A Bamenda Date with Destiny (Part 2): Calleth the Scared Lion Man, Cometh the Jilted Yes! Men

Louis Egbe Mbua

When a man begins to have illusions as being constituted of a lion incarnate, there are great chances that his animal instincts and spirit may begin to transform from that of humanity into that of a deluded and encapsulated lion skin. That man or woman -- whoever he is and wherever they abode -- starts having bouts of behavioural traits profoundly similar to a man living in the wild untamed savannah of Africa where animals consume other animals for food in the wildest anticipation and the most ferocious hunts.

The trouble with man is that he consumes similar animals; and goes further to consume his own type with unpredictably disastrous consequences. The reason for this strange phenomenon in human beings may be attributed to intuitive survival on the one hand, and corruption of the mind in the immediate instance. In a system where this philosophy of animalism is entrenched – and practised without Ndolo l’Amour, people begin to copy the original lion, joining him to the feast; on the exultingly flowery pretext of dancing for survival in the ballet of greed. But in the real sense, it is a matter of the corruption of the flesh: for only through the flesh can a man be destroyed.

The oppressor having sensed victory, avoids the main complaint -- out of fear -- co-opts another perceived strong man who will do his bidding; and the cycle of oppression continues unabated for yet a very long time until a bold David arrives to attack the bullying and deluded lion as to snatch the sheep from the jaws of the cunning and ruthless beast. This and only this alone, will end the feast of “The slaughter of the lamb” and "The Silence of the Lamb" terrifying movie show.

 Since President Paul Biya of the Republic of Cameroon took over from Ahdijo, the Bamenda region of Cameroon, and in fact a vast majority of Anglophone Cameroon has been deliberately underdeveloped despite its huge natural and human resource potential that may benefit the entire country. Roads in Bamenda and other parts of the territory have been neglected to rut. Promises, since 1984/1985 (25 years ago) of roads that would link the entire region have evaporated into thin air. The much heralded Bamenda airport has been converted into a military base. Paul Biya’s recently completed military visit has now fully confirmed the diabolical objectives of the Republic of Cameroon – namely to occupy Southern Cameroons by force – an illegal act with far reaching consequences in case the citizens decide to rise up to challenge this military jackboots who appear now to be in some kind of freebie to terrorise, brutalise and obstruct the peace of the region. It is now clear what the objectives of Paul Biya is: to cut off this region from its coastal counterpart by usurpation and deceit with some kind of economic bribe, and as such weaken the Anglophone ability to challenge his 30 year failed policy of misrule, mismanagement and gargantuan folly.

Paul Biya may believe that he will quell descent by terror, bribe and force. But he may be only sowing the seeds of instability, physical confrontation and his own downfall; for the place of nemesis is usually hidden; where one may believe there is a threat may not turn out to be the case.  There are reports that there was a facelift undertaken in Bamenda to prepare for his visit; and that this counts as development in some quarters. This is extremely foolish. Bamenda is just one out of dozens of heavily populated cities and towns in the region: there is Wum, Nyos (remember the forgetten 2000), Nso, Nkambe, Jakiri and other towns and villages who have not been touched by the least development for almost thirty years. More poignantly, thousands of indigenous natives and Cameroonian activists – and innocent people -- have been shot and killed in various parts of this region by the Republic of Cameroon forces. Others have died in prison and other terrible circumstances due to inhuman treatment and poor prison conditions – denied health care, food and exposed to brutal treatments such as beatings. To be shedding crocodile tears by the Biya men is not only dishonest but a complete waste of life-giving water. In this light, Paul Biya’s visit had been a poignant reminder of the terrible sufferings of the people rather than a triumphant entry into Jerusalem as some quarters have misguidedly portrayed. Has the blood of all those killed been sacrificed for cheap promises? Blood is unforgiving to those who betray the cause for power and bribes; for it is blood that gives life. Thus, a betrayed soul is tantamount to selling a people to a slave trader.

