The ongoing conflict in the Southern Cameroons (the North West and South West regions) is a complex crisis involving historical, political, and economic factors. While the narrative often centers on the marginalization of the Anglophone minority, the role of natural resource control is a significant and increasingly prominent driver of the conflict. The Southern Cameroons region is rich in opportunities and natural resources, which have shifted the conflict from one of “grievance” to one of “greed”. As a matter of fact, Southern Cameroons is an ocean of vast mineral wealth including oil and gas in the Bakassi Peninsula. Beyond hydrocarbons, the region and its surroundings contain deposits of iron ore, bauxite, gold, diamonds, and uranium.
The Resource Curse
Southern Cameroons does not have an identity problem or a marginalization problem. The so called “identity problem” or “marginalization problem” is a “smokescreen” for a deeper struggle over its rich natural resources and the words behind which the ruling elite and its proxies hide in order to ignore the conflict, keep the lines of division between the so called “Francophones” and the so called “Anglophones” permanently wide for their convenience to continue to exploit the critical resources of the region. More so, the mischaracterization of the problem as a “language problem” or “identity problem” between the “Francophone majority” and “Anglophone minority” is a deliberate attempt to exhaust critical thinking and annihilate the possibility of common ground. This is how external actors and the central government succeed easily to control the territory and in permanently extracting its wealth without facing a united front from the local population despite widespread mismanagement and poverty. Yet, resolution is not found by winning a war of words, but by the courage to seek clarity amidst the noise.
2. Control vs. Sharing
Power Sharing
The people of Southern Cameroons and Cameroonians in general have been misled to focus on chieftaincy, seats in parliament or cabinet positions. And this is merely symbolic because the central government still dictates the flow of oil, minerals, and land distribution. Control over these resources is a major economic stake for both the central government in Yaoundé and the pro-independence groups and to a larger extent, the regions in which these mineral resources are actually located in Cameroon.
Resource Control
Instead of the people of Southern Cameroons enjoying sovereignty over their resources by demanding that the people living on the land have the primary right to manage, tax, and profit from what is beneath their feet, the central government is in charge and in control.
3. Strategic Interest and the Role of “Conspiracy”
The abundance of resources influences Cameroon’s bilateral relations with Western powers, including France, the UK, and the USA, who have historical and contemporary investment interests in the sector. While the Yaoundé government needs revenue from the region’s resources to fund the rest of the country, the international Corporations/Powers seek stable, cheap access to raw materials and are backing the regime in Yaoundé because it guarantees that flow.
4. The Resulting Friction
There is no denying that Cameroon is looking very bad in the eyes of anybody who cares. The region's resources are being exploited without providing adequate local development as a result of widespread mismanagement leading to widespread poverty. Because the local population is suffering, the stakes are so high, and any move towards local autonomy is often labeled as “secessionism” or “instability,” justifying further intervention or militarization by the state. While pro-independence groups use the identity and marginalization narratives to seek international recognition, the conflict remains largely viewed by the global community as an internal crisis for Cameroon to resolve through dialogue even though people are dying by the day.
5. The Way Forward for Cameroon
To conclude, where those who value the simple truth are present, resolution may be delayed by those who sow doubt and conflict, but it cannot be prevented forever. It will be naïve to think that “Francophones” are living a better life than “Anglophones.” No. The same pain and suffering that is ongoing in Southern Cameroons is the same pain and suffering that is ongoing in French Cameroon. The resources of Cameroon are not benefitting the populations which have been divided along tribal and regional barriers. For too long, the voices of division have echoed louder than the voices of reason, using the people’s passion as a tool for destruction rather than a catalyst for development. Many Cameroonians have been manipulated into believing that fighting each other is the only way to be heard. But look at the results: fragmented communities, wasted potential, and a nation stalling in its progress. The time for that is over. It is time to stop acting as puppets for those who thrive on chaos. It is time to stop waiting for a savior and become the agents of change ourselves. If we want a better country, we must be willing to work together. Let us move from the shallow, destructive politics of the past to the meaningful work of nation-building.
Dr. David Makongo