Changing intercommunity relations and the politics of identity in the Northern Mezam area, Cameroon* (original) (raw)
JOURNAL OF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY STUDIES A Publication of Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Management (IPSACM), 2025
The battle over restoring and maintaining identity by the Bawum, Mundum, and Obang emerged as a significant challenge to Fondom unity. The global picture projected the increasing instability in Bafut Fondom exacerbated by identity politics. It weakened prospects for peaceful coexistence as neither side wanted to see the other. The scenario gave an impetus to the secessionist tendency which sprang up in the background of attempted acculturation, confusion over settlement, and control of jurisdiction. The research is anchored on critical analysis in evaluating primary and secondary sources for credibility. Primary sources use informants, and original documents to gain firsthand insight. Secondary sources consulted scholarly works, books and articles to gain a broader understanding of the study. An interdisciplinary approach incorporates insight from other disciplines such as sociology, economics, or anthropology. The findings revealed that the Bafut occupied a settlement before the arrival of the Obang and Mundum. Secondly, the absolute power given to the fon made him trample on the people with impunity. Linguistic differences within these groups provided a strong case for identity preservation. Traditional governance and cultural identity were the locomotives of the identity crisis in Bafut Fondom. All these have had impacts on inter-community relations as the tensions in the Fondom remain extant. These issues, although local, might influence national politics.
THE IGBO IDENTITY AND ITS INTERPRETATION IN WEST CAMEROON, 1970 -1997
UZU JOURNAL, 2021
The Igbo people have always been on the move. They migrated to West Cameroon before and after independence. From the 1970s to the 1990s, they were found in Kumba, Mamfe, Tiko, Victoria and Buea working as truck pushers and being involved in trading and religious activities, especially in the growth and sustenance of the Anglican Church. Truck pushing and trading were the major occupations of the Igbo ethnic group in West Cameroon. The Igbo through their hard work were able to break even, but were misconstrued to be siphoning the wealth of Cameroon to Nigeria. This shows that they were not welcomed in the country. They were labelled lovers of money, cannibals and 'Biafra'. The Cameroonians used the word 'Biafra' derogatorily. This paper argues that though some Igbo were lovers of money by their actions in West Cameroon, but it was wrong to refer to them as cannibals. It goes further to argue that if not for the Igbo, the Anglican Communion might not have been in existent in Cameroon. This paper looks at the economic and religious activities the Igbo were known for (Igbo identity) and the various name tags they were addressed, as it adopts the social identity theory. It makes use of primary and secondary sources. Findings show that as the Igbo were going about their activities, they suffered abuse in form of derogatory remarks from the Cameroonians, which were hallmarks of Igbophobia. Recommendations are presented on how to put a stop to the verbal assaults suffered by the Igbo in West Cameroon.
Revisiting the Politics of Belonging in Cameroon
Africa, 2010
The article introduces a themed section in the journal on hometown associations in Cameroon. It outlines the impact of ten years’ work in this field and argues that notions of autochthony remain central in understanding Cameroonian politics. However the three articles go on to argue that some of the claims about home, belonging and politics are difficult to reconcile with the hazier reality observed on the ground. The articles aim to disturb any universal, inevitable or overly tidy segue between questions of belonging and claims of political segmentation. Too often the existing literature moves too quickly to an analysis that foregrounds only the worrisome dimensions of a politics of belonging, thus leaving little space for other interpretations. To explore this dilemma the article continues by exploring a land dispute in Bali Nyonga, north-west Cameroon. It shows (1) how ideas of belonging remain central to the practice of politics; (2) how the politics of belonging has changed ove...
Afrika Focus
Relations between colonial and post-colonial studies in and on Cameroon have been both continuous and discontinuous. As reflected in the domains of historiography and social anthropology, this has impacted on ethnic self-representations and popular labeling. This paper examines contrasting drives that have led to a replication of colonial redefinitions of ethnicity and how this informs current discussions on ethnicity in Cameroon. The argument is that certain research works have informed or substantially influenced the identity question when one aknowledges that the colonial period is a bench mark epoch in the establishment of certain categories of ethnic perception. Although substantially deconstructed at the scientific level, these categories have survived and continue to influence social categories of perception that become common sense intrusions (what Bourdieu called doxa) into social science. Key words: colonialism, ethnicity, identity, perceptions, scholarship
2003
This is a significant and timely book on the politics of belonging. It captures, with fascinating detail and insight, the current widespread disaffection with the sterile rhetoric of nation-building that has characterised much of postcolonial African politics. Until the liberation struggles of the 1990s, dictatorship only paid lip service to democracy with impunity, often by silencing those perceived to threaten national unity. Since then, individuals and groups have reactivated claims to rights and entitlements and nowhere more so than in Cameroon.
