Various Ambazonian nationalist and separatist factions regard the South-West region as being distinct as a polity from Cameroon.

[4] In 1884, the region was colonized by Germany under the Protectorate regime until 1916 when it became a condominium administered jointly by the United Kingdom and France.

[6] At the end of 2017, an Ambazonian separatist movement in the two English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West initiated a wave of violence affecting the military, police, business leaders and workers.

As part of the Major National Dialogue, the region was given a "special status" in December 2019, granting additional rights and responsibilities in relation to economic, health, social, educational, sports and cultural development.

Buea itself, meanwhile, sits at the foot of Mount Cameroon, and possesses an almost temperate climate markedly different from the rest of the province.