By Dr. Peter N. Mbile
September 8, 2025 (Back to School Day in Cameroon)
-The tragedy of repeating histories
It is no surprise that xenophobic currents are once again boiling over in South Africa. And as has become tragically predictable, the main targets are other Africans; vulnerable people scapegoated for deeper systemic failures.
Ghanaian President, John Mahama has lamented this resurgence of anti-African violence, while Julius Malema has reminded us that behind such actions lie powerful interests bent on destroying the liberal spirit of Africa’s proletariat, in order to monopolize hegemony; power, wealth and influence.
These events reflect a painful truth: when societies refuse to tell their own uncomfortable stories, and be heared, they leave the narrative to others, even outsiders who distort it for selfish agendas.
-Cameroon’s parallel struggles
The same story is playing out in Cameroon.
The return to school in 2025 has been marred by renewed violence against people and property, justified in the name of a struggle that has long since lost credibility politically and socially.
I recall the dangerous trivialization of our crisis by former US diplomat Tibor Nagy, whose statements were twisted by multiple actors for their own ends.
Or the hypocrisy of the United Kingdom, which today sends humanitarian support for displaced women and children, yet in 1961 voted against self-determination for Southern Cameroons, only to later vote to leave the European Union itself.
Yes, we must tell our own stories, even if incomplete, or others will tell them in ways that deepen division.
-Roots, choices, and disconnection
As someone from Ndian in the Southwest, these past 8 years should have been a time to return to my roots and traditions.
Yet insecurity prevents this.
Politically, my region experienced 18 years of parliamentary democracy under Trusteeship, before our elite aligned with Cameroon’s ruling party.
That choice, whatever its rationale, came at a high price.
Many of today’s elites have failed to uphold their historic responsibility of remaining connected to their grassroots.
Instead, they have treated political gains as personal achievements for themselves and their families, severing bonds of trust.
This disconnection has left communities vulnerable to manipulation.
-The fraud of violence and the illusion of division
Let us be clear: while many in Ndian are not carrying weapons, the frustration is palpable.
It is increasingly difficult to convince Anglophones, who once proudly championed the force of argument over the argument of force, that the so-called Ambazonian project is nothing more than a fraud.
It is an enterprise for pathologically violent individuals and corrupt officials pursuing selfish, malevolent agendas.
The crisis in Cameroon is not fundamentally about language or identity.
There is no natural enmity between Francophones and Anglophones.
What we suffer from is bad governance, real; but not a conspiracy of one group to subjugate another.
Marginalization and discrimination exist, but they are not unique to Anglophone–Francophone relations; they appear in tribal rivalries, church conflicts, universities, civil society, and even government ministries.
-The broader fault lines
Tensions across Cameroon; Bamileke – Beti, Northwest – Southwest, Toupouri and Moundang – Fulani, Arab Shoua – Musgum, etc, reveal that our conflicts are not ethnic or linguistic genocides but rather class struggles and power contests.
They are battles between rich and poor, privileged and excluded, powerful and powerless.
This is why telling our own stories is vital.
Only then can we strip away the illusions and recognize the real forces at play.
-The imperative of coexistence and bridge-building
If we do not tell our own stories, others will twist them for selfish ends.
The only way forward is coexistence, building bridges upward, downward, and sideways across society.
No one holds the whole truth, but together we can learn from one another and allow our society to thrive.
Cameroon’s salvation will not come from scapegoating, from the violence of false prophets, or from retreating into narrow identities.
It will come from coexistence, connection, and the resilience of communities who choose argument over force.
That is our story. And it is the only path forward.