| Peer-Reviewed

Cameroon-Nigeria Border Conflict Incidence on Trade Patterns and Dynamics Within Near-Border Settlements of the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon

Received: 27 September 2017    Accepted: 14 October 2017    Published: 19 January 2018
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Historicity, geo-strategic and economic bearing has snatched the discourse on border environments from contemporary geographical literature. Yet, these environments have stoutly become hotspots for violent expression of conflicting entitlements to natural resources and socio-economic opportunities. The Bakassi Peninsula at West Africa’s lone gulf (of Guinea) which replicates par excellence, the combination of resource-space tussle and conflicting territorial claims and resolution approaches between Nigeria and Cameroon, has unravelled major trends and dynamics of commercial activities for communities within the area. Within this politically hotbed peninsula is Ekondo Titi, a commercial hub undergoing significant dynamics in the periods before, during and after the Bakassi Crisis, laid to rest by the Green Tree Accord whose political palliative was no economic panacea to the quantitative and qualitative trade responses in the area especially on the Cameroonian side. This study purposively sampled 100 respondents involving traders, farmers, council workers and other stakeholders in Ekondo Titi of Cameroon. A chi square analysis at 0.05 level of significance with a degree of freedom of 9, portrayed a significant association between commercial sector dynamics and border insecurity in Ekondo Titi especially as trade patterns assumed a three period pendula-like mood. Post crisis trends reveal an increasingly unaccounted and unofficial cash crop trade outflow towards Nigeria in the dearth of practicable road transport infrastructure, warehouses/storage tanks, and other domestic marketing infrastructure. Post crisis trade management exhibits the need for the government of Cameroon to set in robust confidence building measures while drastically enhancing on the transport and market infrastructure.

Published in Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 3, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13
Page(s) 11-19
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Crops, Border, Ekondo Titi, Commerce

