Editing History of Cameroon (section)

==Biya Era (1982–present)==
[[File:President Ronald Reagan meeting with President Paul Biya of Cameroon in the Oval Office.jpg|thumb|right|Paul Biya with U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1986]]
On 30 June 1975, [[Paul Biya]], a long-serving bureaucrat and administrator in the Ahidjo government, was appointed [[Prime Minister of Cameroon|Prime Minister]]. On November 4, 1982, Ahidjo resigned as president and Biya was his legal successor. Many observers were surprised, as Biya is a Christian from the south while Ahidjo was a Muslim from the North and Ahidjo was only 59 years old.<ref name="WaPo Revolt">{{cite news |last1=Randal |first1=Jonathan |title=Tales of Ex-Leader's Role In Revolt Stun Cameroon |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901340_pf.html |access-date=23 September 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=April 15, 1984}}</ref> However, Ahidjo did not resign his role as leader of the governing party, and many speculated that he hoped Biya would be a figurehead, or perhaps even a temporary caretaker, as Ahidjo was rumored to be ill and receiving medical care in France.

===Rift and coup attempt===
Despite previous good relations, in 1983 a rift was apparent between Biya and Ahidjo. Ahidjo left for France and publicly accused Biya of abuse of power. Ahidjo sought to use his continuing control over the party apparatus to sideline Biya, by causing the party, not the President to set the government's agenda. However, at the party conference in September, Biya was elected to lead the party and Ahidjo resigned.<ref name="WaPo Revolt" /> In January 1984, Biya was elected president of the country, running unopposed. In February, two senior officials were arrested and, along with Ahidjo who was tried ''in absentia'' alongside them.

On April 6, 1984, supporters of Ahidjo [[1984 Cameroonian coup d'état attempt|attempted a coup d'état]], led by the Republican Guard, an elite force recruited by Ahidjo, mainly from the north.   The Republican Guard under Colonel Saleh Ibrahim took control of the Yaounde airport, national radio station, and other key points around the capital. However, Biya was able to hole up in the presidential palace with his bodyguard until troops from outside the capital were able to retake control within two days. Ahidjo denied knowledge or responsibility for the coup attempt but was widely viewed as behind it.<ref name="WaPo Revolt" /><ref name="Historical Dictionary" />

===Limnic eruptions===
[[File:Monoun.jpg|thumb|Lake Monoun]]
On August 15, 1984, [[Lake Monoun]] exploded in a [[limnic eruption]] that released enormous amounts of [[carbon dioxide]], [[Asphyxia|suffocating]] 37 people to death. On August 21, 1986, another limnic eruption at [[Lake Nyos]] killed as many as 1,800 people and 3,500 livestock. The two disasters are the only recorded instances of limnic eruptions, though geologic and sedimentary evidence indicates they may have caused large localized die-offs before historical records began.

===Brief political loosening===
Biya had initially seemed supportive of loosening restrictions on civil society, but the coup attempt ended any sign of opening up.<ref name="Historical Dictionary">{{cite book |last1=Delancey |first1=Mark W. |last2=Delancey |first2=Mark D. |last3=Neh Mbuh |first3=Rebecca |title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon, 4th Ed. |date=2010 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=978-0-8108-5824-4 |page=8 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4l9lSZ9d46cC |access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref> However, by 1990, pressure from Western governments was mounting as the end of the [[Cold War]] made them less tolerant of authoritarian allies. In December 1990, opposition parties were legalized for the first time since 1966. The [[1992 Cameroonian presidential election|first multiparty elections were held in 1992]] and were hotly contested. Biya won with 40% of the vote against 36 for his closest competitor and 19 for another opposition party. In Parliament, Biya's ruling party [[1992 Cameroonian parliamentary election|on a plurality with 45% of the votes]] but failed to obtain a majority. The competitiveness of the election was not to Biya's liking and subsequent elections have been widely criticized by opposition parties and international observers as rigged and suffering from numerous and widespread irregularities. The ruling party has had no trouble gaining large majorities.

Pressure from Anglophone groups in former British Cameroons resulted in changes to the [[Constitution of Cameroon|constitution]] in 1996, which purported to decentralize power but fell short of Anglophone demands to reestablish the federal structure. As a result of continued opposition, many of the changes adopted in 1996 have never been fully implemented and power remains highly centralized in the President.<ref name="Historical Dictionary" />

===Bakassi border conflict===
[[File:Un-bakassi.png|thumb|right|Bakassi Peninsula]]
Bakassi is a peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea between the [[Cross River (Nigeria)|Cross River]] estuary and the [[Rio del Rey]] estuary on the east. The area was administered by Nigeria through the colonial era. However, after independence, efforts to demarcate the border revealed that a 1913 agreement between Britain and Germany, placed Bakassi in German Cameroon and accordingly should belong to Cameroon. Nigeria pointed to other colonial-era documents and agreements and their long history of administration to object to this narrative. The competing claims grew contentious after oil was discovered in the region. An agreement between the two countries in 1975 was derailed by a [[1975 Nigerian coup d'état|coup in Nigeria]]. In 1981, clashes between Nigerian and Cameroonian forces resulted in several deaths and nearly led to war between the two nations. The border saw further clashes several times throughout the 1980s. In 1993, the situation worsened with both countries sending large military contingents to the region and numerous reports of skirmishes and attacks against civilians. On 29 March 1994, Cameroon referred the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In October 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled in favor of Cameroon. However, the ruling was resisted by Nigeria. Pressure from the UN and international community and the threat of withdrawal of foreign aid ultimately forced Nigeria to acquiesce and in 2006 the [[Greentree Agreement]] laid out a plan for the transfer of administration over two years. The transfer was successfully accomplished but many inhabitants of the peninsula retained their Nigerian citizenship and remain dissatisfied with the transition. Low-level violence continued until it was subsumed in the [[Anglophone Crisis]] in 2017.

===2008 protests===
In February 2008, Cameroon experienced widespread violent unrest as a strike by transport workers opposing high fuel prices and poor working conditions coincided with President Paul Biya's announcement that he wanted the constitution to be amended to remove term limits. Biya was scheduled to leave power at the end of his term in 2011. After several days of widespread rioting, looting, and reports of gunfire in all the major cities, calm was eventually restored after a crackdown with thousands arrested, and at least several dozen killed. The government announced lower fuel prices, increased wages for the military and civil servants, and decreased duties on key foodstuffs and construction materials. Many opposition groups reported additional harassment and restrictions on speech, gatherings, and political activity in the wake of the protests. Ultimately, the constitutional term limits were revoked and Biya was reelected in 2011 in an election criticized by the opposition and international observers as plagued by irregularities and low turnout.<ref>{{cite news |title=Turnout Low in Cameroon Presidential Poll |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/presidential-voting-off-to-slow-start-in-cameroon-131413838/146397.html |access-date=24 September 2021 |agency=VOA |date=October 8, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cameroon election deeply flawed, says US envoy |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20111020-cameroon-election-deeply-flawed-says-biya-jackson-us-ambassador |access-date=24 September 2021 |agency=AFP |date=October 20, 2011}}</ref>