For years, Sylvie Njobati would walk by a life-size statue of a woman in Kumbo, in the northwest region of Cameroon. Meticulously outlined with hundreds of seashells, the statue depicts Ngonnso, the queen mother of Nso people, a cultural group in the region whose origin can be traced to the 14th century. According to Nso oral history, Ngonnso founded the Nso kingdom after a brutal conflict with her two brothers. “She was able to conquer, to defeat, to ensure that all of Nso people stayed together,” said Njobati, 30-year-old Nso…
