Womai Song, Ph.D.

About me

I am a proud son of the Kom Fondom, located in Boyo Division of the northwest region of the Republic of Cameroon. I received my B.A. & M.A. degrees in history from the University of Buea and later studied and earned my Ph.D. in history and African diaspora studies at Howard University in Washington D.C.

Before coming to Earlham College in 2017, I was a lecturer at Morgan State University.

I am a scholar of African History and the modern African Diaspora experience with a record of a plethora of conference presentations/participation.

Besides being an alum of the 2024 SIT/Dickinson Professional Engagement Program (PEP) in Cameroon and the 2021-2023 GLCA Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Faculty Leadership Council, I am a recent recipient of the Emerging Scholar Award for the Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities, and Nations; The Vice President of the North American Association of Scholars on Cameroon (NAASC); co-editor of Spears Books’ African & African Diaspora History Book Series; guest editor for many reputable academic Journals; and Earlham’s Class of 2022 Baccalaureate speaker.

In addition to traveling for conferences, research, mentorship, and monitoring developments in the African world, I enjoy spending time with my family, listening to African music and watching soccer.

I was drawn and kept here by Earlham’s mission; its perspicacious students; its small liberal arts structure; its diversity; and the humility, camaraderie, and virtuousness radiated by many of its stakeholders.

Education

• Ph.D., Howard University
• M.A., University of Buea (Cameroon)
• B.A., University of Buea (Cameroon)

Professional memberships

• African Studies Association (ASA)
• American Historical Association (AHA)
• Italian Association of African Studies (ASAI)
• Association for the Study of African American Life and History
• Pan-African Heritage Museum International Academic Council
• North American Association of Scholars on Cameroon

Selected courses taught

• HIST/AAAS 231: African History to 1880
• HIST/AAAS 340 (I): Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Modern Africa.
• HIST/AAAS 232: African History Since 1880
• HIST/AAAS 340 (II): Introduction to the African Diaspora Experience
• HIST/AAAS/PAGS 332: Pan-Africanism
• HIST/AAAS 378: History of South Africa
• AAAS 114: Introduction to African and African American Studies
• ESEM II: Neo-colonialism
• AAAS 485: Independent Studies
• AAAS 488: Senior Capstone

Research projects

I am currently working on the following major research projects:

1. In the Eye of the Storm: Augustine Ngom Jua and Anglophone Cameroon Nationalism (with manuscript under the exclusive review of Indiana University Press). Rooted in my primary research focused on transitions in erstwhile German African colonies, this bookthreads a scholarly biography with larger national and Pan-African politics in colonial and post-colonial Cameroon. One of its major themes is minority and marginalized politics in what one may call “colonialism from within” in post-colonial Africa. Since the outbreak of what has become known as the “Anglophone Cameroon War”, stakeholders and scholars have continued to debate the origins of this crisis. This book project is a contribution to the debate by stakeholders and scholars on the origins of the evolving “Ambazonia war that has threatened the sanctity of Cameroon and the Central African sub-region since 2016. With the help of largely unexploited primary sources and in the context of the African theory of collectivism and the epistemologies that study colonialism, nationalism, decolonization, resistance, marginalized politics, power, transitions, neo-colonialism, and identity, this scholarly biography critically, uniquely, and comprehensively examines the untold political story of Augustin Ngom Jua’s activism and invisible influence at the service of contested Anglophone Cameroon nationalism from the 1950s through his alleged assassination in 1977 by the government of president Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo in alliance with the French government up to today’s evolving Anglophone Cameroon (Ambazonia) freedom war.

It investigates the rise of an extraordinary man to the pinnacle of Anglophone Cameroon leadership: why he enkindled and embodied the aspiration of most “Anglophone” Cameroonians; why he became a nemesis to proponents of the unity approach to the post-colonial nation-state project in Cameroon; how he bequeathed the legacy of Anglophone Cameroon resistance in contemporary Cameroon; and why he is inextinguishable in Anglophone Cameroon’s historical memory. The book project hinges on the argument that formal colonialism seamlessly ushered in the Francophone as an internal colonizer of Anglophone Cameroon and that Jua’s political, philosophical, and ideological tenacity and fidelity in challenging classic and internal colonialism ignited Anglophone Cameroonians’ sensitivity to the uniqueness of their colonial experience and their linguistic/cultural minority status in post-colonial Cameroon. The book’s significance lies in its potential to not only celebrate the ingenuity and foresight of some early Anglophone Cameroon nationalists but to also inform the new generation of nationalists of likely pitfalls in their continued struggle for Anglophone Cameroon’s freedom.