References
[1] Cassarino, J. P. (2005). Approaching borders and frontiers: Notions and implications. Florence European University Institute, mimeo, 1-18.
[2] Newman, D. (2001). Borders and bordering: towards an interdisciplinary dialogue. European Journal of Social Theory, Vol. 9 (2), pp. 171-186.
[3] Ngalim, A. N. (2016). African boundary conflicts and international mediation: The absence of inclusivity in mediating the Bakassi peninsula conflict. African Peace building Network, Working Paper No. 9, September 2016, pp 1-27.
[4] Kimengsi, J. N. & Fombe, L. F. (2015). The Growth pole strategy as a panacea for sub-Saharan Africa’s regional development challenges: Reflections from Cameroon and Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, Volume 17 (8), 2015, http://www.jsd-africa.com/ ISSN: 1520-5509 pp 79-90.
[5] Mukhtar, A. and Mombert, H. (2013) Where informal procedures are quasi-formal – cross border trade between West and Central Africa. Africa Trade Policy Notes, May 2013 pp 1-9.
[6] Little, P. D. (2005). Unofficial trade when states are weak: The case of cross border commerce in the Horn of Africa, Helsinki: WIDER Research Paper No. 2005/13, pp1-26.
[7] Teka, T. and A. Azeze (2002). Cross-border trade and food security in the Ethiopia Djibouti And Ethiopia-Somalia Borderlands, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: OSSREA Development Research Report Series, No. 4. 71pp.
[8] Ndlela, D. B. (2006). Informal cross-border trade: The Case of Zimbabwe, Johannesburg, South Africa: Institute for Global Dialogue, Occasional Paper, No. 52., 59 pp.
[9] Mijere, N. J. N. (2009) Informal cross border trade in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Addis Ababa: Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa, 22 pp.
[10] MacGaffey (ed.) (1991). ‘The Real Economy of Zaire’. London & Philadelphia: James Currey & University of Pennsylvania Press pp 13-14.
[11] Kabamba, P. (2012). Business of Civil War: New Forms of Life in the Debris of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dakar: CODESRIA. 23rd August 2010, 24 pp.
[12] Fogwe, Z. N. (2017). Stakeholder and partnering strategies of national border town functions at Kyé-Ossi, South Region, Cameroon, Journal of Geography, Meteorology and Environment, A publication of the Department of Geography and Meteorology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria, Vol. 2, No 1, ISSN 2449-2011, pp. 1-10.
[13] Phytosanitary Brigade Report for Ekondo Titi, 2017.
[14] Loser, C. M. (2009). Cross-border trade and investment among emerging economies. Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, 2009, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp 43-62.
[15] Titeca, K. (2009). The Changing cross-border trade dynamics between north-western Uganda, north-eastern Congo and southern Sudan. The Journal of Modern African Studies 47 (2), 291-317, 2009.
[16] Fogwe, Z. N. and Ntoban V. K. (2017). Cameron-Nigeria border settlement dynamics: trends and perspectives from Dumbo (North West Region of Cameroon), in Ba’ana Etoundi, M. L (Ed) Dynamiques urbaines et transformations socio-spatiales au Cameroun: Regards croisés entre logiques, stratégies et pratiques d’acteurs, Editions CAD. pp 47-79.
[17] Kimengsi, J. N. (2011). Spatial economic disparity and implications for development in the South West Region of Cameroon” PhD Thesis in Geography, University of Buea, 320pp.
[18] Kimengsi, J. N. (2008). The contribution of PAMOL Plantations and its associated environmental impacts to the development of Ekondo Titi Sub Division, South West Region of Cameroon. PhD Thesis in Geography, University of Buea 202pp.
[19] Etongo, B. D (2007). Land use dynamics and vegetation change in Ekondo-Titi Subdivision S. W province of Cameroon. Unpublished M. Sc. Thesis, FSMS Department of Geography, University of Buea, 210pp.
[20] Kometa, S. S. and Kimengsi, J. N. (2013). Transport as an impediment to the development of an economically endowed region: The case of Ekondo- Titi Sub-Division, Cameroon. Greener Journal of Environmental Management and Public Safety Vol. 2 (1), Lagos Nigeria. Available at http://gjournals.org/Adverts.html pp. 032-039.
[21] Kimengsi J. N & Lambi, C. M (2015). PAMOL plantations: Prelude to a looming population problem in Ekondo Titi Subdivision, South West Region of Cameroon, Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, Vol. 17(3), 2015 pp 239-249.
[22] Ekondo Titi Council Development Plan, 2011.
[23] Ariye, E. C. (2015). Nigeria, Cameroon and the Bakassi territorial dispute settlement: The triumph of bilateralism. International Affairs and Global Strategy Vol. 38, pp 24-33. www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951 (Online).
[24] Baye, F. M, (2010). Implications of the Bakassi conflict resolution for Cameroon’ Africa Journal on Conflict Resolution, Vol. 10 (1), pp 9-34.
[25] Chirau, T. J. and Chamuka, P. (2013). Politicisation of urban space: Evidence from women informal traders at Magaba, Harare in Zimbabwe. Global Advanced Research Journal of History, Political Science and International Relations Vol. 2(2) pp. 014-026, May, 2013.
[26] Tay. N. (2010). Women traders confronting sexual harassment at borders. Available online: http://south-south.ipc-undp.org/news/item/384-women-traders-con fronting sexual-harassment-at-borders [Accessed: 2 October 2011]. 14pp.
[27] Matakanye J. (2011). Ten raped on SA border daily: officials Available online: http://www.newzimbabwe. Com/news-5187-10%20raped%20on%20SA%20border%20daily%20officials/news.aspx [Accessed: 2 October 2011].
