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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Mbororo claims to regional citizenship and minority status (northwest Cameroon)
| Panel |
61. Autochtony, citizenship and exclusion - struggles over resources and belonging
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| Paper ID | 218 |
| Author(s) |
Pelican, Michaela
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| Paper |
View paper (PDF)
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| Abstract | As outlined in the panel abstract, discourses on autochthony, citizenship and exclusion are very popular in Cameroon. In my presentation I will consider the case of the Mbororo (agro-pastoral Fulbe) in northwest Cameroon (also known as the Cameroon Grassfields) and their recent claims to regional citizenship and minority status.
The Mbororo entered the Cameroon Grassfields in the early 20th century. Benefiting from the favourable ecological conditions of the region, many Mbororo prospered over time and settled permanently in their grazing area. The local majority, the Grassfielders, tend to perceive the Mbororo as strangers and migrants, while considering themselves the hosts and landlords. The Mbororo have long entertained patron-client and host-guest relations with their Grassfields neighbours, which facilitated their integration into the local community and their (indirect) political representation. In the context of Cameroon’s political liberalisation and the constitutional changes of the 1990s, the Mbororo have changed their strategies, aiming at direct representation to the state and its resources. MBOSCUDA, the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association, was founded in 1992 and developed into a nationally influential ethnic elite association.
In my presentation I will examine the discourses employed by MBOSCUDA and Mbororo individuals, endorsing their collective and individual claims to access to natural and state resources. While claiming to be an indigenous population group – arguing that they have no other home – they also portray themselves as an endangered minority whose cultural and economic rights have to be protected. Moreover, many Mbororo of the younger generations are not only considered with political-economic interests, but have gradually developed emotional bonds with their home areas. |
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