People
Momo County
There are two principal ethnicities in Momo County, namely Widikum and Bororos or Mbororo (a subgroup of the Fulani ethnic group).
Momo County is composed mostly of the Widikum ethnic group. Widikum ethnicity is one of the largest in Ambazonia covering Momo, parts of Mezam, parts of Menchum (Befang) and parts of eastern Manyu (Nyeneba). The Widikums include Moghamo, Menemo or Meta, Widikum Atteh, Azem, Menka, Ambelle, Ngie and Ngwaw. The larger of the clans is the Moghamo that has 22 villages whose descendants are known to be the offspring of Tembenka and Akumaka. Their origin is Bantu. The original homeland of the Bantu community of people is believed to have been Ambazonia/Cameroun. The history dates about 4000 years ago and it is this time when the community dispersed.
However, due to socio-economic reasons, for example marriages, business and civil service postings, other ethnic groups are interspersed with indigenous populations but mainly within the urban space close to local government installations. They include indigenes from Bafut, Mankon, Bali, Nso, Kom and neighboring Nigeria and Cameroun. The Muslims, especially the Mbororos are normadic in lifestyle and are mostly found in the rural grazing spaces. Momo is the least populated of the four counties in the Midland State but has the second largest area in the State and the second smallest population density.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Momo is a county in Midland State, Ambazonia. The county covers an area of 1,792 km² and has a total population stated conservatively as 250,000. Mbengwi is the seat of the county government. The county is administered through 5 local governments (LGAs), namely, Ngie, Batibo, Mbengwi, Widikum and Njikwa. Each LGA comprises groups of villages.
The Ngie LGA is made of 29 villages. The Batibo LGA embodies 22 villages. The Widikum LGA covers 42 villages of which 9 host the indigenous population. The Mbengwi LGA area is made up of 29 villages, most of them located along the Mbengwi Oshum road, going through Tudig, Njah Etu, Kai and Gwofan. These local government areas lie in the transitional zone between the forest and grassfields regions of Northern Ambazonia.
RESOURCES
The presence of active quarries in Mbunjei, Guzang and Widikum provides employment to the population and building materials for the housing and road construction industry. The Widikum LGA has two protected areas that are the Ambelle and Menka forests. The Menka forest reserve is locally known as “Ekaw”. Further north east in Batibo county is a hidden European touristic trail passing through the village of Ashong – hosted Eugene Zintgraff, Max Esser and other German colonists between 1885 and 1896.
ECONOMY
Small scale farming, animal husbandry, handicrafts and liquor extraction from fermented palms are the main economic activities in Momo county. Over 90% of the population is engaged in subsidence farming. The remainder 5% are involved in activities ranging from administration, teaching in schools, small-scale trading to artisan building and construction. Crops grown in this area are yams, plantains, banana, maize, cassava, potatoes, beans, groundnut and pepper. Tropical fruit trees also proliferate in the county and include palm trees, monkey kola, kola nuts, bitter kola, mango, guava, plums and raffia palms. Cash crops are also plentiful, comprising arabica coffee and increasingly cocoa cultivation on warmer slopes adjacent to the tropical rain forest. Gardening is extensively carried out in Momo villages and crops include legumes, tomatoes, huckleberry and melons. Momo county is most like Boyo county in Savannah State, in terms of its economic profile and overall contribution to the national economy.
