue seriously, if only to come close to a lasting solution to the crisis.
This is where our doubts about the honesty behind what is expected from these recommendations take deep roots.
In any case, we shall not allow our hopes to be drowned by doubts that the president will not stick to his assurance that, the recommendations will be considered attentively and diligently. It is an assurance most Cameroonians, particularly the Anglophones will wish to take wholeheartedly serious.
Obviously, there is nothing wrong in restoring this special status to the people of this part of the country. The system has worked in several countries without splitting them. Instead the system of special status has helped to consolidate the unity of these countries. Take Canada, for example, with a similar bilingual and bicultural character like Cameroon. Canada has several provinces, but the province of Quebec enjoys the special status dispensation; Quebec has an administration of its own, an elected parliament with a prime minister, with several other accompanying special status.
Another example on the African continent is Tanzania, where the former state of Tanganyika opted for a union with the Island country of Zanzibar to form the country now known as Tanzania. The terms of the union allowed Zanzibar similar special status. We are certain that should the president consider this position attentively as he has promised to do, we shall have sailed through the wide stormy sea to a safer shore. The reverse will only prolong the cruise and leave us in an uglier stalemate.