About – Nkambe Municipal Council Website

The Vision, the Mission, The Nkambe Council has as vision to improve on the living conditions of her denizens through good governance.

Overview Vision And Mission

Her mission is to provide basic services to the population that can meet their day to day needs in terms of health, economy and other social amenities. date of creation and presidential decree. N⁰77/203/ of 19^th 1977 creating Nkambe council, status of the council now, location of the council.

Historical Profile of Nkambe Council

The first split occurred in 1958 when clan councils were formed, made up of the Warr Council with headquarters in Mbot; the Tang Council with headquarters in Talla; the Wiya Council with headquarters in Ndu; the Mbo council with headquarters in Ngou; the Yamba Council with Mfe as headquaters; the Mbembe Council with headquaters at Ako.
The second split saw the creation of councils in Nwa, Mbiyeh, Akweto and Warr all in 1963.
The third phase came about in 1967 with the merger between the Warr council and the Mbiyeh Council to form the Wimbum Council; Mbembe /Misaje Council at Akweto; Mfumte/Yamba and Mbo formed the Nwa Council.
The fourth phase occurred in 1992 and was effective in 1996 with the creation of the Subdivisions with accompanying councils of Nwa, Ndu, Nkambe Central, Misaje and Ako.
Nkambe Rural Council then replaced the Nkambe Divisional Council, which continually had its headquarters in Nkambe. During all these periods, the councils were headed by Chairmen, with all executive powers bestowed on the Executive Secretaries. Then came the turn of Municipal Administrators who were mainly Divisional Officers.
This era was then followed by the nomenclature of Nkambe rural/council and then the Nkambe Council, With Mayors as the heads off the councils.

About Nkambe Town / Sub-Division

Historical profile

Migration Pattern

History of the town,migration settlement, etc

Overview

The original Nkambe people left Northern Cameroon in the 16th century and moved southwards due to constant raids by Usman Dan Fodio in an attempt to convert people to Islam and also due to water crisis. Under a group known as the Tikars, they left North Cameroon and settled first in the Ntem Valley. Later, they moved to Kimi and further moved southward to a place known as Mbirboh in Mbot Village – a place within the council area. Thus forming the Wimbum tribe.

The quest for power, land, water and a need for purification led to their spreading throughout the municipality in three clans-Tang, Warr and Wiya. The different villages within the council area can thus trace their origin to one of these three clans.

However, today, movements within the municipality have been influenced by other factors other than the above mentioned.

Generally, the pattern of migration in most parts of Cameroon is rural – urban. Such is the case with Nkambe council, with the youths mostly involved than the old. Another form of migration practiced in the area is internal migration, that is, from the neighbouring villages within the subdivision to Nkambe town. On the other hand, immigration is rather slow and involves people of different works of life who have been posted into the region.

Emigration

The quest for unskilled jobs in the coastal region and the littoral province of Cameroon has constituted a major pull factor for youths of Nkambe Council. Most of them migrate to these regions to work in C.D.C. Plantations, HEVECAM and DELMONTE. Others move to the regional capital-Bamenda for apprenticeship in different trades while a few who are engaged in commercial activities travel to Nigeria to purchase or sell products. The youthful population is more liable to migrate than th

Immigration

Nkambe town has developed into a small urban area with several educational, administrative, financial and private institutions constituting a pull factor. The presence of a growing civil service and private entrepreneurs has provided avenues for employment, thus pulling people into the town.

Apart from the urban area of Nkambe Council constituting the major pull center for immigrants, surrounding villages also harbour a small amount of immigrants especially the Fulanis and Bororos who come in from neighboring Nigeria and the Adamawa Region in search of pasture for their cattle. Villages like Bih, Saah, Kungi and Konchep are especially noted for habouring this class of migrants.

Population statistics, Population mobility, Migration, Vulnerable population

The rate of growth in the urban area of the municipality is far greater than that of the villages. The urban area is a pull centre for various classes of people ranging from students, apprentice workers and workers of different institutions. Thus Nkambe town has a high agglomeration of population. Nkambe council has a population of about 260,056 inhabitants base on the projection of 2017 using as the base for projection what was given in the communities during the 2012 Council Development Plan. Table 4.1 shows the population distribution within the council area.

