DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i04.023

Pages: 939-947

The independent republic of Cameroon at her very inception was faced with many interwoven problems one of them being that of ethnic diversity for which national policy was designed to attain national integration and national unity. Among the numerous inter-ethnic glitches was that of conflicts between the Fulani minority and the indigenous people of the Bamenda grassfields which largely took the form of agro-pastoral conflicts. In an effort to curb such frictions for the purpose of enhancing agricultural productivity and national cohesion, policy makers introduced conflict resolution and prevention strategies. This paper from a critical historical perspective assesses the different exertions made towards resolution and prevention of conflicts between both groups. It argues that the reforms introduced by state authorities met numerous challenges from both sides of the divide. While ascertaining that these challenges were a result of mistrust from the different groups who saw the reforms as bias, the paper intimates that there were also lapses in the formulation and implementation of the well-intended policies. As a result of these, the tensions between the Fulani and indigenous people of the Bamenda grassfields have persisted.