Worthy of note in Anglophone Cameroon scholarship is the conspicuous absence of critical scholarly biographies of the struggles of some of the fathers and mothers of independence to help as inspirations for the current and future generations that short of a political miracle will continue to bear the burden of subjugation and marginalization in Cameroon. This book will therefore not only generate debate on the interpretation of the ongoing Anglophone crisis but has the potential to encourage related research such as scholarly biographies of the movers and shakers of Anglophone Cameroon activism such as HRH Fon Achirimbi, N.N. Mbile, Nzo Ekangaki, John Ngu Foncha, and E.T. Egbe. This is particularly important given the “renewed interest in individual lives as a route to understanding societies and the process of social and historical change” (Klaas Van Walraven, 2020, p. 1) in modern historical and scholarly African biographies. It is also a contribution towards the understanding of forms of leadership amongst what Jeremie Gilbert (2013) refers to as “marginalized minority communities” in the history of post-colonial Africa and how the disregard of the yearnings of these minorities channeled through their leaders, such as Jua have often culminated to implosions, especially in relations such as Ethiopia and Eritrea, Somalia and Somaliland; Sudan and South Sudan; and Nigeria and Biafra. I am very excited about this book project and look forward to its publication.

2. The Challenge of Re-integration in Post-colonial Africa: A Comparative Study of Former British Northern and Southern Cameroons and Since the 1961 Plebiscite (tentative title): this book project will be wider in scope and builds on one of my recently published chapters and In the Eye of the Storm. As it is well known,colonial rule inAfrica was ushered in by the haphazard and reckless division of the continent by European powers amongst themselves by the start of the First World War in 1914. Although the various European powers fought hard to consolidate their hold over respective territories between the First and Second World Wars, the tide of nationalist sentiments was unleashed by a combination of politico-socio-economic and international factors that culminated in the independence of most African countries by the close of the early decades of the second half of the 20^th century. It was in this context that the portion of Cameroon (1/5), administered by Britain as a Mandated Territory of the League of Nations and later as a Trust Territory of the United Nations Organization, was further divided for administrative convenience into two – British Southern Cameroon administered as part of the Eastern Region of Nigeria and British Northern Cameroons administered as part of the Northern Region of Nigeria until 1960. In a United Nations-organized plebiscite in 1961, British Northern Cameroons voted to have independence by remaining as part of the northern region of Nigeria while British Southern Cameroons voted to have independence by re-united with four-fifths of Cameroon which had been administered by France since the end of the First World War. This new arrangement divided people who were once one into different political and cultural regimes. Since “independence”, African peoples including divided Cameroonians have wrestled with the difficult task of reintegration in the context of Western-imposed new nations, neo-colonialism, “modernity”, and globalization.

This study critically examines the challenges of re-integration in post-colonial Sub-Saharan Central and West Africa with specific attention to the people of former British Northern Cameroon who remain part of Nigeria and former British Southern Cameroons who have been part of the Republic of Cameroon since 1961. It investigates the political, social, and economic channels of reintegration and estimates the degree of ease, difficulty, and ramifications with which these divided people have integrated into the respective new nation-states that they find themselves today. Some of the questions that the study seeks to answer include: what relations existed between the studied people in pre-colonial Africa? Why and how were they divided between Britain and France and by Britain after the First World War? How did they respond to colonial rule and how did it affect them politically, socially, and economically, between the First World War and independence in 1960 and 1961? What determined the choices at the plebiscite polls in 1961 – indigenous considerations, western pressure, the history of division; respective colonial experiences, or a combination of some or all of these? What was the nature of the transition of respective people after the plebiscite? How were the divided people received by the governments and local peoples of the new spaces that they chose to align with in the plebiscite? How have they fared in Nigeria and Cameroon since the plebiscite? How has internal politics in the nation under study affected these people? What would be the likely outcome if they were asked the same plebiscite questions today? What potential is there for future conflict or peace in the West/Central African sub-regions as a result of this arrangement?