The Southern Cameroons (Anglophone) Elite Hypocrisy

The Southern Cameroons decolonisation case is unique. It is one of those rare cases where elites who mattered at the time of independence actually aided the capture of their own territory and subject their own people to servitude. This writer does not want to belabour the reader with historical material that substantiates this bold statement; for that is effectively confined to the past. However, to visualise the future and to prevent such wanton waste of a peoples’ future, this writer will revisit this argument of immense importance. While the visit of a de facto President is not a bad idea, it is madness to aid a President in his pretentious visit aimed at cementing the dismal future of an already subjugated people. While it may be right for a politician to support their party Chairman, in this case, Paul Biya of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), it becomes a sham if the elite of that party offers to contribute funds, and appear to deceive the common man to part with his meagre income to support the illegal visit of a frightened President who lacked the legitimacy to rule in that particular territory.

The elite of this region of Cameroon continue to trumpet their support for such a visit and as a result abet the colonisation of their own people. The reasons for their actions are clear – to be seen as “patriotic Cameroonians”. In this conjecture, there is a problem because it is not possible to be patriotic when one is first not accountable to his people; and that decades of neglect have left the people desolate, desperate and desponding. The supposed opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), with its political base in Bamenda, could not garner enough muscle to point to the problematic scores of the visit – that the President of The Republic of Cameroon – has the obligation to first sort out the Southern Cameroons vs La Republique du Cameroun problem as recommended by the international community.

The SDF Chairman of the Northwest Region, Mr Henri Kum, captured the myopia succinctly as reported by the Post newspaper before the doomed visit:

"Funeral celebrations have been cancelled, meetings postponed, weddings postponed, the population harassed and even all other traditional and cultural calendars severely altered. We think that the North westerners need an apology and reasons for the postponement of this visit." He said Cameroon being a country of law, it is but normal for the citizens to know what the managers of the nation are doing.”

"This quite arrogance on the part of the powers that be is not manifest only in this failed visit, but also on the issues concerning elections.”

Good observation. While the visit took place with much pomp and circumstance; and hailed as a “resounding success”, Mr. Henri Kum’s statement above captures how Cameroon is run; a system where leaders retrench into policies and decisions on the hoof; and with enormous cost to the unsuspecting population.

Meanwhile Chris Mbunwe of the Post Newspaper, Friday, December 03, 2010, wrote:

“The SDF party has said the people of the Northwest who have not relented an inch, making frantic efforts and enormous sacrifices to receive President Paul Biya in Bamenda deserve an apology from him for the failed visit that was initially announced by the Minister of to take place from November 29-30."

Well, Paul Biya never apologised; and will not apologise again if he fails to meet any future promises he ushered in Bamenda because nobody has actually questioned him to give an account of any of his obdurate failures. Nobody apologises to those who easily forget the wrongs they have been subjected to; and nobody takes seriously those who are easily swayed by sweet talk and artificial honey. Only natural honey tastes sweet to the tongue. What usher long life is natural; but that which comes in superficiality only hastens death. Like a bee that carries an invisible sting, so too is the man who promises honey but brings in weapons of destruction in the darker recesses of the night. He who does not see the ruse is already dead.

Again, what made him [Mr. Henry Kum] believed that he is respected; and does he actually believe that Paul Biya’s coming there was proper and legal with the present system of things in Cameroon? And why did he not understand the problems associated with such a military visit? From the pronouncement above, he appeared to have been lost as to why Paul Biya wanted to visit Bamenda and the North-West Region. If leaders do not have a vision and foresight, are not far-sighted, is it a surprise that the people have been led from one dungeon to yet another worse one? Does or did he wish for a military occupation of Bamenda? Mr. Kum and his SDF opposition should look far into the future before committing the people to terror, servitude and poverty by men who have little interests in the development of their territory but the usurpation of ancient powers and institutions.

