The date 6 July 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the war considered as one of the worst in recent human history, the Nigeria-Biafra war. My paper focuses on the representation of this war in... Show moreThe date 6 July 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the war considered as one of the worst in recent human history, the Nigeria-Biafra war. My paper focuses on the representation of this war in popular culture – with an emphasis on film, fictional and non-fictional literature. It interrogates the role that fictional and non-fictional narration play in the collective and individual memory of Nigerians in general and the Igbos in particular. It also looks at the link between the depiction of the war in popular culture and the renewed agitation for the nationhood of Biafra, as since the 2000s, there has been renewed campaigning by young people of Igbo ethnicity for the creation of the Republic of Biafra. This research particularly concentrates on two organizations that are involved in this struggle: the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). It is my position that popular culture constitutes important material for the study and understanding of historical events and periods of time, while it also enhances our understanding of the ways in which these past events may have an influence in the present. Show less
This article examines the historical process leading to the emergence of Anglophone nationalism in public space during the liberalisation process in the 1990s in Cameroon. Anglophone nationalism... Show moreThis article examines the historical process leading to the emergence of Anglophone nationalism in public space during the liberalisation process in the 1990s in Cameroon. Anglophone nationalism poses a severe threat to the post-colonial State's nation-building project that has been driven by the firm determination of the Francophone political elite to dominate the Anglophone minority and to erase the cultural and the institutional foundations of Anglophone identity. Persistent attempts by the Francophone-dominated State to control the newly created Anglophone movements have made Anglophone nationalists resort to less obtrusive forms of resistance, creating public space for an Anglophone identity and nationhood in historical, artistic, virtual, legal and everyday domains. Bibliographical references, notes, and summary in English and French. [Journal abstract] Show less
This article focuses on the regional anglophone opposition in Cameroon which arose after 15 July 1994, when the government was forced by international donors to announce the privatization of 15... Show moreThis article focuses on the regional anglophone opposition in Cameroon which arose after 15 July 1994, when the government was forced by international donors to announce the privatization of 15 public enterprises, notably in the transport and agroindustrial sectors. The most prominent among them was the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), founded in 1946/1947. The author argues that the strong resistance of anglophones in general and the Bakweri in particular to the privatization of the CDC can only be fully understood in the context of the 'anglophone problem'. Privatization of the CDC was perceived as a further step by the francophone-dominated State towards destruction of the anglophone cultural and economic heritage. This perception was strengthened by the fact that the CDC has the reputation of being one of the rare parastatals in Cameroon which from its inception has played a significant role in regional development and which had a relatively good performance record until the economic crisis. Moreover, the Bakweri, the owners of the CDC lands, were not consulted. Show less
