Colonial and Post-Colonial Administrations and Fulani Rights in the Bamenda Grass fields of Cameroon, 1916-2020

Abstract

The British colonial administration in implementing various Fulani cattle herder schemes in the Bamenda Grass fields of Cameroon created a cleavage between the Fulani and the indigenous communities. This cleavage made it impossible for the new people to acquire local citizenship anywhere. This eventually was used by the unscrupulous and exploitative post-colonial administrators to deprive the herdsmen of their financial and judicial rights in the Bamenda Grass fields. Oftentimes, the same was used as a wedge by the administrators against inter-ethnic solidarity between the Fulani and the indigenous communities during anti-government political developments in the region. In either case, the rights of the Fulani people were abused by the administrators. That is, without ethnic citizenship, the Fulani were easily frightened by these administrators and forced to pay in kind or in cash for their land disputes with the locals to be annulled, shelved or abandoned. The same was used to obtain Fulani support during political upheavals in the region. The rights of Fulani can only be rendered less susceptible to abuse by bridging the differences created by the British colonial administrators between the indigenous peoples and the herdsmen in the Bamenda Grass fields.