Rooted in marginalized minorities and the transitioning political history of Africa, this study is particularly imperative given the upsurge of autonomist and secessionist tendencies in former British Southern Cameroons which make up the Northwest and Southwest Regions of the Republic of Cameroon today. A minority in the “bicultural” state of Cameroon, former British Southern Cameroon (referred to today as Anglophone Cameroon) has protested against political, economic, and cultural marginalization (in what has become known in the regional and international lexicon as the “Anglophone Problem”) since they voted to join with French Cameroon in the 1961 plebiscite. Interestingly, Nigeria which has had its fair share of autonomist threats within its national boundaries has adopted a very nuanced position vis-à-vis the Anglophone Problem very much informed by fears of similar sentiments from former British Northern Cameroonians to the north of Nigeria today. The African Union and the international community remain nervous given that Cameroon is very close to the near-failed state of the Central African Republic and escalation of tension in Cameroon may further endanger this African Sub-Region. Consequently, this study stands to authoritatively inform stakeholders in major potential conflict zones of Cameroon, Nigeria, Central, and West Africa.

It is an interdisciplinary study as it combines history, political science, anthropology, sociology, ethnology, geography, and linguistics in its analysis. It will largely depend on primary sources, including archival research in Nigeria, Cameroon, Britain, France, and the United States of America. Oral interviews shall be conducted, especially in Northern Nigeria and English-speaking Cameroon. Observation and empirical studies shall also be used by silently observing the modus operandi and modus Vivendi of people under study. The primary source orientation of the study speaks to its originality and contribution to the historiography of marginalized minority communities’ studies in Africa’s colonial and post-colonial experience.

Scholarly interest

As a scholar of the historical and contemporary experiences of “modern” Africa and Africans, my primary areas of interest include transitions in colonial and post-colonial erstwhile African German colonies. I am particularly interested in the legacy of the unfortunate double colonial jeopardy suffered by the former German colonies of Cameroon, Togo, Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Within this context, I am also keen on measuring the much-neglected role of African Women as political actors and/or constituencies in the emancipatory narratives of these states.

In regards to the African Diaspora, I examine the intersection between the Caribbean African Diaspora and Modern Sub-Saharan Africa. My focus here is on the role of descendants of enslaved Africans as agents of European colonization of West and Central Africa. I also do some work in the fields of historical memory (with particular interest in enslavement and colonialism in Cameroonian historical memory); coloniality, decoloniality, Sexual Violence, anti-Black racism, Pan-Africanism, political assassinations, and Neo-colonialism in Africa and the global African world.

Published works

Publications

Womai I. Song, “Early Symptoms of the Anglophone Cameroon Discontent in Post-Reunification Federal Cameroon: The Jua-Muna Power Tussle”, in Leo Eko (Editor), The Anglophone Cameroon Question and Post-Colonial Hegemony in Cameroon: The Past that did not Pass, Vol. 1 (2024)

Nixon K. Takor, Richard T. Talla & Womai I. Song (editors), Heritage and History in Africa: Social and Ethno-Historical Perspectives on Heritage Elements in Cameroon (2024)

Talla T. Richard, Nkwi G. Walters, & Womai I. Song, “Negligent Attitudes Towards Cameroonian Works of Art: The Need for an Appropriate Attention.” The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 113 (July 2014): 237 – 246.

Talla T. Richard & Womai I. Song, “Animal Transport in the Early Indigenous Market Economy of Northern Nigeria.” International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education (IJHSSE), Vol. 1, Issue No. 7 (2014): 148 – 156.

Womai I. Song & Talla, T. Richard, “Endangered Indigenous Archives in Mbum Land of Cameroon: Which Way Forward.” The International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education (IJHSSE), Vol. 1, Issue No. 7 (2014): 157 – 170.

