ABSTRACT

This study is about ethnicity and political outcome: An assessment of the politics of regional balance in Cameroon . Ethnicity is a group of people who identify with each other on the basis of perceive shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups . The British or English ethnic people descended from the West German tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) and the Celtic people who were collectively known as Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons then founded the Kingdom of England in the late 9th century. Based on the methods, the researcher adopted a cross sectional research design, a simple random sampling was used in electing participant and data was collected using questionnaires and interview guide .Findings; findings from objective one shows that above respondents had different opinions regarding the extent to which regional balance has been effectively implemented in Cameroon as majority (31%) agreed that the policy of regional balance has been effectively implemented in Cameroon though a host of opinion regarding the extent of effective implementation remain neutral (21%) while none of the respondents could strongly agree on the effective implementation of regional balance in Cameroon. Based on the opinions of despondence patterning the first objective, they agreed that the policy of regional balance was implemented in Cameroon but there are no evidence concerning the effectiveness of the policy. From the findings, the researcher recommended that the government should engage actively with regional and local communities and stakeholders throughout the policy making cycle to gather knowledge needed to identify regions needs and leverage their specific asserts. Also, the government should promote integrity, transparency and accountability in regional development this could be done by implementing accountability mechanism that promote public scrutiny.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background to the Study

Ethnicity is a group of people who identify with each other on the basis of perceive shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups .Those attributes can include a common nation of origin, or common set of ancestry, tradition, language, history, religion or social treatment. The purpose of studying the topic ethnicity and political outcome: an assessment of the politics of regional balance in Cameroon is to understand the dynamics of ethnicity and its impact on political outcome. It is also to understand how regional balance has been effectively implemented in Cameroon, the strength of ethnic diversity and others.

 The British or English ethnic people descended from the West German tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) and the Celtic people who were collectively known as Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons then founded the Kingdom of England in the late 9th century. A 2022 study found English people to be of predominantly Anglo-Saxon and Indigenous Celtic Briton ancestry. In the 5th century, after the Romans left Britain, the Anglo-Saxons began migrating from Denmark and Germany to eastern and southern England. The land was already occupied by the Romano-British people, Indigenous Celtic people native to the land who lived there under Roman Rule for the previous 500 years.The Anglo-Saxons took over the land by a process called ‘elite dominance,’ where the settled, less powerful Indigenous majority accepts the culture of a politically, economically, and/or socially powerful minority. The Kingdom of England began to form in response to the invasion of England by the Danish Vikings in the early 9th century. The Kingdom of England was formed in the 10th century with Æthelstan of Wessex, King of the Anglo-Saxons, becoming the first King of England.Anglo-Saxon rule of the Kingdom of England ended after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The French Normans replaced the Anglo-Saxons as the ruling elite of the Kingdom of England. Within 50 years of the conquest, Normans began using the English language and not the Anglo-Norman language used in the royal court. By the 14th century, both the Norman elite and common people no longer referred to themselves as Normans, but as English. Additionally, they no longer spoke Anglo-Norman but English, having fully assimilated into English culture (Carson,2019:3).

 Among today’s scholars there is a near consensus that pre colonial African identities were relatively fluid, permeable, overlapping, and complex; that ethnic identities are socially constructed; and that a colonial order of delineated control encouraged Africans to rethink group identities and heightened a sense of socioeconomic and political competition along ethnic lines. There is also growing consensus that ethnic identities are nevertheless the subject of ongoing (re)negotiation and that, to find resonance, the politicization of ethnicity, while instrumental in motivation and opportunistic in character, must be rooted in linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic similarities and communal experiences of marginalization, neglect, injustice, and achievement. Many scholars also emphasize how the realities of ethnically delineated political support reflect pragmatism and expectations of patronage in the context of difficult and unequal socioeconomic contexts, as well as the significance of remembered pasts and associated narratives of justice and strategies of acquisition. Such realities and discursive repertoires provide a list of grievances that elites can use to foster a sense of difference and mobilize local support bases, but that also provide non elites with a means to question and counter intra- and inter communal differences and thus social and spatial inequalities. Ethnic support then strengthened by a reinforcing cycle of ethnic bias and expectations of greater levels of assistance from co-ethnics. According to such arguments, ethnic identification and political support are rational, but not for the simple reasons that classic primordial, instrumental or neo-patrimonial accounts suggest (Gabrielle,2018:1).

Throughout Africa, there has long existed tension between the creation of parochial ethnic identities and the simultaneous creation of a unified national identity. Cameroon exemplified this situation especially well .Economic inequalities and social injustice in the country have provided fertile grounds for politicians to explore cultural differences by engaging in a political discourse that empathizes ethnic particularities and the importance of localities , with a recent focus on village affiliation and rural constituencies. The ethnitization and realization of politics in Cameroon have led to political entrepreneurs not only to redefine the geo-cultural boundaries of their ethnic labels and “villages”, but also to display their cultural differences as a way of marking their cultural space.