2009
Acknowledgements viii Abbreviations ix Map of the Republic of Cameroon xi 1 CIVIL SOCIETY IN ANGLOPHONE CAMEROON 1 Introduction 1 Towards an African version of civil society 2 Neoliberal reforms, civil society and the politics of belonging in Anglophone Cameroon 5 Organisation of the book 8 Conclusion 11 2 MOBILITY AND EXCLUSION: THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOCHTHONY MOVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH WEST PROVINCE 12 Introduction 12 The South West plantation economy and labour mobility 14 Labour mobility and relations between autochthons and allochthons in the Southwestern estates prior to political liberalisation 17 The growing divide between the SouthWest and NorthWest elites in Anglophone Cameroon 20 Political liberalisation and the aggravation of the autochthonyallochthony issue in South West Province 27 Conclusion 34 3 AUTOCHTHONY AND ETHNIC CLEANSING IN THE SOUTH WEST PROVINCE: THE 1961 TOMBEL DISTURBANCES 35 Introduction 35 Factors underlying the 1966 Bakossi-Bamileke confrontation 39 Bamileke mobility and encroachment on Bakossi land 40 The UPC rebellion and insecurity in the Bakossi region 42 The Bakossi elite and ethnic mobilisation 44 The 1966 Bakossi-Bamileke confrontation in the Tombel area 47 Conclusion 51 4 THE MARANATHA MOVEMENT AND AUTOCHTHONY IN THE SOUTH WEST PROVINCE 53 Introduction 53 The emergence of the Maranatha movement crisis in the Buea diocese 57 Vehement South West resistance against the victimisation of the autochthonous founder of the Maranatha movement 63 Conclusion 70 vi THE ENTRY OF ANGLOPHONE NATIONALISM INTO PUBLIC SPACE 72 Introduction 72 The emergence of anglophone nationalism in public space 75 Bringing back Anglophone identity into historical space 80 Creating space for Anglophone identity in arts 84 Placing Anglophone identity in virtual space 85 Expansion of Anglophone identity into legal space 87 Experiencing Anglophone identity in everyday space 88 Conclusion 91 ANGLOPHONE STUDENTS AND ANGLOPHONE NATIONALIST 11 PRIVATISATION AND ETHNO-REGIONAL PROTEST IN ANGLOPHONE CAMEROON 186 Introduction 186 Governance and privatisation in Cameroon 188 Privatisation of the CDC and ethno-regional opposition 192 Ethno-regional protest actions against CDC privatisation 194 Conclusion 204 12 PRIVATISATION AND LABOUR MILITANCY IN ANGLOPHONE CAMEROON 205 Introduction 205 The Tole Tea Estate labour force prior to privatisation 206 Growing labour militancy after the estate's privatisation 210 Conclusion 218 13 THE ANGLOPHONE CAMEROON-NIGERIA BOUNDARY: OPPORTUNITIES AND CONFLICTS 220 Introduction 220 The Anglophone Cameroon-Nigeria boundary during the British mandate and trust eras 222 The Anglophone Cameroon-Nigeria boundary after reunification 226 The Anglophone Cameroon-Nigeria boundary: Contesting sovereignty over Bakassi 231 Conclusion 238 References 239 Index 255 viii Acknowledgements During my fieldwork in Cameroon I became indebted to a great number of people and unfortunately there is room to mention only a few of them here. I am particularly grateful to a considerable number of civil-society leaders and members who spent much of their precious time giving me an insight into the aims and strategies of their organisations. I highly appreciated the assistance offered by the late Prince Henry Mbayn of the Buea National Archives who provided me with access to relevant archives, papers and documents. I also benefited from the regular advice and support of some Cameroonian colleagues, in particular Benedict Nantang Jua and Robert Mbe Akoko. Francis Beng Nyamnjoh has been a constant source of friendship and intellectual stimulation. In fact, he was the one who inspired me to undertake this book project and complete it. I would also like to express my gratitude to the African Studies Centre in Leiden which funded the entire project. Two members of this institute have been particularly helpful. I wish to thank Ann Reeves for copy-editing the text and Mieke Zwart for the layout work.
Constructing and deconstructing ethnic identity: the Basaa people of Cameroon
Mbeleck Mandenge , 2024
From a general statement of the concept of ethnicity, we fathom the so-called Diaspora of the Basaa people, the content of identity, and elements of social structure. We have proposed an indigenous term for all of this, namely, "mbog." To relate the identity of the Basaa people we stated notable events in Basaa history and folk and suggested a consequent folk image which is passed on from the value system from generation to generation. The content of the folk image, the folk image itself and the process of its transmission from generation to generation would be further instances of "mbog." In this consideration it transpires that "mbog" would be identity securing. Positively, the term "mbog" relates to the Basaa ideation on the nature of things and of the world. It is "mbog" which gives a distinctive characteristic to the Basaa lebenswelt.