the Fulani are not native to the region, it is a remarkable achievement that they became the dominant population. Modibbo Adama was a Fulani scholar and holy warrior. Before leading the jihad, he was a student of the school of Islam. He was mentored under the teachings of Fulani mystic Usman dan Fodio. Adama's reign lasted from 1806 to his death in 1847. Modibbo Adama conquered the region of Fombina, which presently makes up the areas of modern-day Cameroon and Nigeria. His actions opened the opportunity for more of his people to enter into the region and claim the territory as theirs. After declaring his own jihad, as Usman had done in Northern regions in Chad, Adama entered into the region accompanied with a legion of people dedicated to converting the region under which these tribes resided. Adama met Usman in 1806, probably in Gwandu. There, they learned that his intention was to extend his jihad eastward, into Fumbina. The goal was ostensibly to convert various Kirdi (pagan) peoples to Islam. Once under the control of the region, Adama gave enemy nations two options: either convert to Islam or submit to losing autonomy and becoming a tributary state. Those groups that both formed their own formidable resistance but lacked the structural integrity available under nations gifted with a centralized government, had but one option: become slaves. The kirdi then became the group that lacked a government to resist Fulani intrusion and so became slaves to the Fulani and placed under their oppressive reign until they submitted to Islam. To this day, many of the nations that resisted conversion at the time of the Adama Emirate, still are not Muslim now. Major changes occurred based on the legacy of Modibo Adama even after the sovereignty of his caliphate was lost to other powers from the south. New converts to Islam learned Arabic writing and studied the Qur'an (DeLancey, 2010). This introduced increased rates of literacy in a region that had virtually no literacy. While the Kirdi tended to be sedentary cultivators of their land, the Fulani and associated groups were primarily pastoralists, which led to the land changing starkly to one that better suits cattle. Deforestation by the Fulani had permanently altered the land of the Northern plateau. Disenfranchisement In line with many sub-Saharan African states Cameroon has had a tumultuous history under authoritarian ruling powers, their first president a Muslim