Bamenda


Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location.

History

Colonial era

The origins of the city are related to the settlement of the Tikar people who culturally forged and maintained relations with the Kingdom of Bamum in the 1700s. In 1884, the city was colonized by Germany until 1916 when it became a colony administered by Great Britain and France. In 1919, the administration of Northwest Region and thus the city of Bamenda became only British. In 1961, the region joined the Cameroon.

Ambazonian aspirations

Many of the city's inhabitants are English-speaking, and Cameroonian Pidgin English is the main language spoken in the shops and on the streets of Bamenda. On 31 March 2019, the SCNC and several Ambazonian movements agreed to create the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, a united front consisting of both separatists and federalists aiming for an independent Ambazonian state.

Cosmopolitan area

The city is made up of 3 villages; Mankon, Nkwen, Bamendakwe. However, it is surrounded by other suburban areas and villages like Bambui, Akum, Bafut, Bali, Chombah and Mbatu. These suburban areas and villages are fast growing and sometimes considered as part of Bamenda.

Economy

The main industries are the processing of agricultural produce such as coffee, elementary food processing, handicraft, cottage industry, education, tourism/hospitality, construction works and transport. The local museum and shops display a wide variety of local baskets, beads, woodcarvings and bronze statues.
In Bamenda, there are cultural sites such; as the Mankon Fon's Palace with its newly constructed museum, and the Bali Fon's palace with its ancient architectural structures. The mountainous terrain around the city affords scenic views such as that from the mountain Sabga over the Ndop plain.

Transports

The city of Bamenda has road links to Yaoundé and Douala, as well as an airport, Bamenda Airport, located in Bafut subdivision.

Geography

North of the city is the Bamenda Ring Road, a circular route through Cameroon Highlands. Along this road is Mount Oku, the Kimbi River Game Reserve, the Menchum River waterfalls, a huge Fon's palace at Bafut, and a pyramidal thatched shrine at Akum.

Climate

Bamenda has a tropical savanna climate, bordering on a tropical monsoon climate, with a long summer wet season and considerably less rainfall in the winter.
According to the World Health Organization, Bamenda is the most polluted city in Africa in terms of PM2.5 particulate matter.

Education

The Bamenda University of Science and Technology is a brain child of The Industrial and Educational Development Company Ltd. It was incorporated on 12 October 1995.
INDECO and the university were founded by the Late Rt. Hon. Dr. John Ngu Foncha, with the encouragement of the Cameroon Government. The university went operational in January 1998. At the request of government, BUST participated and contributed extensively to the drafting of the Law on Private Higher Education in Cameroon.
BUST is a 4-year Arts, Science and Technology University. Degrees offered include B.A., BEd, BSc, HND.,SRN., AN., Lab. Tech., and Assist. Lab. Tech. Formalities for Post Graduate Studies have been put in place, to go operational by the academic year 2010/2011.
Its main national affiliate is the University of Buéa, though other partnership arrangements are under way with the University of Dschang. The Bamenda University of Science and Technology is affiliated to the University of Osnabrück and the University of Wales at Bangor.
There is also the University of Bamenda located in Bambili Town, founded in 2011. It trains college teachers, medical doctors etc. and graduates in Accountancy, management, marketing, and a number of other fields of study.
Another institution of higher learning is National Polytechnic Bamenda, formerly National Polytechnic Bambui.

Places of worship

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda, Evangelical Church of Cameroon, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, Cameroon Baptist Convention, Full Gospel Mission Cameroon. There are also Muslim mosques.

Sports

Over the years, Bamenda has had two football teams that played in the First Division Championship. In the 1970s, it was PWD Bamenda and later in the 1980s, it was Camark Bamenda. With the fall in the influence and budgeting of public works department and National Produce Marketing Board, both teams fell from the limelight. Presently Camark Bamenda is out of existence, while PWD Bamenda is currently rising after a slump to the third tier for almost 20 years. Last season they were promoted to the first division following union Douala dropping points on the last day. The only club in the professional league at the moment is Yong Sports Academy. They are the current winners of the Cameroon cup.

Politics

Bamenda is the founding place and seat of the largest opposition political party in Cameroon, the Social Democratic Front, and the home of its leader, John Fru Ndi. There is a large military presence throughout the city. On 26 May 1990, a group of Bamenda elites launched the party in Ntarikon Bamenda, despite a heavy police presence. However, the launching did not end without casualty. Six civilians were killed.
Bamenda is also the birthplace of The Southern Cameroons National Council, a group that has been asking for the restoration of the former British Southern Cameroons, a territory that covers the English-speaking provinces of North West and South West. The SCNC was born in Bamenda in 1994, after the All Anglophone Conference issued the Bamenda Declaration in which it had asked the government of President Paul Biya to respond to all anglophone grievances stated in the Buea Declaration of 1993, or face the wrath of the people of the Southern Cameroons. The Cameroon government failed to respond to the Bamenda Declaration and since then, the SCNC has categorically maintained that it now considers the restoration of the independence of the Southern Cameroons to be final and irrevocable.