The Refusal to Belong: Limits of the Discourse on Anglophone Nationalism in Cameroon (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Over the decades, Anglophone nationalism has been built on the premise that Anglophone and Francophone Cameroonians differ linguistically, culturally, politically, and socially. Anglophone nationalist leaders have based their arguments on the fact that, because of failed integration, Anglophone Cameroon should become a separate entity from Francophone Cameroon. However, Anglophone nationalist leaders have failed to realize that since the reunification of the two Cameroons, so much more has taken place between the communities in terms of intermarriage, investment, migration, and lifestyle issues that the dichotomy between the two has become blurred. This article explores the limits of the discourse of Anglophone nationalism, by showing that Anglophones and Francophones have more in common than they would like to acknowledge. This article is about the paradoxes of a politics of separation in contexts in which what people do historically and objectively share might be much more decisive than what they perceive as differences. The scope of the article is limited to the elucidation of these paradoxes. It is not the writer's intention to write a treatise about nation building as such. The shift of perspective of looking at the politics of not wanting to belong is the kernel of this article.