Let’s take a journey to Cameroon

River of prawns

Cameroon is in central Africa. Their currency is the Central African CFA Franc. French and English are the official languages of Cameroon. There are ten regions in Cameroon. Until recently, they were called provinces. Among the ten regions, two of them are English speakers, and the rest are French-speaking. Apart from French and English, it’s home to 200 ethnic groups with 280 indigenous languages in the country. Cameroon’s pidgin English is also a common lingua franc spoken in former British-administered territories. It’s also referred to as “Africa in miniature” because of its geographical and cultural diversity. The following are some of the ethnic groups in Cameroon.

• Bamileke-Bamum
• Beti / Bassa-Mbam
• Biu-Mandara
• Hausa, Kanuri and Shuwa
• Adamawa-Ubangi (Mbum-Gbaya)
• Grassfielders
• Pygmy peoples
• Sawa / Côtier
• Southwest Bantu
• others/foreigners

Cameroon was derived from Portuguese explorers who noted an abundance of mud lobsters in the Wouri River and called it “Rio dos Camarões.” It’s Portuguese for “the River of Prawns”.

The Cameroon national flag is green, red, yellow, and a yellow star. The capital is Yaounde, and the economic capital is Douala, where it has its largest seaport. Cameroon is also home to the highest active volcano in the sub-Saharan western and central Africa. Mount Fako stands at a height of 13,225 feet. It last erupted in 2000.

The country has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, but its economic progress has been held back by corruption and decades of authoritarian rule. They have one of the oldest presidents in Africa and the longest-serving.

Since 9th September 2017, there has been civil unrest in the country. Mostly in the two English-speaking regions — the North West and South-West regions.

Fun facts to note:

• Drivers in Cameroon drive on the right-hand side of the road.
• The country safeguards its wildlife and plants through over 20 reserves, housing over 400 mammal species, 690 bird species, 250 reptiles, 200 amphibians, and 1000 species of butterflies.
• Home to the oldest forest in Africa. The Korop National Park forest is 60 million years old, making it the oldest remaining forest in Africa.
• They love football. They will watch anything football, from the national teams to European clubs. The most famous players are Miller Roger and Samuel Eto’o.
• It has one of the wettest places in the world: Debundscha.
• It’s also taken a firm stance against poaching.

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