The Yamba people believe they originated from Kimi (the present day Bankim in Adamawa Region of Cameroon). Early researchers have all acknowledged this origin stating ‘that the Yamba people originally came from around Kimi, where the Tikari language is presently spoken. This ancestry is generally attested by people in the land. Oral sources claim that the Yamba were the last of the Tikar groups to leave Kimi after other larger groups like the Nso, Kom, Mbum, among other groups had earlier left because of the threats from Moslem Jihadists led by Uthman Dan Fodiothat almost led to the extermination of the group. They claim each of the 17 villages are remnants of larger linguistic groups. It is clear that the movement from Kimi was in different waves over the years before each settled in different village locations throughout the area (Scruggs (1980:3).
Furthermore, the Mbem people seem to have been the first people to arrive the present day Yamba area where they met other groups which they chased out. The pressure on the land increased with the arrival of many more groups. Before finally settling in the area, each of the groups went through rough moments as they faced resistance from other groups on their way. Some of the groups wondered as far as Ntem, Ndu, and Nigeria before arriving their final destination. The Mbem, Sigom, Mfe, Rom and part of Gom went through Ntem, to Ndu before getting in the present site while others like the Ngung, Sih, Mfe, Bom, and Kwak settled in several places in the land before choosing a final settlement abode. Another wave of migration to the area was the Ntong, Saam, Nyang, Ntim, and Yang that arrived the area after passing through Nigeria. Evidence of this movement is the presence of the speakers of some of the dialects in Nigeria
Saam falls within this group with a majority of their speakers who remained in Nigeria. Some of the people settled in the Mbaw plain and are considered to be part of either the Tikari or the Mambila group although they speak Yamba dialects. It is important to note that the variants of Yamba they speak has greatly been influenced by the Tikar and Mambila languages. This group includes the Gamfe, Jato and Nking.
Oral tradition holds that a number of inter-village wars were fought between the villages and the Mbem defeated a number of her neighbours (Nwa, Mfe, Rom, Sigom, Bom and Ntem in the Mbaw plain) except Gom that put up a strong resistance with the help Ngugng each time Mbem attempted to fight them but the Mbem failed to establish their hegemony over their defeated neighbours. Other inter-village wars included but not limited to Ngung and Ntong, Ngung and Lus (a village in Mfumte). (Talah, 2018)
