NIGERIA AND CAMEROON AS ONE

There is something fascinating about the two countries that are Nigeria and Cameroon. Firstly, not only are they neighbours, but they also share one very long border that stretches from north to south with people of like manner living and communing with each other on either side of the stretch.

Both countries also have an interwoven history. Although Nigeria was colonized by Britain and Cameroon was colonized by Germany, when Germany lost the world wars to the allies, Cameroon was split with four fifths of its territory given to France as a trust territory and the remaining one fifth given to Britain. The part that went to Britain was administered in two separate components called the British Southern Cameroons and the British Northern Cameroons respectively. Later the British Northern Cameroons voted to integrate themselves fully into Nigeria and are today part and parcel of Nigeria. The Southern Cameroons, on the other hand, voted overwhelmingly to rejoin their brothers and sisters of French-speaking Cameroon which had just achieved its independence from France as The Republic of Cameroon.

Today, Nigeria and Cameroon stand tall side-by-side with each other. They are both economic giants in their various economic and customs unions. Nigeria is the leading giant in the Economic and Customs Union of West African States (ECOWAS), just as Cameroon enjoys the same status in the Economic and Customs Union of Central African States (CEMAC).

Over the years, Nigeria has turned out to be one of Cameroon`s leading trading partners. In fact, if the two countries can put their heads together, trade will reach unprecedented heights with the new international road that runs from Bamenda in Cameroon, through Bali, Batibo, Widikum, Mamfe, and enters Nigeria through Ekok. Cameroon which is a major producer of food crops can find a ready market in Nigeria, while Nigeria steps up its export of finished goods to Cameroon. Considering that Nigeria has raised the French language to the status of a second official language on its national territory, Cameroon can reach an agreement with Abuja by which it supplies French teachers to work in Nigerian educational and other institutions. With the world more and more becoming a global village, Cameroon can also supply much needed translators and interpreters to handle Nigeria`s growing need for professionals in the field of translation and interpretation.

As things stand, there are indications that things are moving in that direction. The proof is that a couple of years ago, trade figures indicated that Nigeria was the leading world exporter of goods to Cameroon. This was revealed by a World Bank report that covered trading in the year 2011.

The results were published in Les Cahiers Economiques du Cameroun, a publication of the World Bank. In fact, in that year, Cameroon is said to have bought more goods from Nigeria than it bought from any other country, including countries of the CEMAC zone which are its immediate trading partners.  The volume of goods bought from Nigeria by Cameroon also exceeded that which Cameroon bought from any Francophone country outside of the CEMAC zone. Interestingly, Nigeria even beat France to it, which is remarkable, considering that France is Cameroon`s “traditional” business partner.

Compared with other countries therefore, the total volume of imports Cameroon received from Nigeria in that year, accounted for a hefty 58 % of Cameroon`s total imports. In the same period, the volume of French exports to Cameroon only stood at 13 %. Cameroon`s own export to Nigeria, however, were only eight per cent, which means that the balance of trade was in Nigeria`s favour.

Nigeria`s imported goods to Cameroon consisted mainly of manufactured goods and petroleum products, while those of Cameroon to Nigeria comprised mainly of raw materials.

Nigeria is without any doubt a heavy weight business partner, not just for Cameroon but for the whole of Africa, considering that it is Africa`s most heavily populated country with some 170 million inhabitants and the fact that only months ago, its economy was said to have outgrown that of the Republic of South Africa, thus making Nigeria the leading economy in the whole of Africa.

Furthermore, Cameroon shares much more with Nigeria than with any of its other six neighbours. In addition to their common history and the long border of 2000 kilometers, both countries are oil producers with their oil wells coming from bedrocks around the Bakassi territory. To crown it all, Nigeria and Cameroon have had their fates sealed through the ceding of the controversial oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon by the International Court at The Hague, in Holland.

In Cameroon, Francophones are becoming more and more interested in what is happening in Nigeria. A good number of Cameroonian Francophones have studied in Nigerian universities. This is particularly the case in the field of medicine, especially in the days when Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in Yaounde was the only medical institution in Cameroon training medical doctors. Entry was rigorously controlled by the State of Cameroon and was limited to a complicated process of competitive examinations which was often compromised by the taking of bribes from candidates before they were admitted. Francophones found that once they met the minimum requirements demanded by the numerous Nigerian universities offering courses in medicine, they could enroll there and still train as medical doctors. Upon their return to Cameroon, they were duly recognized as medical doctors.

Nigeria`s good performance in the arts has also greatly attracted the attention of Cameroonian Francophones. A couple of years ago, when the Nigerian female artiste Agatha Moses released A chart-topping album, it was very positively and widely received by Cameroonians, including the Francophones. Nigeria`s booming film industry has also greatly attracted Francophone Cameroonians to the extent that it is common nowadays to watch a Nigerian film on a Cameroonian television channel that has been dubbed in French and is therefore easy for the French speakers to follow and understand.

Even so, Cameroon must sit up, considering that Nigeria has the upper hand in terms of trade, with the balance of trade being hugely in Nigeria`s favour. Cameroon must work hard to reverse that trend, so that Yaounde exports more to Nigeria and thus earn more foreign exchange from Nigeria.

Cameroon is quite well placed to play that role. Firstly, in its own Economic and Customs Union, CEMAC, it is undoubtedly the leader. Cameroon alone accounts for half of the total population of all the six CEMAC countries put together. Cameroon alone also accounts for up to 40 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the CEMAC zone.  Cameroon can conveniently serve as the missing link that was needed to bridge the trade gap between ECOWAS and CEMAC. In that way, enormous trade opportunities would be opened up, not just for Cameroon, but for all of Central and West Africa.

In such a game plan, Cameroon would be a star player because it would be able to prove to the world that it is really and truly “Africa in miniature”. This is because not only is the country the only one that is located in the very heart of Africa from north to south and from west to east, it also has a bit of what is found elsewhere in Africa. Cameroon is a member of the Islamic community, the Christian community, the Anglophone community and the francophone community – and through its belonging to the CEMAC region, one of whose three official languages is Spanish – a member of the Spanish community.

Surely, this is the dawn of a new era, not just for Cameroon and Nigeria, but for the whole of Africa.