Cameroon–Nigeria relations Cameroon–Nigeria relations This article details the foreign relations between Cameroon and Nigeria. For a few years, relations between Cameroon and Nigeria have intensified over issues relating to their 1,600-kilometer land boundary, extending from the Lake Chad to the Bakassi peninsula, and boundary into the Gulf of Guinea. The issues that are involved are rights over the oil-rich land and the fate of local populations. For example, as Lake Chad dried up due to desertification, local populations relying on the lake for their water source have followed the receding waters, further blurring the boundary lines. Tensions between the two countries escalated
Chad Basin the Wadai capital of Abéché was occupied by the French. The remainder of the basin was divided by the British in Nigeria who took Kano in 1903, and the Germans in Kameroun. The countries of the basin regained their independence between 1956 and 1962, retaining the colonial administrative boundaries. As of 2011, over 30 million people lived in the Chad Basin. The population is growing rapidly. Ethnic groups include Kanuri, Maba, Buduma, Hausa, Kanembu, Kotoko, Bagger, Haddad, Kuri, Fulani and Manga. The largest cities are Kano and Maiduguri in Nigeria, Maroua in Cameroon, N'Djamena in Chad and Diffa in Niger.