Maroua is approved by historians as the biggest post colonial city of Cameroon. A real turning platform and a bowl of people of the region, it has known many settlements of groups originating from the sub region. Pushed away by the fulbe invasion, their descendants opted to find refuge in the mountains found in the vicinity.
At the end a colony of population composed essentialy of Giziga settled. One of the earliest chief or king ( Bui in Giziga) of Maroua was Bi-Marva. His name meant King or chief of Marva. From that name is the name of the city of Maroua derived. The Giziga stil call it Marva. In the 19th century the fula coming from the Bornu empire conquer the power in Maroua.
Each of settlement in the city has left it traces, that is reflected in the name of the different quarters.
Today different ethnic group cohabit in a complexe mixture in hundreds of quarters that spread in and beyond the city. The main spoken languages beside English and French, both official, are Fulfulde, Giziga, Mundang, Tupuri, Massa, Mandara, Mofu, Mafa and many others.
