Koma people — SuperStock
Unique history
The large population of Koma, located in the foothill and plains of the Alantika or Adamawa mountains, has a unique history influenced by the response to the abolition of the slave trade and slavery, as well as various colonization policies adopted from 1900-1960.
“German occupation of the area was shortlived and rather ineffective. The Fulani overlords (the Lamidos) continued to rule the Koma and extort taxes from them by organised raids to the hills. With the conclusion of the first World War, the Germans renounced their claims to the Cameroons in favour of the Allied Powers. As a result, the Adamawa area, which includes the Koma, was placed under British Mandate.
“A year after Nigeria’s independence in 1961, as a result of a plebiscite the Koma became recognised as Nigerians along with the old Adamawa/Saduana provinces of the Northern,” according to accounts on trip down memory lane.
Currently, the Koma-Vommi District is one of the seven districts in the Ganye local government area, with headquarters at Nassarawo in the plains, where the District Head of Koma people is based.
Divided into three main groups: the hill-dwelling Beya and Ndamti, the Vomni and the Verre lowlanders, the Koma have their own language, known as Koma, with an estimated 61,000 speakers.
