Patricia Scotland, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth has started a five-day official visit to Cameroon following an invitation from the 84 year-old French Cameroun dictator President Paul Biya. The SG has been meeting with top government officials including the rejected Southern Cameroons Prime Minister Philemon Yang.

The visit comes at a time when the nation is facing a serious socio-political crisis in the Anglophone regions. Indeed, for more than a year now, the Francophone dominated armed forces have killed hundreds of Southern Cameroonians following demands from corporatists that have taken a political identity.

Patricia Scotland has reportedly angered Southern Cameroonians by calling on the various parties to dialogue. “I call on the government and the people of the two English-speaking regions to engage in a constructive dialogue, putting forward the interests of the nation first and foremost,” she said in a statement expressing her concern about Cameroon.

In a poorly worded statement, the head of the Commonwealth also expressed “satisfaction” that some people arrested in connection with the Anglophone crisis have been released. The UN has confirmed that more than 5000 Southern Cameroonians have been registered as refugees in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and thousands more have fled into the Cross River State.

Patricia Scotland’s Cameroonian visit will begin and end in French Cameroun. Local media reports have suggested that the Biya Francophone regime is preventing her from visiting the Anglophone regions of the country.

By Eyong Johnson