Crossing Cameroon you come across great varieties of vegetation, from savannah around the shores of Lake Chad, to equatorial forests in the south-east of the country. The population is composed of over 100 different ethnic groups. Mt Cameroon not only is West Africa's highest mountain but also is the only still active volcano in Africa. The national team became Olympic Champion Football 2000. On 20 December there is a huge feast and festival with many masks and costumes in Bafut, north of Bamenda and in Bali (west of Bamenda) 20 to 22 December.
Yaoundé:
Yaoundé is the capital of Cameroon, and its largest city. It is located in the south-central part of the country. It is also spelt as Yaunde. The city was founded in 1888 under the Germans and was later occupied by the Belgians, and then the French. For a while, Douala became the capital of French Cameroun, but things began to change after Cameroon's independence. By 1972, Yaoundé had become the capital of the country and the seat of the government once again. Today, the city is an important center for administration, service, commerce and communication. There are also manufacturing and processing industries. Over 800,000 people live in the city, which is green, hilly and picturesque. There is a huge and bustling market called the Marché Central. On Sundays there always is open-air mass outside the Paroisse de N'Djong Melen in Ayounda at 9.30 am to noon, and is a fantastic blend of African and western culture, with African music, drums, dancing and women's chorus. Important institutions in the city include the University of Yaoundé, schools of education, agriculture, health, engineering, administration and other fields, research institutes like The Pasteur Institute of Cameroun, national archives, library, and others.
Douala:
Douala is the largest city and industrial center of Cameroon. It has a delightful, tropical ambience not unlike Singapore before the high-rise boom - leafy, colonial decay rubs shoulders with modern, marble facades of banks, 5 star hotels and business houses. It’s a very lively and cosmopolitan city. Douala has some very successful local Cocoa exporter.
Economy:
Cameroon is one of the wealthiest African countries, with a gross national product similar to that of Nigeria, its powerful neighbour. Over 80% of the inhabitants of Cameroon work on the land, however petroleum products constitute more than half of all exports. It is amongst the top twenty producers in the world for seven agricultural products, from manioca to cocoa and coffee. Only 32% of the country is farmed, while 63% is covered in forests. Only 5% is farmed with modern farming techniques. The principal commercial crops in Cameroon are cocoa, coffee, tobacco, cotton, and bananas. Rubber, palm products, and sugarcane are also grown commercially. Subsistence crops include plantains, sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, and millet. Livestock is important in the Adamawa Plateau region. There is a large aluminium refinery which produces 16% of all refined alluminium in Africa. The refinery, working with aluminium shipped from Ghana and Marseilles, consumes 70% of all the electricity produced in the country. As the road system is developed, the timber industry seems set to expand through the export of valuable woods such as mahogany, ebony, and teak.
History:
In 1884 Germany established a protectorate over the Douala area which it ruled until World War I. At the end of the war, the country was divided between Britain and France. The French-administered region was granted self-government as the Republic of Cameroon in December 1958, and Ahmadou Ahidjo became the country's first president. Full independence and UN membership was achieved in 1960. In 1961, British Southern Cameroon was federated with the Republic of Cameroon, while British Northern Cameroon joined Nigeria. Mr. Ahidjo remained president from independence until his resignation in late 1982. He was succeeded by Paul Biya, the former prime minister, who has remained in office through four successive elections.
The inhabitants of Cameroon have always shown great loyalty towards France, and have often been used as auxillary troops during the colonisation of other African countries. This has earned them the hostility of neighbouring countries. At the same time they were among the first countries to aspire for independence, and in 1948 founded the People’s Union of Cameroon, which was soon dissolved by the French administration. The French encouraged the formation of a moderate movement, the National Union of Cameroon, and its leader, Ahmado Ahidjo beame the first head of state when Cameroon became independent in 1960. In 1961 ex-French Cameroon united with part of ex-British Cameroon and formed a federal state. In 1982 Ahidjo handed over power to the Prime Minister, Paul Biya, but democratic politics were not allowed until 1991 when Biya was re-elected. He was returned to power in the 1997 presidential elections, which were criticized as not being fair and impartial by outside observers and the country has a poor human rights record.
