Government Officials in Cameroon and the Eseka Train Derailment: Lessons Learnt.

Black Friday
Events that propelled Cameroon to the international stage last weekend (October 21^st and 22^nd 2016) is an eloquent evidence of the deprave state of management of public affairs in Cameroon. As often said, it never rains, but it pours. Maybe on Friday October 21^st after the heavy rains that night, it also decided to pour. 
A bridge at Manyai a locality in the Nyong and Kelle division of the centre region collapse thereby cutting the road into two. Circulation came to an abrupt stop. Passengers Cars, Lorries and goods could no longer make their way either into or out of Yaoundé and Douala. Cameroons’ most busy road and central Africa’s principal economic road has brought misery to businessmen and road users. 

A country where bad governance could be seen even on the president’s face had to concoct means to go around this malaise. This highway breakdown happened at about 1:00am in the night of Thursday breaking Friday, but it was only until hours later that a crises meeting was chaired and some ridiculously thoughtless decisions were taken by transport minister. Meanwhile the Public works minister was first on the scene and with dexterity ordered a makeshift bridge. His efforts were commendable. But where was the Engineering Unit of the Military (Genie Militaire)? It was embarrassing to see some other engineers do this Job when we have a Military Engineering Unit. In poorer countries like Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, and Senegal, temporary bridges have been constructed for less than 8 hours by the Genie Militaire.

Origin of Crises
Left with little or no options; and given that Camair-Co had only 2 planes that were Airworthy and operational, it became incumbent for the government to decipher a handy solution. That was time enough and an opportunity for Mebe Ngoh to bring his military type administration into practice. Straight to Camrail “Carry as many passenger as you can, add any available coach”. Any layman at this point will acclaim the minister, but underneath, it was very apparent that the decision was not only wrong, but also imprudent. 

Transport in General (Air, Land-Rail and Road, Maritime) have some standards to adhere to and the worthiness of the Equipment used is primordial. In this case, neither the Rails nor the Coaches were in a good technical state. But the minister Didn't really care much. The train finally took off for Douala from Yaounde and the rest is history. 

False Alert and Curiosity.
News that that train had derailed even before it happened was indicative of the fact that, the locomotive engineer/train driver knew it was going to happen and called his colleagues not to go behind. They all knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. And again, the minister’s interview that was recorded at 11:00am before the derailment was played during the 1:00pm news on CRTV just minutes after the derailment. What a moment of reckoning. Cameroonians heard their transport minister saying there is no derailment and a few minutes on, the same CRTV announces a derailment-Curious isn’t it.

Images of the Train Accident at Eseka

Emergency Strikes 

The heartbreak is on, the worst case scenario is true, shit has hit the fan and everybody has to act and act quickly. So then an helicopter to #Eseka is ideal to take four government officials (Transport, Health, Social Affairs, Secretary of state for national Gendarmerie) with Cameramen and Journalist. In an Emergency situation, in a town where health care is rudimentary at best; where there are little or no ambulances; the hospital is old, understaffed, under equipped etc, the basic logic would have been to go with some First Aid workers, Emergency Equipment and Facilities. Surprisingly our top notch ministers from Yaoundé didn’t see it crucial. Emergency Response Planning is a coordinated set of activities first aimed at saving lives, rehabilitating and assisting survivors and effective communication. None of these looked like a priority of the mission to #Esseka. We were later told that by 4:00pm, the Prime minister held a crises meeting with respect to that. If this isn’t a disgrace, it’s an insult to Cameroonians. (http://www.cameroonweb.com/CameroonHomePage/NewsArchive/Le-drame-d-Es-ka-n-tait-pas-in-vitable-Protais-Ayangma-392447). 

Lessons

1.  The response from the local population of Eseka was remarkable and worthy of a “Thank You”. Their involvement in lifesaving gestures were overwhelmingly virtuous.
2. Cameroon is a recreational country for its leaders. Nobody takes responsibilities for any action even in horrendous situations like this. Accountability is none existent.
3. President Biya once again took Cameroonians for granted. He signed a presidential decree Saturday declaring Monday a national day of mourning while out of the country, yet it was written below “Signed in Yaoundé”.
4. Our Political parties again failed us. No official communique from any major opposition party except CPP of Kah. Not even the UPC where the accident occurred in the stronghold.
5. President Paul Biya was as of Friday 21^st of October away for 35 days. Nobody questioned his where about and what he was doing. He returned Sunday with his darling wife dressed in an outfit whose colour doesn’t symbolise mourning-At least for my eyes.
6. President Paul Biya declared Monday 24^th a National day of mourning in Cameroon. Neither was he in Church, at the crash site, wore black nor even made a speech-Special isn’t it?
7. The self-important Transport boss of Cameroon should have taken his due responsibility and leave the stage-Resign.
8. Cameroonians have shown their Collective Resignation and lack of action again. A lot of happenings have gone unchecked by the population. Between Douala and Nkongsamba in the Mungo division, over 200 people have died since January 2016, issues at public hospitals in Douala and Yaoundé of negligence have all been quite.

Conclusion

We can make-believe as much as we want, But  Fru Ndi, Kah Wala, Kamto, Makak, Sousthene Fouda, Jean Jaque Ekindi, Anicet Ekane etc, cannot change Cameroon. First, the main and strongest opposition party in Cameroon (SDF-By numerical data) is too far away from the epicentre of power. Secondly, the SDF enjoys and appreciates their second political party status in Cameroon which is a design of President Paul Biya. Thirdly, their chairman is old and feeble and lastly, both Biya and Fru are fighting to be considered the architects of peace in Cameroon. 

As posited in Africa's Crisis of Governance By Tunde Obadina, An underlying cause of many of the manifestations of bad governance, including political repression, corruption and ethnic sectarianism, is the endeavour by the ruling classes to be and remain part of the global elite despite their nation's poverty. Africa's tragedy is not that its nations are poor. The tragedy is that it lacks ruling classes that are committed to overcoming the state of poverty. Real politics here has little to do with social and economic reconstruction.

Like Martin Luther King Jnr also said in 1955 during The Montgomery Bus Boycott: there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression. There comes a time, my friends, when people get tired of being plunged across the abyss of humiliation, where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair. There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life's July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November. There comes a time. Cameroon may and should immediately revert the sequence of mishaps, without which-there will come a time. And unless and otherwise the ruling class becomes accountable to the people-There would be that time.

Moses Ngwanah.