Problematizing Chieftaincy Succession Squabbles in the Cameroon Grassfields Studies

Abstract

Chieftaincy institution constitutes a significant aspect of the socio-cultural heritage and feature within the Bamenda Grass fields. Its historical role in the maintenance of peace and promotion of development at the local level is incontestable. Recently the institution that was yesterday a symbol of harmony, development and cultural pride has suddenly become an object of discord and rivalry. In reality, the authority and legitimacy of chiefs in the Cameroon Grassfields is increasingly being contested and questioned. It is sustained in this paper that chieftaincy that used to be a problem shooter in communities in the Bamenda Grassfields has become itself a problem to the socio-economic and political developmentefforts of grassroots population. Following a critical historical approached based on the content analysis of primary and secondary sources, the study reveals that the multiplication of dual chieftaincy crisis in the Bamenda Grassfields is the historical product of the socio-cultural degradation of the chieftaincy institution. In order to carry out this workboth quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in interpreting and analyzing Data. A thematic cum chronological approach was used in presenting the findings.