Inter-community Conflicts: Tackling Root Causes

On August 9, 2024, a fresh inter-community conflict broke out between the Bamouns and the Tikar ethnic groups in Magba, West Region of Cameroon. The consequences were devastating with at least five people killed, property destroyed and shops burnt.  The Magba incident is the most recent in a wave of several inter-tribal conflicts that erupted in various parts of the country within the last few years. The December 2021 inter-community conflict between the Arab-Shuwa and Musgoums in the Logone Birni near Kousseri in the Far North Region led to severe injuries, destruction of property and displacement of some 43,498 people according to the United Nations Commission for Refugees and Chadian authorities. Also, the inter-ethnic clashes between the Bamouns and the Bulus in Sangmelima in the South Region, the Olitis and Messaga Ekol in Akwaya in the South West Region, Oku-Mbessa and Fulani herdsmen and farmers conflict in some localities of the North West Region are a few examples of a myriad of other incidents. 
By organizing a three-day colloquium in Yaounde on September 26, 2024, coincidentally, few days after the international community commemorated World Peace Day on September 21, the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism sought to engage the national community on the need to eradicate the resurgence of inter-community conflicts. While the initiative of the ‘Musonge Commission’ is laudable and saluted in various quarters, the preoccupying issue that comes to mind is the putting in place of mechanisms to tackle the root causes of the recurrent inter-tribal brawls.  
It is common knowledge that Cameroon is a multicultural country with about 250 ethnic groups coexisting in the national territory. It is also known that African people are akin to their tribes or ethnicity. A typical African would most definitely prefer to be identified based on a particular tribe or ethnic group from whence their ancestors originated. The history of tribal affiliations and ethnicity in Africa dates far back to precolonial era. One advantage of being affiliated to a tribe or ethnic group is the fact that it helps to preserve and sustain family bonds, identities and cultural practices, which are only unique to the African people. However, a multiplicity of such ethnic groups is like a time bomb that if not well handled, can explode and undermine the peaceful cohabitation between communities.  Thus, Cameroon, which hosts a plethora of ethnic groups, have been forced to deal with repeated cases of inter-ethnic clashes. The National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, which organized the colloquium in tandem with its core mission, has to work with other stakeholders to tackle root causes. Some of the triggers of inter-community conflicts which needs to be tackled include; land disputes, access to water and other natural resources, elite manipulation through abusive control of power, wealth and influence over local communities, attribution of sensitive political offices to specific tribes, lack of sufficient economic and employment opportunities, deeply rooted cultural practices, discrimination and favoritism of some tribes over others, amongst others. 
One of the evident manifestations of inter-ethnic conflicts lies in hate-speech and online violence generally expressed in local communities and social media. When tribal groups confront one another, it spreads a wave of targeted attacks toward both tribes.
In the advent of inter-ethnic clashes in Cameroon, derogatory local expressions such as “Tontinards and Sardinards” among others are frequently used. These have triggered a series of stigmatization on people as hate speech has significantly increased across time and space. The colloquium on the theme “Inter-community Conflicts and the Promotion of Living Together in Cameroon,” was thus timely especially coming barely few months before 2025 which is an electoral year in the country. While elite need to work for the promotion of peace in their communities and not instigate communities against each other for selfish political gains, especially with elections in view, the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multicultura...