Religion

Before the advent of the Colonial Period, religious practice in Nkambe was closely linked to their tradition and culture in the same way as the Muslim culture and religion are linked. Wimbum tradition and culture have now been overwhelmed by imported religious beliefs, all of which have many conflicting aspects with Wimbum tradition and culture, and its religious beliefs. At the same time, many Wimbum adherents of the modern religions still have deep-rooted beliefs in some aspects of traditional worship.

Traditional Religion

Characteristics:

It is mainly based on the worship of ancestors
Generally, there are many gods
Sacrifices like animals, wine, and other aspects are made to these gods
The gods have shrines which may be at the level of the family compound, the lineage compound, or controlled by the Fon in some locations in the area
The Fon is considered as a chief priest, a link between the living and the ancestors. This position holds same with the situation of the lineage compound where the Fais is the chief priest.

Ancestral worship goes with shrines where sacrifices are performed. Sacrifices are generally intended to appease vengeful or angry ancestors who might have heaped curses on the people or individual. It may also be intended to solicit for abundant harvest, rains, high fecundity, victory in war, or any other intention. Even if the Fon has been converted into another faith, he must perform these traditional rites, and believe in them. Some of the previous Fons had been converted to Islam.

In society, remnants of traditional religion are reminiscent in certain practices and beliefs:

The act of going to soothsayers to find out the cause of death of a relative with the belief that death could not have come naturally.
The belief that if certain rituals are not performed on the death of a relative, the deceased will become vengeful
The belief that angry ancestors would cause death, sickness, and ill-luck.

The influence of traditional religion and Christianity on the same community has resulted in a situation where fervent Christians are torn between total belief in Christ and belief in certain anti Christian traditional beliefs.

Christianity

The inhabitants are of diversed religious backgrounds that can be broadly catgorised into 3 groups – Christians, Muslims and Traditionalists.

Various religious denominations have been involved in development through the establishment of schools and health institutions and in some cases have negotiated for the construction of roads, bridges and water points or supplies in some of the villages. This was very evident in Nkambe, Tabenken and in most of the villages in the municipality. The establishment of christain religion bring into focus the following:

Much of their preaching contrasted with aspects of the Wimbum tradition and culture
Many palace wives, princes and princesses were switching allegiance from the palace to the church.
Some palace pages were abandoning their duties in favour of the church
Some degree of strive was felt by some lords and great lords as their wives and children disobeyed them in pursuit of the church.

While the Catholics were struggling to plant their roots in Tabenken and Nkambe land, a Baptist Missionary, Joseph Merrick arrived around 1930s. The Baptist faith was spread by people like Joseph Mamadu and Pastor Vinyuh I, who faced more problems with the traditional authorities. The Baptist found it easier to approach and live with traditional institutions and authorities. Presently, the Baptists have about more churches within the Nkambe Central Sub Division. The Presbyterian Church came in latter and equally have churches all over the council area.

Pentecostals

Other Christian denominations have come on, but these have had very little impact on the population as it has remained faithful to the 03dominant denominations. Pentecostals include; Jehova Witnesses, Full Gospel Church, and the Apostolic Church, amongst other small churches.

Islam

Islam is strong in Nkambe, Binka and a number of communities. It was brought in by the Hausa and the Fulani.

Today, a number of Wimbum indigenes have become Muslims. Even a few Nso Fons were converted to Islam and worshipped in the mosque. Unlike the Christian denominations, Islam has been slow in bringing in aspects of development such as schools, health facilities, etc. Emphasis has rather been on spiritual life, even in the field of education where they mainly study Arabic and Koran.

Cultural Heritage

The Wimbum people have a lot to exhibit about themselves that has been handed down from their fore parents. Aspects of Wimbum culture include the arts (craft work – bamboo work, weaving, embroidery and knitting, pottery); dress, housing, festivals, food, courtship and marriages, birth rites, divorce, death rites, widowhood , and the situation of the woman.