Since the accession of Ahmadou Ahidjo to power in 1958 he struggled in pursuing the policy of ‘regional balance’. This policy was aimed at controlling potential regional tensions and conflict was quite unique in Africa. One of it instinct characteristics was the institution of a political system which meticulously ensure that all ethnic groups in every region were in the state apparatus. Thus ,regional balance in Cameroon refers to the efforts made by the government to ensure equitable distribution of resources and opportunities among the different regions of the country. Cameroon is a diverse nation with various ethnic groups and regions, and the government recognizes the importance of addressing .The idea behind regional balance is to promote social and economic development across all regions of the country, aiming to reduce inequality and promote unity among the people. The main part of this chapter is to talk on the introduction, statement of problem ,research questions ,objectives, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and organization of the of the work.

1.2Statement of the Problem

Cameroon as apolitical entity emerged from the coloniasation of Africa by Europeans.From1884, Cameroon was a German colony, German kamerun, with its borders drawn through negotiation between the Germans, British and French .After the first world war, the league of nation mandated France to administer most of the territories with the united kingdom administering a small portion in the west .Following world war II, the league of nations’ successor, the united nations instituted a trusteeship system ,leaving France and Britain in control of their respective regions, French and British Cameroon(mark,2023).

Cameroon has more than 240 tribes which are found in three main ethnic groups ;the Bantus which is made up of the Beti, Bakundu, Maka ,Douala, pigmies .The Semi-Bantus is made up of the Bamileke, Gbaya ,Bamoum, Tikar and the Sudanese who are made up of Fulbe, Mafa, Toupouri, Shoa-Arabs, Moundang ,Massa, Mousgoun.While the presence of this many ethnic groups in Cameroon is a source of strength and cultural richness, it could also post challenges to national unity such as ethnic tension and conflict, marginalization and inequality ,language barriers, regionalism and separate movement.

Since the accession of Ahmadou Ahidjo to power in 1958 he struggled in pursuing the policy of ‘regional balance’. This policy was aimed at controlling potential regional tensions and conflict which was quite unique in Africa. One of it instinct characteristics was the institution of a political system which meticulously ensure that all ethnic groups in every region were in the state apparatus. These barons who served as transmission belt between the president and different ethnic groups within a region  were supposed to owe total allegiances to the president .While Ahidjo’s policy of ethnic balance was successful, one may observe a remarkable growth of regional and ethnic tension during the regime of his successor ,Paul Biya(Ngauap,1983).

 The Cameroon’s constitution on ethnicity state that ‘We the people of Cameroon ,proud of our linguistic and cultural diversity ,an enriching feature of our national unity ,but profoundly aware of the imperative needs to further consolidate our unity ,solemnly declare that we constitute one and the same nation ,bound by the same destiny and assert our affirmation to build the Cameroonian fatherland on the basis of fraternity ,justice and progress. The regional balance was reinforced on the 18 January 1996 constitution, which states that ,’the state ensures the harmonious development of all decentralizations based on national solidarity ,regional capacities and inter-regional balance .With this, it got the researcher thinking if when it comes to the aspect of allocation of resources ,does the state take in to consideration the number of ethnic groups that exist within a region before allocating resources or when something like a hospital is given in a particular region is it  considered as regional balance?.Also, does the appointment of civil service in the country reflect the total number of ethnic groups that exist in the country ?can one boldly say that the appointment of ministers, director generals, general managers and others is a perfect regional balance done, taking in to consideration the many ethnic groups in the country?

1.3Research Questions

1.3.1Main   Research Question

• How has the policy of regional balance been effectively implemented in Cameroon and how has it affected political outcomes in the country?

1.2.2 Specific Research Questions

•  What extent has the policy of regional balance been effectively implemented in Cameroon?
• How has the policy fostered and strengthens ethnic diversity in Cameroon?
• What political outcome has the policy produced in Cameroon and what are the challenges?
• What policies /strategies should be put in place to foster multi ethnicity and regional balance?

1.4Research Objectives

1.4.1Main Objectives

• To investigate how the policy of regional balance have been effectively implemented in Cameroon  and how it has affected political outcomes

1.4.2Specific Objectives

• To investigate the extent to which the policy of regional balance has been effectively implemented in Cameroon
• To evaluate how regional balance has fostered and strengthen ethnic diversity in Cameroon
• To identify the political outcome it has produced in Cameroon and the challenges
• To examine the policies and strategies to be put in place to foster multi ethnicity

1.5Research Hypotheses

Hn1: there is a significant extent to which the policy of regional balance has been effectively implemented in Cameroon.

Ho1: there is no significant extent to which the policies of regional balance have effectively been implemented in Cameroon.

Hn2: the policy of regional balance has fostered and strengthens ethnic diversity in Cameroon

Ho2: The policies of regional balance have not fostered or strengthen ethnic diversity in Cameroon

Hn3: there are policies and strategies that should be put in place to foster multi ethnic diversity and regional balance in Cameroon

Ho3: there are no policies and strategies that should be put in place to foster multi ethnic diversity and regional balance in Cameroon.