Are the French Intending to Replace Biya With “An Anglophone”?

The French believe that appointing a credible Anglophone voice — such as Joshua Osih or Akere Muna — could buy legitimacy both domestically and internationally.

By Timothy Enongene, Independentist Contributor

Reports suggest that France is considering the appointment of an “Anglophone” Vice President in La République du Cameroun following the October 12 presidential exercise. Strikingly, this would be done without even changing the constitution — a move that reeks of French desperation.

The rationale, according to political insiders, is to stabilise the country and symbolically “reconcile” the English-speaking regions after nearly eight years of armed conflict.

For France and Yaoundé, the calculation is strategic. Since 2017, repeated efforts to defeat Ambazonian resistance militarily or politically have failed. The extraordinary rendition of the “Nera 10,” the co-option of opposition figures, and extensive military campaigns have not ended the crisis.

France may therefore believe that appointing a credible Anglophone voice — such as Joshua Osih or Akere Muna — could buy legitimacy both domestically and internationally.

Yet, from the Ambazonian perspective, this move is deeply flawed. Southern Cameroonians argue that theirs is not a matter of political representation within Cameroun but of sovereignty itself. On 1st October 2017, Ambazonia declared the restoration of its independence, and since then more than 70,000 civilians have been killed, with massacres such as Ngarbuh emblematic of the scale of violence. In addition, long-term grievances — including the closure of financial institutions, ports, and industries in the Anglophone regions — underpin a conviction that the economic and political system of Cameroun cannot accommodate them.

“François Mitterrand once declared that no Anglophone shall ever be President.”
Are France and Yaoundé now contradicting Mitterrand and even De Gaulle? Or is this simply desperation, with Paris’ economy in decline, to once again seize Ambazonia’s financial institutions?

Where is the restructuring of Cameroon Bank, whose liquid assets were looted? What became of the Produce Marketing Board, the Victoria seaport, and SONARA? And who will account for the environmental destruction that followed?

Ambazonians have not forgotten. The chickens are coming home to roast.

Ambazonia insists it will never listen to a French proxy. If France truly seeks credibility, they must allow genuine Ambazonian leadership — such as President Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako — to help them save their voice in Africa.

The conclusion from Ambazonian voices is clear: no “neutral Anglophone” appointment will resolve the crisis. The only viable path forward is to negotiate peaceful coexistence — as sovereign neighbours, similar to the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For the international community, the lesson is that cosmetic appointments or symbolic gestures will not address the root of the conflict. Sustainable peace requires recognition of historical grievances, accountability for atrocities, and a genuine political settlement between Ambazonia and Cameroun.

Timothy Enongene, Independentist Contributor — Tombel, Kupe Muanenguba County, Atlantic Zone, Federal Republic of Ambazonia