Conferences, workshops, seminars, talks and panels

“The State of Earlham’s   Union: A Conversation on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice.” (Host/Moderator Earlham College Faculty Retreat) – 2024

“Anglophone Cameroon Historiography: A Critical Review” – Presented at the 66^th Annual Conference of the African Studies Association (ASA) in San Francisco. – 2023

“Different or the Same: Quakerism and the African Experience” Presented during the seminar “Quakerrama: A Celebration of the Career of Thomas D. Hamm” in Earlham School of Religion. – 2023

“Prioritizing and Sustaining DEI for Success and Development: An Imperative in 21^st Century Institutions of Higher Education.” Accepted for presentation at the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA) Conference 2023 on Rethinking Institutional Priorities for Emerging Opportunities and Sustainable Impact at Lingnam University, Hong Kong. – 2023.

“Problematizing the Intelligentsia in the Anglophone Cameroon Freedom Struggle” Presented as part of a panel entitled “The Cameroon Anglophone Political Crisis in Historical Perspective” @ the African Studies Association (ASA) Conference in Philadelphia. – 2023

“Contextualizing and Historicizing the Victory of a ‘Hustler’ Campaign” presented as part of a panel entitled “A ‘Hustler’ Wins Kenya’s 2022 Presidential Elections: Meanings and Implications for Africa” @ the African Studies Association (ASA) Conference in Philadelphia – 2022

“Our Problems are Your Problems: Harnessing Solidarity in 21^st Century Pan-Africanism.” Sponsored by the Center for Social Justice – Earlham College – 2022

“In Conflict and in Harmony: Cameroon and the Organization of African Unity, 1963 – 2002.” – Earlham College. – 2019

“Towards Sustenance: The Black Family, History, and Pan-Africanism.” Presented as part of the PAHWM Academic Council Lecture Series – 2021.

“At the Mercy of Neo-Colonialism: OAU and Europe, 1963 – 2002”, presented at The Susan Manning Workshop – University of Edinburg Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities – 2021.

“Colonialism Never Left: Crisis in Cameroon”. Roundtable @ the 2019 African Studies Association (ASA) Conference in Boston, Massachusetts (Nov. 2019)

“Oral History in the Liberal Arts Introductory Regional Workshop: Community-based Learning through Interview, Fieldwork and Digital Scholarship”. @ Hope College, Holland, Michigan. (May 2018)

“Remembering Winnie Madikizela Mandela.” (Organizer and panelist). @ Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana. (April 2018)

“Deconstructing Stereotypes About Africa and the African Diaspora.”    (Co-organizer and panelist).  @  Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana  (February 2018)

“African Cultural Festival.” (Organizer).  @ Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana (December 2017)

Keynote Speaker for a book launch in Lexington Kentucky. Ernest Timnge,  African Folk Tales From the Kom Kingdom. (Bloomington, IN: Author House) (Oct. 2017)

“African Food Security in the Age of Globalization: The Case of the Kom Fondom of the Cameroon Grass fields.” Unpublished article presented in the Italian Association of African Studies (ASAI) Conference in Maseratta, Italy (Sept. 2014)

“The Clash of the Titans: Augustine Ngom Jua, Solomon Tandeng Muna and the Politics of Transition in Post-Colonial Cameroon, 1961 – 1972.”  Condensed dissertation presented at the Howard University Department of History Alumni Symposium in commemoration of the centenary anniversary of foundation of the department (April 2014)

“Historicizing the 11^th February in Anglophone Cameroon’s PoliticalStory: The Birth/Rebirth Day, The Youth Day, Or the Dawn of Uncertainty?”. Presented at the SCNC North America Conference in Maryland (2013).

“Globalization and the need for the revival of African Economies.” An article presented at the Howard University Graduate Students Symposium in Washington DC, USA (2012)

“Cameroon in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, 1750-1850: A Re-examination.” Presented in the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) in Richmond – Virginia. (2011)

“The 1961 Plebiscite in British Southern Cameroon: The dawn ofuncertainty in the lives of Anglophone Cameroonians.” Presented in a conference organized by the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) of North America at Maryland, USA (2011).