Portal:Cameroon

The Cameroon Portal

Flag of Cameroon Coat of arms of Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea, and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both geostrategic locations. Cameroon's population of nearly 31 million people speak 250 native languages, in addition to the national tongues of English and French. The capital city of the country is Yaoundé.

Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, it was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates until independence in 1960 and 1961 respectively. The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) political party advocated independence but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to a national liberation insurgency between French Armed Forces and the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) until January 1971. In 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent, as the Republic of Cameroun, under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The federation was abandoned in 1972. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and back to the Republic of Cameroon in 1984 by a presidential decree by President Paul Biya. Biya, the incumbent president, has led the country since 1982 following Ahidjo's resignation; he previously held office as prime minister from 1975 onward. Cameroon is governed as a unitary presidential republic.

The official languages of Cameroon are French and English. Christianity is the majority religion in Cameroon, with significant minorities practising Islam and traditional faiths. It has experienced tensions from the English-speaking territories, where politicians have advocated for greater decentralisation and even complete separation or independence (as in the Southern Cameroons National Council). In 2017, tensions over the creation of an Ambazonian state in the English-speaking territories escalated into open warfare. Large numbers of Cameroonians live as subsistence farmers. The country is often referred to as "Africa in miniature" for its geological, linguistic, and cultural diversity. Its natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. Cameroon's highest point, at almost 4,100 metres (13,500 ft), is Mount Cameroon in the Southwest Region. (Full article...)

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The Anglophone Crisis (French: Crise anglophone), also known as the Ambazonia War, is an ongoing armed conflict in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, between the Cameroonian government and Ambazonian separatist groups, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, separatists in the Anglophone regions (formerly collectively known as the Southern Cameroons) launched a guerrilla campaign and later proclaimed independence. Within two months, the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions.

Starting as a low-scale insurgency, the conflict spread to most parts of the Anglophone regions within a year. By the summer of 2019, the government controlled the major cities and parts of the countryside, while the Ambazonian nationalists held parts of the countryside and regularly appeared in the major cities. Separatists have occasionally carried out raids into the neighboring Francophone regions of Littoral and West. Thousands of people have been killed in the war, and more than half a million have been forced to flee their homes. The Cameroonian government was supported by the Buhari administration in Nigeria, while at least one Ambazonian group is allied to Biafran separatists.

Talks mediated by Switzerland in 2019 ultimately failed, and the Ambazonian leadership crisis has complicated any diplomatic process. Separatist leaders who were extradited from Nigeria in 2018 were in 2019 handed life sentences by a military tribunal. Facing mounting international pressure for a global ceasefire, in July 2020, Cameroon began negotiating with these imprisoned leaders. The talks were held between Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and other imprisoned leaders and representatives of the Cameroonian government. The talks outlined a series of conditions for the Cameroonian government to accept, which Ayuk Tabe said would create an "enabling environment" for substantial negotiations to occur. These talks ultimately failed, and fighting continued. (Full article...)

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... that the parents of Mathias Nkwenti, the second Cameroonian ever to play in the NFL, initially opposed his football career?
... that Cameroonian-born Joel Embiid opted to play for the 2024 U.S. Olympic basketball team instead of France in part because his son is American?
... that the naturalised German Mandenga Diek was denied funds to return to his native Cameroon because he wanted to bring his German wife?

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...that Ewale a Mbedi may have been the first Duala leader to trade with Europeans in Cameroon?

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The following are images from various Cameroon-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A Cameroonian Woman wearing a Bazin Fabric (Bazin is popular in most Sahel countries) (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 2Military vehicles during a parade (from Cameroon)
Image 3A woman weaves a basket near Lake Ossa, Littoral Region. Cameroonians practise such handicrafts throughout the country. (from Cameroon)
Image 4Cameroon facing Germany at Zentralstadion in Leipzig, 17 November 2004 (from Cameroon)
Image 5Chimpanzee at Mefou primate sanctuary (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 6Flag of the Federal Republic of Cameroon (from Cameroon)
Image 7Dutch bulls and cows at Wallya community during the rainy season in Cameroon (from Cameroon)
Image 8Cameroonian fashion is varied and often mixes modern and traditional elements. Note the wearing of sun glasses, Monk shoes, sandals, and a Smartwatch. (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 9a Woman wearing a wedding dress from the center/south region (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 10Kribi Beach (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 11a Woman wearing Ndop fabric from the West region (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 12School children in Cameroon in 2014 (from Cameroon)
Image 13Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, a Catholic Church in Yaoundé (from Cameroon)
Image 14Hippopotamus at the Benoue National Park (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 15Leaders of the pro-independence UPC (from Cameroon)
Image 16a traditional attire from the northwest region (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 17Limbe Beach with people engaging in various activities (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 18Elephants in Waza National Park (from Cameroon)
Image 19A statue of a chief in Bana, West Region (from Cameroon)
Image 20Paul Biya has ruled the country since 1982. (from Cameroon)
Image 21Dancers greet visitors to the East Region, 2006. (from Cameroon)
Image 22Cameroon is divided into 10 regions. (from Cameroon)
Image 23Cameroonian women on Women's Day Celebration, 2015 (from Cameroon)
Image 24A musician plays traditional African music during the closing ceremony of French RECAMP-concept (reinforcement of African peacekeeping capacities) in Douala, November 23, 2006 (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 25President Paul Biya with U.S. President Barack Obama in 2014 (from Cameroon)
Image 26a groom and a bride in Sawa attire (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 27Volcanic plugs dot the landscape near Rhumsiki, Far North Region. (from Cameroon)
Image 28Map of the region's indigenous languages (from Cameroon)
Image 29Cameroonian fashion is varied and often mixes modern and traditional elements. Note the wearing of sun glasses, monk shoes, sandals, and a Smartwatch. (from Cameroon)
Image 30Reunification Monument, Yaounde (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 31The homes of the Musgum, in the Far North Region, made of earth and grass (from Cameroon)
Image 32Douala seaport (from Cameroon)
Image 33Plantains and "Bobolo" (made from cassava) served with Ndolè (meat and shrimp) (from Cameroon)
Image 34Gorilla at Mefou primate sanctuary (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 35Unity Palace – Cameroon Presidency (from Cameroon)
Image 36National Museum, Yaounde (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 37Former president Ahmadou Ahidjo ruled from 1960 until 1982. (from Cameroon)
Image 38Bamum script is a writing system developed by King Njoya in the late 19th century. (from Cameroon)
Image 39A Cameroonian man wearing a boubou with a hat (from Culture of Cameroon)
Image 40Giraffes in Waza National Park (from Tourism in Cameroon)
Image 41Life expectancy in Cameroon (from Cameroon)