Armed Conflict and Peace in the English-Speaking Regions of Cameroon

The Public Policy Center is proud to support this lecture hosted by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council (ICFRC).

Since 2017, the Anglophone areas of Cameroon, also known as the North-West and South-West Regions, have been the theatre of a separatist conflict that is varyingly referred to as the Anglophone Crisis, Civil War, Socio-Political Crisis, etc. The conflict is also depicted in some quarters as an 'identity conflict' that ignited following demands by lawyers and teachers that sought to reverse decades of assimilationist policies. This conflict is a direct consequence of the country's historical trajectory and the form of state that was adopted following reunification of the French and English sections of Cameroon in 1961. Of particular interest is the deliberate and systematic policies designed to assimilate the Anglophone minority that was pursued by Cameroon's former and current heads of state Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya and the successive Francophone dominated governments they have led over the past several decades.

Dr. Numvi Wallace Gwaib is a researcher and lecturer of government and politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Bamenda in the North-West Region of Cameroon. His academic activities involve teaching courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research and publication activities span the broader social sciences with particular emphasis on Africa, in general, and Cameroon, in particular. He holds a PhD in humanities (political science and anthropology) from the University of Pretoria.

This event is free and open to the public. Please register using the link prior to attending.