Both ethnic and linguistic minority groups have been able to contribute to nation building in the following way;

• Medicine and science: some members of the linguistic and ethnic minorities have made enormous contributions in the field of medicine and science e.g; Professor Anomah Ngu who was a brilliant Anglophone physicist that was known for his scientific contributions in cancer research and HIN/AIDS, he developed the vaccine VANHIVAX.
• Politics
• Economics
• Arts and literature
• sports

The citizen in the local community

A community can be defined as: a group of people living In a common geographical location and interacting with one another. An example of a community is a village.

                                              The VILLAGE

A village is usually a group of settlement and is different from other kind of human settlement in many ways.

It is usually different in build up, in population, in the number of buildings, in the number of activities and many other differences.

                        Types of villages and their activities

Three different types of villages have been identified in Cameroon;

1. Linear villages:

These are villages in which buildings are spread out along the road side. E.G; NGASOSO in kupe, MANENGUBA.

2. Loose-knit villages:

These are villages in which house are spread out round the village. They are found in the North West and western region of Cameroon.

3. Doubled village:

These are villages which exist in two halves separated either by a stip hill or a river. Types of these villages are found in Bamenda.

These villages practice many activities such as:

• Farming
• Fishing
• Mining
• Timber exploitation
• Hunting

The traditional organization of the village

This includes;

• The chief
• The sub-chiefs or quarter heads
• The village traditional council
• Title holders or notables
• The quarter traditional council
• The villagers

                          The hierarchical institution of a village

1. THE CHIEF

All problems are reported to him and he finds solution to them with the help of the sub-chiefs.

He settles all kind of disputes between villagers.

He performs all kind of traditional rites of the village during any cultural festival.

He is the chairman of all occasions inside the village.

He receives all important visitors to the village and serves as the auxiliary of the administration.

2. THE SUB-CHIEF

They assist to settle problems in the quarters hence also called QUARTER HEADS. They report matter which they cannot handle to the chief.

3. THE VILLAGE TRADITIONAL COUNCIL

This body is made up of all the wise people in the village (mostly notables). It examines cases brought before it and passes verdicts. It helps to resolve disputes between villagers. This body cannot judge a criminal case or levy taxes on any villagers.

4. Title holders or NOTABLES

These are persons who have a certain title or respect in the village more than any other villagers. Such titles may result from the position of their parents held in the past, their relationship with the chief’s family, their contribution to the village development or personal wisdom as individuals. They serve as technical advisers to the chief.

5. Quarter council

This is a group of persons inside a village who help to settle matters with the help of the quarter head. Matters that this body can’t handle are sent to the village traditional council.

              For any chief to really have authority inside the village, he must be recognized by the villagers and by the civil administrators.

                                     Various economic activities in the village that help in the growth of a nation

• Farming of cash crops
• Handicrafts
• Animal rearing
• Fishing

                           Social and economic problems of the village

1. Social problems:

1. The absence of goods schools
2. The absence of good health centers and hospitals
3. Town ways of life are creating a generation problem as young people do not respect the elders as before
4. Young people get married without the consent of their elders
5. The issue of human rights make it difficult for elderly people to assume certain rights which they enjoyed in the past

2. Economic problems:

1. The roads in the village are not often good especially the farm to market roads
2. Transformation facilities hardly exist in villages making agriculture produce to waste
3. There are few or no storage facilities to preserve products from farms
4. Prices for products in the village are usually very low.

Village activities that are harmful to the environment

• Uncontrolled bush burning
• Throwing dirt into streams
• Uncontrolled fishing
• Uncontrolled hunting
• Uncontrolled timber exploitation

                                           Rural Exodus: its causes and consequences

Rural exodus refers to the movement of the people from the villages to towns and cities with the aim of settling for a long period of time.

This definition excludes people who visit the town or city to carry out a project during a short period of time.

Causes of rural exodus

1. The desire by someone to obtain good or better jobs and improves on his standards of living.
2. Education being important, young people particularly move to towns to attend good schools and have a good education
3. Threats to life in some villages cause rural exodus. Quarrels over property, accusation of witchcraft practice and open threats to persons who live cause people to save their lives by moving to towns
4. Orphan children go to the town or cities to live with their relatives such as uncles and aunts
5. Health problems also cause some people to settle in towns so that they will be near their doctors for regular and effective treatment

Consequences of rural exodus

1. Many villagers are depopulated today as the young and middle aged people move to towns
2. Local farms, local arts and local businesses often suffer as a result of rural exodus due to scarcity of young workers in the village
3. A lot of overcrowding results in the town and cities
4. Crime is often the result of excessive rural exodus. The idle young people from the village at times do rubbery, prostitution in order to eat and afford clothing

                                                       Towns and cities

The places of settlement where people settle in large numbers are called TOWNS AND CITIES.

They are far bigger than villages. In fact many towns and cities of today started as villages. Towns and cities are quite different from cities in several ways. Two examples of cities in Cameroon are DOUALA and YAOUNDE. Each of these cities has almost up to 1million inhabitants. As for the towns they include headquarters of the regions, the divisions and sub-divisions in Cameroon. For the population of towns they vary from 10thousand to 100thousand. Some examples of towns in Cameroon include; kumbo in the northwest region, kumba and limbe in the southwest region. Some features of towns and cities making them different from villages are:

1. Large building areas
2. Big wide roads
3. Number of activities such as schooling and super market trading
4. Large populations
5. Administrative status

                          The types of councils in Cameroon

There are four principal types of council in Cameroon namely;

1. City council:

These are councils whose population is above 1million inhabitants. There are in the two capitals of cameroon; douala and yaoude. Their budgets are the highest and they execute the heaviest project in the country.

2. Urban council with special status:

These are councils with head quarters in urban areas which are given special consideration by the government. The big towns in Cameroon has such status such as; bafoussam, bamenda, kumba, limbe and garoua etc.

3. Urban council:

These councils are in all the towns in Cameroon. Examples of such councils include kumbo and bafang etc.

4. Rural council:

This is the lowest type of council. It is in small towns and has and has a small budget compared to the other types of councils. Examples include Mamfe, Nguti, Konye, and Menji.

• The council area

The council area refers to the total land area which the council covers in terms of jurisdiction.

This is the area within which the officials of the council can exercise authority, collect taxes, carry out projects and organize any economic activities. The council area varies according to the status of the type of council that is city councils have the largest council areas followed by urban council with special status, urban councils and rural councils.

                    The organization chart of the members of a council par Claude Foumtum