Book Description

When it comes to drafting constitutions that promote constitutional democracy, Cameroonians have been rather unfortunate. Their constitutions have been inspired by less successful traditions and have generally sought to frustrate constitutional democracy, devolution of powers, and competitive multiparty politics. The 1961 Reunification of former British Southern Cameroons with the then independent former French Cameroon gave rise to a Federal Constitution which many saw as a ray of hope. This hope was dashed in 1972 by the unconstitutional transition to a centralized unitary state system of government. This change has led to serious political conflicts that can only be resolved by a return to Federalism. Even the 1961 Federal Constitution would fail today to satisfy the demands for true devolution of powers with effective checks and balances. A new Federal Constitution is therefore needed.In this book, Dr. Benjamin K. Akih discusses the central role of a constitution as a social contract and demonstrates that Cameroon's Constitution fails to meet the needs of the nation. To stimulate debate on a new Federal Constitution, he pragmatically proposes two constitutions: a Federal Constitution and a Constitution for the Federated State of West Cameroon. He is optimistic that others will appreciate the reasonableness of most of the ideas, promote the proposed ideas, and demand for a constitutional convention. This is Dr. Akih's third book on the political situation in Cameroon. The first book, The West Cameroon Problem and its Solution: A Federalist Perspective, identifies federalism as the best solution to the ongoing separatist conflict. His second, Cameroon after Paul Biya, deals with the imminent presidential transition, arguing for strict adherence to constitutional democracy and transparent elections, followed by reforms toward federalism. This third book provides concrete constitutional proposals.Dr. Benjamin K. Akih hails from the North West Region of Cameroon. He is currently an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University, New York. He is also a political activist, known for his advocacy against the marginalization of West Cameroon as well as for his promotion of constitutional democracy and competitive multiparty politics in Cameroon.