By Mathew Dadiya
As Cameroonians await with tense the country’s constitutional council to announce the presidential election results by Sunday, tensions are rising between President Biya and Tchiroma Bakary camps in a tense election with 92-year-old President Paul Biya seeking yet another term in office, the unrest in the country’s Anglophone regions has deepened, amid growing calls for constitutional redress.
One of the leading opposition candidates, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a former Minister of Information and ex-Prime Minister under Biya, has acknowledged past failings in addressing the long-standing grievances of the country’s English-speaking population.
In a recent interview, Tchiroma admitted he was previously misled into believing there was no “Anglophone problem” in Cameroon.
“I ask for forgiveness,” Tchiroma said, as he canvassed for votes in the troubled Northwest and Southwest regions. “We must now retrace the root causes of the crisis and engage in genuine dialogue.”
However, critics argue that Tchiroma’s new stance remains insufficient, accusing him of favoring political expediency over a durable solution.
“He has adopted a failed, temporary, pro-Cameroonian strategy, rather than supporting a permanent peace framework rooted in the historical and constitutional foundations of the state,” said political commentator, Edwin Ngang.
The current Anglophone crisis dates back to the dissolution of the post-independence Federal United Cameroon Republics, originally formed under the December 16, 1960 Plebiscite Treaty between the then-sovereign states of Southern Cameroons and La République du Cameroun.
Activists and political leaders from the Anglophone regions argue that this federation was unlawfully dismantled and replaced with a centralised government that marginalised English-speaking communities.
According to Ngang, any credible peace process must return to what he calls Peaceful Permanent Solution (PPS) options, grounded in that treaty.
He outlines two possible resolutions: Recognition of the Republic of Ambazonia, as a legally distinct and constitutionally valid entity; or a referendum on “AMBAEXIT”, similar to the UK’s Brexit vote, allowing the people of the Northwest and Southwest regions to democratically decide their political future.
Given the geopolitical stakes in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) subregion, observers are calling for Nigeria — the region’s most populous country and economic giant — to take a more proactive role in mediating peace.
“With Nigeria’s influence as Africa’s largest Black nation, its leadership is essential in steering Cameroon toward a peaceful resolution that addresses the core of the Anglophone question,” Ngang emphasised.
As voters expect the results of their ballots, the future of Cameroon remains uncertain.
While the election unfolds, so too does the battle over national identity, historical justice, and the path toward lasting peace.
The leaders of English-speaking regions of Cameroon, under the banner of the Dynamic Alliance to Implement the Peaceful Permanent Solution (PPS), had appealed to Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu to take a decisive role in resolving the long-running Anglophone crisis.
In a letter dated September 9, 2025, and addressed to President Tinubu through his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the group urged Nigeria to support either the recognition of the Republic of Ambazonia or the conduct of an exclusive referendum for the indigenous peoples of Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions.
According to SaharaReporters which obtained the letter, said it was a follow-up to an earlier communication sent on November 16, 2023.
It emphasised the Peaceful, Permanent Solution (PPS) as a framework for achieving lasting peace, prosperity, and stability in the Gulf of Guinea subregion.
According to the group, the PPS strategy is rooted in international law and constitutional precedent, offering a “binary choice” path modelled after the 1961 UN-sponsored plebiscite that determined the fate of Southern Cameroons.
The paper was signed by; Archbishop Dr Mike Nchang, African Freedom Advocacy (AFA); Ambazonia Heritage, Economic and Cultural Center (AMHEC), Comrade Denis Lihmann, Comrade Edwin Ngang Manjonnye, Comrade Manjong Anye, Comrade Bishop Asongwe, Taule Nor, Comrade Dr. Tanwie Nfor and Comrade Wendy Nkeung and Edwin Ngang.
The alliance warned against what it described as “anti-PPS caucuses” funded by sovereign state sponsors, who have been promoting temporary or multiple-choice solutions through dialogue and negotiations.
It insisted that such approaches had failed since 2018 and only prolong the conflict.
The letter further argued that adopting the PPS would elevate Nigeria’s global standing and align with Tinubu’s New Nigerian Era agenda.
The group said Nigeria’s support could make it the first African country admitted to the UN Security Council’s expanded membership and position Tinubu as a leading candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Citing historical documents, including the 1960 Plebiscite Treaty between Southern Cameroons and La République du Cameroun, as well as international rulings on the Bakassi Peninsula, the group maintained that Ambazonia’s quest for self-determination is legally justified.
