GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The world in general and Africa in particular has mostly been involved in Royal disputes over the decades. Wherever there is a leadership structure, the quest for power is inevitable and the Kom Fondom is inevitable. And the Kom Fondom which is one of the ethnic groups in the Bamenda Grass fields has not been an exception to this because there is a leader and also the quest of power. Settlements all over the world are established through the foresight of the courageouspeople who are ore round to locate the areas that would be conducive  and suitable for humanlivingsome of the things people look up to are availability of water easy to assess food protection from eternal aggression and then the provision of shelter to a people or fairly finds out a suitable place to settle that person or the head of that fairlybecomes owners to the territorial land found the  chosen leader might be normally the person who founded the land or first occupied the area  who helps the inhabitants to lie in peace and harmony.[1] A human society is characterized by pattern of relationships between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions like the case of Kom in the North West Region of Cameroon.[2]

The world in general and Africa   as a whole has mostly been involved in Royal Disputes all over the decades  communities all over the world struggle to find a way to grow  together and grow stronger in some parts of the world this is a process of finding mutual goals and interest and striking to accomplish those in others it is recovering from a civilwar that stripped apart communities and left the society in disarray despite the wide spectrumeach type of community sees their own for of disputes and challenges[3]

With the case of Africa understanding the social content of conflicts anddisputes is essential for developing efficient responses examples here are Ghana and Sierra Leone which has had persistent chieftaincy disputes. [4] Ghana appears to be a haven of peace in an unstable Sub Region the country has a reputation as a peaceful stable and democratic state in West Africa. However, beneath this international recognition, there are more than 200 internal conflicts around chieftaincy, festivals, lands and politics. These conflicts have left communities polarized by grief, hatred and mutual mistrust leading to a cycle of violence and revenge.[5]

Cameroons reputation as a peaceful country is based on several peace related indicators. But however the country has had its own share of violent clashes especially when it comes to Royal Disputes in the various Fondoms that make up the country. They are not on a scale that is assessed toinfluence the general peace status of the entire country. The reason is that many of the violent conflicts that erupt are localized or are related to specific issues that do not attract the participation of the majority of the citizens. The most perennial and potential violent forms of conflicts are the Royal Disputes.[6]

With the case of the Kom Fondom in the North West Region of Cameroon, succession is done following the matrilineal system of succession. Succession Disputes were and are still common in Royal Families that exist in the Kom Fondom and some of these disputes usually reach a crisis point characterized by destruction of properties, disruption of family ties and even loss of lives. Both the chiefs and the subjects were to maintain strict accountability to ensure sound government. Therefore, there is no society that which does not go through dispute at some point in time.

The Kom Fondom has a well-defined authority in which powers are vested the hands of the Paramount Fon. But he rules with the assistances of the Kwifoyn. The property of the Kom Royal family, Ikui Ndohfunkuin include the Laikom Palace, the Anjin, Fuli, Mbam, Sho, Belo, Ngwa and Njinikom royal compounds. There are chronic over some family compounds of theNdohfunkuin especially the Mbam and Anyajua Royal Compounds and all these were initiated by Fon James Yibain as well as  other causes. So we shall analyze the causes of this royal dispute in the Kom Fondom and attempted solutions.

The appellation Ndonfunkuin was coined during the reign of Fon Yuh Funkuin who is known in official circles as Fon Yuh I of Kom. This was because by the time of Yuh’s coronation the royal traditions of succession to the Kom throne and fate had streamlined the fraction of Ikui Nange Bo which ruled Kom to the children of Funkuin. The Kom Fondom can be described as a heterogeneous society because it is made up of 22 different matriclans with distinct origin. Among these marticlans the Ikui, Itsinalah, Achaff matriclans are referred to as the original Kom matriclans or the aborigines, because its members are the descendants of the original Kom Fondom. Among these aborigines, the Ikui is known as the Komruling matriclan. This is because the Ndohfunkuin family which provides Fons for the Kom Fondom is an extraction of the Ikui Matriclan.

There werechronicwrangling over some royal compounds today. These wrangling were instigated by Fon James Yibain through his barbaric spoon theory which escalated in the early 1990. Precipitated by a grudge against t the children of Fintia Nkwain because they were multiplying in lips and bounds while his immediate family was virtually extinct. He wanted to remain the lone Ndohfunkuin exploiter of the property of Ndohfunkuin. To succeed in this his selfish task, James Yibain planted his tentacles in some Kom Royal compounds in order to

The Yibains Spoon Theory is the principal cause of the wrangling over some Kom Royal Compounds today and this has dealt a dirty slap in the face of the Komcustoms and traditions. Fon James Yibain despite his short reign of five years succeeded to plant a notorious rebellious group whose goal is to destroy the customs and traditions of the Kom people and present the Fondom to the outside world as a warring people with neither identity nor destiny. Several measures have been implanted to address royal disputes including court proceedings and arbitration processes but to no avail for the purpose of finding if not all, some impacts and possible solutions to Royal Disputes in the Kom Fondom, this research work seeks to examine some pertinent causes of the Disputes within the Royal Family, the origin of these Disputes and its effects on the lives of the people in the Kom Fondom.

According to this work, it shall help the indigenous population of Kom to know  why they have been constantly having wrangling over some royal compounds after the death of the caretaker, and the role of the administration in this quarrels and the attempted solutions to this Royal Disputes.

Statement of the problem

In the recent times there is a strong desire for power by individuals or groups in most societies especially at the level of the chiefdoms and Fondoms. This has led to deaths, damages and factionalism and it has further uprooted those communal spirits unifying members of a group together. The Kom Fondom has not remained indifferent to these mutations caused by Royal Disputes whose roots and evolution are still subject to research. This has made the environment insecure since the days of Fon James Yibain who was leader of Kom from 1989 1994. Who went against the customs and traditions of the Kom Fondom and enthroned wrong people to Royal compounds. Therefore, what was the contribution of Fon James Yibain to the outbreak of Royal disputes in the Kom Fondom, what was the origin and causes of this disputes and how did the administration try to resolve this conflicts?

Research Questions

The study has a lot of questions and worries that require historical clarification and some of these questions are: why was assertion to the Kom throne limited to the descendants of Funkuin? Why did Fon James Yibain implement his spoon theory and why did he on the eve of his death try to evict his proxies from Royal compounds? What was the origin of Royal Disputes? What were the causes of Royal Disputes in the Kom Fondom? And how did the administration try to resolve these conflicts?    `                      

The objectives of the study

The central objective of the study is to trace the causes of royal dispute especially in how James Yibain fueledthis. While other subsequent objectives are: To examine the background history of Kom and its geographical aspects.

To examine the bases, the causes and the effects of Royal Disputes in the Kom Fondom.

And to discuss how the Administration intervened in this Royal Disputes.

[1] Chieftaincy based community disputes The Case of Sierra Leone.

[2]http://en.m.wikipedia. Org- wiki/dispute resolution. Accessed on April 5^th 2020, 10; 31am.

[3]https: www. Meriam- Webster. Com/ dictionary/ chieftaincy. Accessed April 5^th 2020, 10:42am.

[5] Implications and Dynamics of the chieftaincy Conflict in Ghana. Charles Ohene Amoh. Journal of culture society and development  ISSN 2422_8400 an international peer reviewed Journal vol.16 2016

[6]The Effects Of chieftaincy conflicts on local development the case of the Bakwu East municipality by Gamel A. Aganah. Theses submitted for the Degree of masters of Philosophy in peace and conflict transformation. P.3.