The Fulani Community

The Fulani People

The Fulani are a group of West African pastoralists. They move over vast areas and come across many cultures and are known by different names. In Cameroon they are called Fulani by the Hausa. The Fulani of Nkambe Council, and the North West Region in general, are a part of this migrant ethnic population, having common occupational and biogenetic characteristics: light-skinned with curly hair, pointed nose, thin lips, and slender stature.

The Fulani are endogamous as well as polygamous. Celibacy is uncommon among the Fulani, who marry in their twenties. Divorce is also rare. As a result of polygamy and early marriages, the Fulani have high fertility. Despite high infant mortality, the population of the Fulani is growing fast. Household size is about six, with a near balanced sex-ratio. Age distribution is base-heavy, with children dominating. The Fulani are governed by a political structure consisting of the ethnic group, the clan, the lineage, the family, and the Ruga. Leadership among the Fulani is less aristocratic. The family is a herd-owning unit, united by common territory and occupation. Their herding system, described in the section that follows, involves frequent pastoral movement.

Tourism

Tourism remains one of the sectors where the Nkambe Council should think of many alternative ways of improving this sector if it has to generate other needed funds for the well being of the population and improving the economy of the localities.

Hotel and catering facilities in Nkambe Council area are rather mediocre. In addition to the problems that the council has, hotel infrastructure is an outstanding one as it is the window to any visitors to the area.

More than 90{ac7d72084e08c6f01d2b17b2bb9f4746497061c896369c45ebb79c40b9b79d00} of the entire population of Nkambe Council depend largely on agriculture. It provides employment to a greater proportion of the population and also serves as a source income to the indigenes.

Other related agricultural activities are the practice i.e. growing raffia palms, which provide some of the inhabitants with income when they sell palm wine. Some apiculture is also practiced in villages of Saah, Kungi and villages with some forests.

Agricultural activities

Subsistence agriculture has been the mainstay of the population over the years. About 98{ac7d72084e08c6f01d2b17b2bb9f4746497061c896369c45ebb79c40b9b79d00} of the population of Nkambe municipality practise agriculture. Two main cropping seasons are practised- rainy season cropping and dry season farming. The rainy season farming starts in December with land preparation and ends around May/June. Crops cultivated are corn, beans, cocoyams, yams, etc. While the dry season farming starts in October in covers a period of about three months. Mostly legumes are cultivated-beans, vegetable, Irish potatoes.

The agricultural sector of this area is plagued with a number of problems which involve; soil infertility, bush burning which creep into farm-lands, stray animals that destroy crops, lack of farm inputs and equipments, inadequate farmland, lack of farm to market roads, inadequate market for products, climate change issues etc. The Agricultural extension services take care of this situation but are handicapped by lack of personnel. There are government/non-governmental programmes, which are being initiated for the progress of agriculture in the council area.

Cash crop production

A lot of coffee is produced in this subdivision but licensed buyers out of the municipality carry out the marketing on the field. The farmers complain of poor farm to market roads for the transportation of farm produce lack of internal buyers. The result is that all the coffee and palm oil are sold cladinstainly and no production data made available. There is need for an organized market and good farm to market road and most important chemicals to eradicate plant pest of high yield.

Commerce

Nkambe is essentially a commercial town. Commercial activities are varied and range from the sale of products of local origin, imported processed goods, to the provision of services. Many inhabitants in the area engaged in, and live on proceeds from commercial activities.

Many people come in to buy what is in the area. Being a typical agricultural area, ‘Buyam sellams’ swarm the markets to buy bean, corn, potatoes, lemon, bananas, goats, sheep, fowls, etc. the volume of this activity is enormous as big lorries full of corn, beans and potatoes leave Nkambe, especially on market days, to Bamenda, Bafoussam and Douala.

‘Buyam sellams’ or middlemen remain very dominant in the market over the actual producers. Very little group marketing is practiced by farmers. This reduces their negotiating power. Even farmers grouped into common initiative groups (CIGs) operate only at the level of production and hardly practice group sales.

The dispersed nature of farmers’ sales leaves them at the mercy of the ferocious buyers who have as main objective, the maximization of profit. This tendency has continued for quite a long time that farmers have realized that they are being seriously cheated.

