Autochthony and citizenship in Cameroon: a false debate that divides

According to Oscar Njiki, the Constitution guarantees equality among all citizens. Rights are determined by citizenship, not by ethnic origin. Autochthony is a cultural identity, not a legal privilege.

1) Are you an autochthon everywhere in Cameroon as a Cameroonian citizen?

No. Autochthony is not a universal status granted by citizenship. It is rooted in memory, lineage, and history. Owning a plot of land, settling, and investing there does not make one an autochthon. Indigenous peoples have an ontological relationship with their lands: those lands are an extension of their identity. The customary rights they hold cannot be transferred through a simple commercial transaction; they end at the moment of sale.

You cannot be an autochthon everywhere.

2) Must you be an autochthon to feel at home? No. Citizenship transcends autochthony. Every Cameroonian is at home anywhere in Cameroon. The legitimacy of one’s settlement depends not on origin but on belonging to the national community. Being Cameroonian means having the right to live in Yaoundé, Bangangté, Maroua, and elsewhere, without any condition of autochthony.

Every Cameroonian citizen is at home everywhere in Cameroon.

3) Is an autochthon at home everywhere in his own village? No. Even within the village, space is structured by property. Each person owns their land, houses, and fields. Autochthony does not authorize trespassing or appropriating others’ belongings. A non-native owner is at home in the autochthon’s village because possession establishes a right recognized by law.

Autochthony does not grant all rights to autochthons, and allochthony does not strip rights from non-natives.

4) Does an autochthon have more rights in his village than a non-native? No. The law is one and indivisible. The Constitution guarantees equality among citizens. Rights do not vary by origin but by citizenship. Autochthony is a cultural identity, not a legal privilege.

Autochthons and allochthons are equal before the law.

5) Exception: the law reserves certain positions—such as mayor of the city or president of the Regional Council—for autochthons. But for all other elective offices—deputies, mayors, councillors—no condition of autochthony is required.

The law reserves two positions for autochthons, but all other elective posts are open to all citizens, autochthon and allochthon alike.

Ultimately, the debate over autochthony and allochthony is a dead end. It traps citizens in fragmented identities and diverts attention from what truly matters: our common future. What counts is not competition over origins but convergence of destinies. Autochthony and allochthony should not be weapons of division; they are cultural realities to be integrated into a united and indivisible Republic.

We must all look in the same direction, as children of a single nation, not as rival micro-states within the country. Cameroon’s future will not be built on fragmentation, but on unity, solidarity, and a shared sense of common destiny.

OSCAR NJIKI