Opposition leader says anglopones exploited

Cameroon’s most vocal opposition leader, John Fru Ndi, has called on the party vanguard of his Social Democratic Front (SDF) to “prepare for war” in what he says is the continued exploitation and marginalisation of the country’s English-speaking minority by the French-speaking population, news organisations reported.

Fru Ndi made the call during a party provincial conference at the weekend in Nkambe, northwest province, AFP reported. He said the government had “done all it could to frustrate anglophones” in all aspects of life in Cameroon.

A Cameroonian political analyst, who agreed with this assessment, nevertheless told IRIN today that Fru Ndi did not have the capability to go to war against the state. He said Fru Ndi’s statement was aimed at regaining political prominence after first losing face by championing the national cause - in which he ignored the anglophone question - then later trying to drum up support for the anglophone cause.

“He has lost a lot of credibility,” the analyst, who requested anonymity, said.

English-speaking Cameroonians feel they have been forced into a federal union and then stripped of their political culture, their way of life and discriminated against in state employment.