Boundaries and History in Africa: Issues in Conventional Boundaries and Ideological Frontiers

Chapter 6 The Demise of European Colonialism and the Emergence of Boundary Conflicts in the Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon

127 Chapter 6 The Demise of European Colonialism and the Emergence of Boundary Conflicts in the Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon By Emmanuel Yenkong Sobseh Abstract The Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon provide an excellent opportunity to examine the demise of European colonialism and resurgence of rampant boundary conflicts in Africa. indigenous people of the region have never accepted the existence of the colonial boundaries despite the fact that resolution AGH/16.1 of 21 July 1964 of the former Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was replaced by the African Union (AU), with the same conviction, obliged all the Member States to respect the boundaries existing at the time of their independence. In fact, the postcolonial period ushered in an unprecedented wave of violent boundary conflicts between ethnic groups on a scale that had never been witnessed before. But it became clear that the emergence of boundary conflicts in the region have their roots in European colonialism. Irrespective of the efforts of the German and British colonial administrations geared at preventing and resolving these conflicts before their departure, the conflicts have persisted because postcolonial administrators and institutions in Cameroon have failed to address them. Is European colonialism the major source of boundary conflicts in the region? Or are postcolonial boundaries and land laws responsible? This chapter answers these questions and examines how European colonialism and other factors continue to underlie most boundary conflicts in the Bamenda Grasslands. Specific case studies of boundary conflicts between ethnic groups and how these conflicts have been prevented or are likely to be 128 resolved give this chapter its uniqueness. Key words: European, colonialism, boundary, land, conflicts, conflict resolution. Résumé La région de Bamenda au Cameroun fournit une excellente occasion d’examiner les conséquences de la fin de la colonisation européenne sur la résurgence des conflits frontaliers en Afrique. Les peuples indigènes de cette région n’ont jamais accepté l’existence des frontières coloniales, malgré le fait que la résolution du 21 juillet 1964 - de l’ancienne Organisation de l’unité Africaine (OUA) qui a été remplacé par l’Union Africaine(UA) obligeait tous les Etats membres à respecter les frontières existantes au moment de leur indépendance. En fait, la période postcoloniale est le théâtre d’un vaste ensemble de conflits frontaliers sans précèdent entre les groupes ethniques. Mais il est devenu évident que la colonisation européenne est la cause principale de l’émergence des conflits frontaliers dans la région. Malgré les efforts des administrations allemande et anglaise de les éviter et de les résoudre avant leur départ définitif, ces conflits ont persiste en raison de la défaillance des administrations et institutions post coloniales installées au Cameroun. Mais, la colonisation est-elle la cause majeure des conflits frontaliers? Lies frontières post coloniales et les lois foncières n’ont-elles pas une certaine responsabilité? Cet essai répond à ces questions et examine comment la colonisation européenne et les autres facteurs continuent à être le fondement de la plupart des conflits frontaliers dans la zone de Bamenda. Les études de cas spécifiques des conflits frontaliers entre les groupes ethniques et comment ces conflits ont été évités ou sont susceptibles d’être résolus donne à cet article son caractère unique. Mots clés: Européenne, colonialisme, frontaliers, des terres, conflits, résolution des conflits 129 Introduction The African continent remains besieged by many boundary conflicts186 . Before independence, the Bamenda Grasslands187 which was formerly administered by the Germans and the British, comprised many independent indigenous polities varying in size and administrative system, with boundaries rooted in ethnic and social contacts.188 Between 1889 and early 1914, the Germans’ colonized and more or less effectively negotiated and established the groundwork for Kamerun’s international and inter-ethnic boundaries.189 Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, France and Britain jointly attacked Kamerun on 27 September 1914 and from January1916 when the Germans were defeated and ousted from Kamerun190 , General Dobell proclaim the division of the territory into British and French spheres on 17 March 1916191 .Here, Emmanuel M. Mbah rekindles our minds on the fact that “Some land/boundary disputes were introduced during the process of demarcating the international boundary between French 186Boyd J. Barron and College Le Moyne, “African Boundary Conflict: An Empirical Study,” African Study Review, Vol. 22, No...