The leaders also linked their demand to global precedents, noting that recognition of Palestine is expected to be tabled at the upcoming 80th UN General Assembly.
The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, which escalated into armed conflict in 2018, has led to thousands of deaths, mass displacement, and a growing humanitarian crisis.
Despite repeated calls for dialogue, efforts at reconciliation between the Cameroonian government and separatist groups have largely stalled.
The Ambazonian leaders believe Nigeria, as a regional power and close neighbor, holds the key to unlocking a peaceful and permanent resolution to the crisis.
The statement read, “While you must be made aware of this new exciting development in the AMBAZONIAN RQ, you also must also be aware that those who opposed the AMBAZONIAN peoples’ rights of SELF DETERMINATION have been working overtime to preempt the adoption of this PPS strategy.
“We have seen a huge surge of ANTI-PPS activities coming from the ranks of States and Non States Actors, including the usual minuscule opportunistic folks from our communities. Their sole purpose is to “muddy-the-waters” and sow confusion so only PRO CAMEROONIAN TEMPORARY SOLUTION strategies are discussed in those “dialogue and negotiations”mirages!
“Please let us not forget that these ANTI-PPS CAUCUS have unlimited funding from the sovereign states sponsors. This is why since 2018 there have existed endless distractions, cleverly disguised as the “dialogue and negotiations” conferences you have been hearing about.
“This is why we have reached out to you pleading that you adopt this constitutionally originated and legally validated PPS. You will be standing for the TRUTH, JUSTICE, PEACE, PROSPERITY and HAPPINESS for all peoples affected by the Gulf of Guinea subregion.
“Rest assured that HISTORY will vindicate this bold action of adopting the PPS, besides the fact that the good people of Nigeria who have always supported the rights of self determination of Ambazonia, will applaud and be proud of this courageous stand! They will say: better late than never as this correction of injustice should have been done decades ago.
“You would have for the first time in our sad history just created the belated countervailing force against the purveyors of evil intent on sowing conflict and miseries in this Mid West Central African subregion! Recall this unknown and sad historic fact which Pan Cameroon pre-determinism desperately hopes never gets known to the World! That, the unsuspecting Ambazonian people were the first Africans to have adopted the 1957 President Dr. KWAME NKRUMAH’S call for AFRICAN UNITY,” he explained.
According to the group, “We had naively believed in the GOODNESS OF MAN fallacy conjured by PAN AFRICANISM and honestly sought and engaged our Easternly neighboring state to create the “doomed to fail” 1961 CAMEROON CONFEDERATION. Instead of securing the CONFEDERATION our people voted at the February 11, 1961 PLEBISCITE, they were ANNEXED.
“What a betrayal of trust by this so-called “BROTHER-in-the-East” who pretended they love PAN AFRICANISM, but are actually re-colonialists and “Black-on-Black” neo-imperialists.
“Yet there are those who keep insisting we should continue managing this evil Cameroon bilingual experiment which not even France and the United Kingdom, nor Canada have ever contemplated.
Accordingly, to not let this evil pan Cameroon pre-determinism continue wrecking havoc in Cameroon that will certainly spill over into the GULF OF GUINEA, those who promote the PPS strategy must stand their grounds by forming an ALLIANCE!
“This ALLIANCE, certainly will be our most optimized strategy to say “NO” to the evil Pan Cameroon Pre Deterministic agenda. This is because it is made of those who have adopted the indestructible TRUTHS of this subregion!
“Whereas, Pan Cameroon Pre Determinism thrives on only “FALSEHOODS and POLITICKINGS”, to the extent they have been shamelessly promoting the evil “ONE INDIVISIBLE CAMEROON”! This myth persists despite the February 4, 1984 RESTORATION LAW having rendered extinct the “fake” 1961 CAMEROON FEDERATION and its accompanying “fake” CAMEROON BILINGUAL EXPERIMENT.
“This is exactly why the PPS that’s based on the TRUTHS of our history as they must be of our constitutionalities and legalities must be adopted by ALL desirous of solving that so called “ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM,” they added.
Meanwhile, Ambazonian campaigners likened their quest for recognition to the global push for Palestinian statehood, urging President Tinubu to seize the moment and make Nigeria the first African state to insist on a peaceful, permanent settlement.
The conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, which escalated in 2018, has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.
However, despite international pressure for dialogue, a permanent settlement has remained elusive hence the need for Nigeria to take a decisive action for the permanent peace solution.
