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Why is the region of eastern Nigeria and Cameroon linguistically fragmented?

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Thematic map of Africa showing the distribution of Niger-Congo language branches. Distinct colors represent language groups such as Atlantic, Mande, Gur, Kwa, Benue-Congo, and Bantu, with Bantu languages covering most of central, eastern, and southern Africa. A numbered key lists prominent languages in each area, and country borders are marked for reference. — Niger-Congo languages Map showing the branches and distribution of the Niger-Congo languages.

The region of eastern Nigeria and Cameroon is characterized by significant linguistic fragmentation, particularly within the Bantoid group of the Niger-Congo language family. This area contains scores of distinct languages concentrated within a comparatively small geographic space.1

This fragmentation is largely attributed to the historical role of the region as a primary center of linguistic diversification. Linguistic evidence strongly suggests that the border area between present-day Nigeria and Cameroon served as the original homeland for the Bantu peoples and the broader Benue-Congo branch. Over thousands of years, as these populations developed and migrated, the region remained a hub of intense linguistic evolution, resulting in the high density of small, distinct language groups observed today, such as the Tivoid and Wide Grassfields subgroups. While some groups expanded outward across the continent, the ancestral core remained highly diverse, with many languages spoken by relatively small populations.213