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi, Zephania Nji Fogwe, Nebota Catherine Mende. (2018). Cameroon-Nigeria Border Conflict Incidence on Trade Patterns and Dynamics Within Near-Border Settlements of the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon. Urban and Regional Planning, 3(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi; Zephania Nji Fogwe; Nebota Catherine Mende. Cameroon-Nigeria Border Conflict Incidence on Trade Patterns and Dynamics Within Near-Border Settlements of the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon. Urban Reg. Plan. 2018, 3(1), 11-19. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi, Zephania Nji Fogwe, Nebota Catherine Mende. Cameroon-Nigeria Border Conflict Incidence on Trade Patterns and Dynamics Within Near-Border Settlements of the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon. Urban Reg Plan. 2018;3(1):11-19. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13,
      author = {Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi and Zephania Nji Fogwe and Nebota Catherine Mende},
      title = {Cameroon-Nigeria Border Conflict Incidence on Trade Patterns and Dynamics Within Near-Border Settlements of the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon},
      journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
      volume = {3},
      number = {1},
      pages = {11-19},
      doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20180301.13},
      abstract = {Historicity, geo-strategic and economic bearing has snatched the discourse on border environments from contemporary geographical literature. Yet, these environments have stoutly become hotspots for violent expression of conflicting entitlements to natural resources and socio-economic opportunities. The Bakassi Peninsula at West Africa’s lone gulf (of Guinea) which replicates par excellence, the combination of resource-space tussle and conflicting territorial claims and resolution approaches between Nigeria and Cameroon, has unravelled major trends and dynamics of commercial activities for communities within the area. Within this politically hotbed peninsula is Ekondo Titi, a commercial hub undergoing significant dynamics in the periods before, during and after the Bakassi Crisis, laid to rest by the Green Tree Accord whose political palliative was no economic panacea to the quantitative and qualitative trade responses in the area especially on the Cameroonian side. This study purposively sampled 100 respondents involving traders, farmers, council workers and other stakeholders in Ekondo Titi of Cameroon. A chi square analysis at 0.05 level of significance with a degree of freedom of 9, portrayed a significant association between commercial sector dynamics and border insecurity in Ekondo Titi especially as trade patterns assumed a three period pendula-like mood. Post crisis trends reveal an increasingly unaccounted and unofficial cash crop trade outflow towards Nigeria in the dearth of practicable road transport infrastructure, warehouses/storage tanks, and other domestic marketing infrastructure. Post crisis trade management exhibits the need for the government of Cameroon to set in robust confidence building measures while drastically enhancing on the transport and market infrastructure.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Cameroon-Nigeria Border Conflict Incidence on Trade Patterns and Dynamics Within Near-Border Settlements of the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon
    AU  - Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi
    AU  - Zephania Nji Fogwe
    AU  - Nebota Catherine Mende
    Y1  - 2018/01/19
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13
    T2  - Urban and Regional Planning
    JF  - Urban and Regional Planning
    JO  - Urban and Regional Planning
    SP  - 11
    EP  - 19
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1697
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180301.13
    AB  - Historicity, geo-strategic and economic bearing has snatched the discourse on border environments from contemporary geographical literature. Yet, these environments have stoutly become hotspots for violent expression of conflicting entitlements to natural resources and socio-economic opportunities. The Bakassi Peninsula at West Africa’s lone gulf (of Guinea) which replicates par excellence, the combination of resource-space tussle and conflicting territorial claims and resolution approaches between Nigeria and Cameroon, has unravelled major trends and dynamics of commercial activities for communities within the area. Within this politically hotbed peninsula is Ekondo Titi, a commercial hub undergoing significant dynamics in the periods before, during and after the Bakassi Crisis, laid to rest by the Green Tree Accord whose political palliative was no economic panacea to the quantitative and qualitative trade responses in the area especially on the Cameroonian side. This study purposively sampled 100 respondents involving traders, farmers, council workers and other stakeholders in Ekondo Titi of Cameroon. A chi square analysis at 0.05 level of significance with a degree of freedom of 9, portrayed a significant association between commercial sector dynamics and border insecurity in Ekondo Titi especially as trade patterns assumed a three period pendula-like mood. Post crisis trends reveal an increasingly unaccounted and unofficial cash crop trade outflow towards Nigeria in the dearth of practicable road transport infrastructure, warehouses/storage tanks, and other domestic marketing infrastructure. Post crisis trade management exhibits the need for the government of Cameroon to set in robust confidence building measures while drastically enhancing on the transport and market infrastructure.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, Cameroon

  • Department of Geography and Planning, University of Bamenda, Bambili, Cameroon

  • Department of Geography and Planning, University of Bamenda, Bambili, Cameroon

  • Sections