Access to Land and the System of Land Ownership in Northern Cameroon

Abstract

Northern Cameroon is a vast geographical region made up of a population with diverse customs, religions and migration processes. The entire population is made up of paleo-nigritics, neo-Sudanese and pastoral nomads who practice activities such as agriculture, livestock and fish farming. This ethnic heterogeneity, the complex historical events and the cultural diversity have made the customary system of land tenure vary both in ancient aspects as well as in contemporary manifestations. Therefore, based on verbal assertion and written data, this article examines the methods of land access as well as the traditional and modern land tenure system. For the population of Northern Cameroon and elsewhere, land represents a natural resource of prime importance. Access to land and its control constitutes a major economic challenge and it is equally a source of diverse conflicts. The system of land ownership has been influenced by external unforeseen events. From the pre-colonial period to the so-called post colonial period, access to land and land ownership vary between the conservation of a traditional system that land owners are trying to preserve and the weight of modernity which has economic implications.