Given the seasonal production of foodstuff, there are periods of abundance of certain items on the stalls. The massive supply of the same item by the farmers leads to low prices as farmers individually struggle to sell their perishable produce. Farmers have a very limited knowledge on food conservation techniques and so are forced to dispose of their produce once harvested. Farmers could enjoy better prices if they were able to conserve their produce to sell at off-season periods.

Locally produced goods mainly comprise of:

Agricultural produce (maize, beans, bananas, pepper, plantains, etc.)
Partially processed agricultural products (garri, pap, ground nut oil, palm oil, bread, etc.)
Spices
Hawked food items (accra, cokie, bakuru, pufpuf, etc.)
Livestock items (goats, sheep, chicken, pigs, etc.)
Local craft items (weaved baskets, wall mats, bamboo chairs, etc)

Although some of the items sold are produced in Nkambe town and the villages within the Nkambe Council area, much more is brought from the other local markets and resold in Nkambe were prices are higher. Sales of such items are usually high on market day.

The Nkambe Council is located along the ring road, the main road in the North West Region that links virtually all the Divisional headquarters. The easy accessibility of the subdivision and its closeness to Bamenda town greatly influences the influx of goods into Nkambe. Goods brought into the area are mainly food items; semi finished and finished products which are manufactured out of the area. These products are brought in from the Western Region, Bamenda, Douala, and Nigeria.

Common items imported from Nigeria or brought in from Bamenda and Douala include:

Processed spices, salt, soy bean oil, additives to food, etc.
Ordinary food items: rice, smoked and frozen fish, flour, palm oil
Beverages; chocolate based powders, powdered milk, coffee, tea, sugar, etc
Cosmetics and toiletries: toilet paper, soap, rubbing oils and creams, tooth pastes, etc.
Fashion items: shoes, dresses, slippers, belts, etc.
Household goods; dishes and cutleries, buckets and bowls, plastics, etc.
Books and Stationeries
Construction materials: cement, iron rods, roofing sheaths/tiles, paints, locks, etc.
Motor spare parts
Electrical equipments/Appliances

The growth of this sector is rapid as every commercial space is taken up. Some of the customers are petty traders or owners of convenience stores in the rural areas.

Available commercial services include:

Cyber cafes and computer secretariats
Barbers and hair dressers
Tailors and seamstresses
Commercial transport services
Mechanics and auto technicians
Technicians and electricians
Restaurants, bars and hotel services
Banking services

Nkambe Council Markets

Commercial activities take place all over the town, especially around areas of population concentration. Thus, drinking spots, convenience stores, shops, etc. are packed around the Old and New market sites.

However, much buying and selling take place in the municipal markets. These markets are:

The Wat Market
The Tabenken Market
The Binka Market
The Saah Market
The Bih Market
The Mayo Binka Market
The Ngie Market

These markets operate on weekly bases with the sale of manufactured goods taking place alongside the sale of agricultural products. These markets have virtually everything like consumer goods that are used or needed in the area.

Market day in Nkambe market is quite hectic. With buyers and sellers from all over Nkambe Council and beyond, the place is like a beehive, with hawkers taking every available space.

These markets constitute an important source of council revenue in the form of rents and market tolls. They are placed under a Market Master.

Industries

This sector in Nkambe is much undeveloped. There are mainly processing industries which process corn into corn flour. However, there is much need for processing machines as people move very long distances to grind their corn.

Services

Nkambe has a few credit union and cooperatives, but there is no bank. This leaves the population with very limited access to credit facilities to carry out their economic activities. The area is equally served with transport services, though private. There are motorbikes popularly called “Achaba” and taxis that run the urban and rural areas. But due to the poor nature of some roads, transport cost is high.

Banking and Micro-finance institutions

Banking and credit union activities in the municipality remain very unsatisfactory. The reasons for this situation are not very clear considering that there are appreciable economic activities going on in the Council area. The financial sector is an area that will need a lot of research for improvement.

