Crossing Boundaries: Internal, Regional and International Migration in Cameroon
| Author | Blessing Uchenna Mberu,Roland Pongou |
| Published date | 01 February 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00766.x |
| Date | 01 February 2016 |
Crossing Boundaries: Internal, Regional
and International Migration in Cameroon
Blessing Uchenna Mberu* and Roland Pongou**
ABSTRACT
Internal and international migration increasingly continues to be of global importance
for development policies and programmes, but the dearth of data on migration for
African countries and the limited focus on the structural conditions that motivate migra-
tion from specific localities within the region remain glaring. In this study, we examine the
patterns and drivers of migration in Cameroon, focusing on the dynamics of rural–urban
migration, migrant circulation, regional economic migrants and refugees, international
migration, brain drain and returns from emigration. Consequent upon regional conflicts
and instability, we highlight the refugee problem in Cameroon and significant challenges
in addressing it. Finally, we underscore the policy and research challenges necessary to
harness the potentials of internal and international migration for national development.
INTRODUCTION
Increases in internal and international migration associated with economic and political tran-
sitions in countries of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Pacific have
made migration a salient feature of life in developing and developed countries (Beauchemin
and Bocquier, 2004; Gurmu et al., 2000; Massey et al., 1993; Todaro, 1997). In sub-Saharan
Africa, attention has primarily focused on the relationships between migration, spatial redis-
tribution, urbanization and development (Beauchemin and Bocquier, 2004; Bilsborrow, 1998;
Black et al., 2003; Eloundou-Enyegue et al., 2002; Mbembe, 1999; Oucho, 1998; Weinstein,
2001). On internal migration, there is particular focus on the selectivity of the young, the
educated, the innovative and the energetic into rural–urban migration, which perpetuates
rural poverty and dependency, undermines rural social viability and exacerbates unemploy-
ment and suboptimal living standards in urban areas (Adepoju, 1983; Dijk et al., 2001;
Lockwood, 1990; Makinwa, 1981; UN-HABITAT, 2003). Researchers have increasingly
pointed to the vulnerability of migrants to adverse living conditions in their urban destina-
tions in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, persistent migration to urban areas in the context
of the declining economic performance of most African countries has been linked to a new
face of poverty, with a significant proportion of the population living below the poverty line
in overcrowded slums and sprawling shanty towns around major cities (APHRC, 2002;
* African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi.
** Department of Economics, University of Ottawa.
2012 The Authors
International Migration 2012 IOM
International Migration Vol. 54 (1) 2016
ISSN 0020-7985 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
doi:10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00766.x
Brockerhoff and Brenan, 1998; Lloyd, 2005; NISER, 1997; UN-HABITAT, 2003). On inter-
national migration, the focus in the region has been dominated by debates on the benefits for
sending and receiving countries in terms of brain drain and gains, remittances and issues
around asylum seekers and refugees, together with the recent rising cases of desperate and
precarious migration of young people through uncharted routes, illegal immigration and
human trafficking (Adepoju, 2002, 2006).
What is generally lacking in the focus on internal migration in the region is commensurate
studies on migration as part of the livelihood and survival strategy for rural families, and the
perspective that population redistribution and the growth of cities and towns are expected to
serve as important catalysts for national development, and to raise the living standards of
individual migrants and their households (Andersson, 2001; Gurmu et al., 2000). Related to
the above is the failure to emphasize, in both internal and international migration discourses,
the socio-economic, political and environmental contexts in which most migration in sub-
Saharan Africa takes place. Apart from civil wars, many countries in the region are plagued
with recurring droughts, famine, political conflicts and transitions, as well as unfavourable
government policies and poor governance that often trigger movements, particularly of the
most vulnerable poor. The disruptions associated with these forces complicate the model of
migration both as a major component of population change and as a determinant or conse-
quence of economic development (Adepoju, 1977; Carballo, 2005; Mberu, 2006). Yet these
contexts, which are typical of several African countries and relevant for a more balanced and
comprehensive understanding of Africa’s migration systems, together with the relationships
between internal and international migration and human well-being in the region, remain
scarcely examined.
In this paper, we focus attention on the case of Cameroon, located at the intersection of
Middle and West Africa. Although it remains a relatively poor country in comparison to
much of the world, Cameroon is one of the few countries in Africa to have maintained politi-
cal stability and avoided large-scale conflict since its independence in 1960. Thus it gives us a
potential window into how stable social, economic and political structures, beyond conflicts,
generate demographic change, particularly internal and international migration streams.
Beauchemin and Bocquier (2004) underscored both the gap in the study of migration in
Africa other than studies on fertility or mortality and the lesser knowledge about franco-
phone African countries in the anglophone literature due to language barriers. Cameroon
provides a unique opportunity for examination of the dynamics of migration in a context in
which both the francophone and anglophone milieus are combined, following the govern-
ment’s experiments aimed at creating an integrated and united bilingual nation (Kofele-Kale,
1980; Njei, 2000).
Our paper builds on the perspective that migration is an intrinsic dimension of economic
and social development, reflecting the rational decisions of millions of internal and interna-
tional migrants to seek new opportunities (Chen et al., 1998; Kessides, 2006; Montgomery
et al., 2003), which carries important implications for development, poverty, health, environ-
mental quality and social welfare provision (White et al., 2008). Guided by evidence that
migration, as for other social processes, is related to complex multifaceted interactions and
interconnections of structure, agency and consciousness (Baker and Aina, 1995), our study
adopts a multi-factor theoretical framework. This approach offers a broader theoretical per-
spective on the determinants and implications of migration in Cameroon; and by highlighting
the political roots of migration, it has the potential to broaden the migration discourse in the
region beyond the usual economic forces and consequences.
In the context of a dearth of up-to-date data for a comprehensive migration analysis, we
draw on available data, articles, reports, policy documents and miscellaneous literature in
order to expatiate on the various dimensions of migration in Cameroon, the structural
Internal, regional and international migration in Cameroon 101
2012 The Authors. International Migration 2012 IOM
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