Climate

Nkambe council, like all other parts of the Region fall in the tropical region. The climate of the area varies and is greatly influenced by the relief and seasons. In areas of high altitude, temperatures are low ranging from an average minimum of 12°C to a maximum of 16°C. The lowland areas have a warm climate with monthly average maximum of about 27°C. In the dry season, the council is characterised by cold mornings and hot afternoons while the rainy seasons are generally warm.

The Council area is characterized by 2 main seasons; the dry and the rainy seasons. The dry season is usually shorter and runs from November to March while the rainy season lasts for a longer period of the year. It starts in March and ends in October. The rainfall is usually high in the area and varies between 1300mm to 1900mm per annum.

During the dry season the harmathan winds are common and usher in cold dry winds. Other disastrous winds exist and are believed by the people of the Mbu-war zone to originate from Kufuh-Nwangri. The beginning and end of the rainy season is also characterised by very strong winds which cause a lot of destruction to crops and buildings.

Relief

The council area is vast and its relief is characterised by plateaux and undulating lowlands. The plateaux are traversed by mountains with steep slopes often cut by bisected valleys. Outstanding physical features of the area include mountain cliffs with picturesque waterfalls and caves around Bih, bisected valleys in Binka and steep slopes in Mbot and Kungi. The Mount Njising of altitude about 2430m above sea level in Binka is striking, being the 4th highest in the country. In the lowlands, there are numerous riverbeds that serve as good sources for water to a greater proportion of the inhabitants of the area. The Tabenken area is a typical example of an undulation plain in the council area.

3.2.3 Hydrography

The main watershed of the area is the Mount Njising in Binka. Most of the rivers of the area take their rise from this mountain and flow to the neighbouring lowlands. These rivers follow the Cameroon regime, experiencing a period of high waters during the wet season and low waters in the dry period.

A network of rivers and streams cris-cross the villages of the council. Patches of wetland can be seen along some riverbeds like the Mabah and Kungo in Binka and the Nsaring in Mbot. Numerous springs also characterise some of the villages like Binka. Some prominent rivers includes Sosifah, Marung, Ndimkfu, in Binshua; Ghongho, Chuachua in Kungi, Nsaring in Mbot, Mabah and Kungo in Binka,

Tabenken, because of its low lying nature has many streams draining into it which include the Mbingu, Chu, Ntunseh, Manji, Muntung, Maamnyie, Munkie which grows bigger and changes to Marung and Wouh. In Njap some of the streams include Kinah, Munkie, Ntumba, Wobawoba, Changeh, Tantanrah, Marung, and Tup’Njah.

Nkambe Town is virtually lying on its own watershed. The main river Chuachua is suffering from the invasion of planted eucalyptus and habitat, which is closing in on the riverbanks.

In the Wat area, the River Mankeng flows through several villages towards Lassin in Nkor council, while the River Mamki flows from Nwangri through Kup to Lassin and eventually to the Mbi River. Other streams in the area are the Mamba and the Ntubih.

The wetlands in the area are found in Nwangri known as the Mukokimeng swamps, the Kukang swamps, the Mbabi and Njipbi swamps.

Soil

The Nkambe council area is characterised by sandy loam in the highlands area, humus in the lowland and clayey soils in the wetlands. The highlands of the area are generally experiencing real erosion which renders them less fertile. The sediments eroded from the highlands are deposited in the lowland areas, rendering them fertile

(Water catchment, water levels, plants and animals in the municipality

Forest and Fauna

Located within the savannah zone covered with shrub savannah, characterized with patches of forest in the low lands with the Mbembe forest reserve dominant. The low land forest which is the main type of geo-ecological zone covers low land areas below 100m ALS, with high forest vegetation type endowed with economic timber.

Mineral and Protected areas: Minerals in the land if any, and protected sites in the municipality e.g water catchment etc

Looking at the school infrastructure of the municipality, it can conclude that there is more still to be done. Majority of the schools are constructed with semi-permanent materials or temporary structures with limited classrooms.

Most of the secondary schools have permanent structures compared to basic education infrastructure. The table below illustrates a broad picture of the situation of school buildings in the area. In addition to school structures that need to be constructed in most of the schools, other structures like halls and latrines are equally needed.