As usual with the Anglophone elite, they at first maintained a strange silence. And then they went into a kind of mild attack as regards the lack of electoral commission in the so-called forth coming elections. That is not the point. While it is reasonable to challenge an incumbent, they got lost on the significance of the visit. As the Anglophone elite are more pre-occupied with their position in the now discredited Union of the two states, they prefer to fight for sour left-overs than to fight for their own self-determination. The results are that Anglophone politicians struggling to maintain a discredited the status quo prefers to please the majority Francophone elite than their own constituencies, to ignore the pleas of their long-suffering masses and join the gravy train to loot and terrorise. 

This has been the lot of the Southern Cameroons masses since 1961. Those who were put in position to represent the interests of their people turn around and fight against the interests of their own electoral college in favour of The Republic of Cameroon. Those who call for Life Presidency of a President who has largely ignored their concerns, spat at their faces time and time again, underdeveloped their territory for 30 – 50 years are mostly Anglophone elite in cahoots with the oppressor. They waver from one ridiculous political position to the other; they adamantly refuse to discuss the very serious Southern Cameroons problem but offer superficial solutions that have nothing to do with the original solutions by the UN in 1961 and which have been abused for almost fifty years – The Federation of two independent states. The psyche of Anglophone elite hypocrisy cannot be easily wished away or dismissed as that of a bunch of selfish individuals. This writer believes there are multi-faceted reasons for this alien and unreasonable approach to their own problems – cowardice and folly.

Devastation in Japan 1: Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Nuclear Explosions

Nuclear Explosion in Japan After  the Earthquake and Tsunami:  From mirror.co.uk

Louis Egbe Mbua*

In the realm of the functioning of the universe, man has no direct control. On natural disasters, when the universe choose to renew itself we have actually no say at all. On the other hand, man has the ability to create what is good for him – and what can actually destroy him. No scenario exposes the vulnerability and the sheer helplessness of man as to when the natural and the artificial embrace in a deadly love-hate match made from the depths of the earth. The earth is a mysterious planet. From above its firmament come light and energy – all of its light and energy from the sun. Again, there is no guarantee that this energy and light would always be beneficial. It can -- dependent upon other circumstances that one may not be able to fully explain and the sparsely known cosmological cycles -- turn against the earth and its components in inexplicably savage rage.

Solar flares can burn up and blanket- strip huge areas of and through the stratospheres to alter the earth’s magnetic field at the poles and disable the electrical systems of an entire nation that may have the misfortune to be on its flaring line of action. From the depths of the earth comes benevolence – food, vegetation and everything green, precious metals, heat, solid, liquid and gaseous fuels that power our civilisation, catapulting the entire humankind into untold wonders: including breaking through the space barrier and challenging the natural speed of sound and light with our technological explorations and aircraft escapades.

Strange! The same earth, at its inner core, is also a deadly enemy to human and its own existence. Seismic and geological shifts in its strata, pressurised magma at its core and violently active volcanic mountainous giants that dwell in the depths of the Oceans can blow their capped tops without warning. When nature decides to strike back, we start philosophising as to the exact reason for human life, why we live on earth and who is actually in control – man, nature or supernatural forces. In an attempt to harness and make sense of man’s elusively explained habitation on the planet, we have applied our creativity to construct, design and build what we have come to mimic the sun, the giver of life and energy.

Which brings us to the question: If the awesome power of the natural sun cannot be tamed by man, can man control a nuclear catastrophe that was brought into being by an earthquake that, in turn, triggered a Tsunami; that overwhelmed an Island and damaged the man made “sun”? Who is stronger – nature or man? And can man accelerate his own self-destruction -- foolishly? Can the earth destroy itself on all three counts of uncontrollable natural disasters in Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Nuclear explosions? Are we doomed since the days of Einstein and his General and Special Theory of Relativity? Or are we doomed by just nature itself?

Friday March 11 was a memorably apocalyptic and very sad day for the land of the Rising Sun! Poetic indeed! and the people of the Earth. About a month earlier, an Earthquake had struck in Christchurch, New Zealand, which lies in the “line of fire” – the earth quake zone in the Pacific realm – and which includes Japan. Although there were casualties and deaths, it was not very clear as to whether this natural disaster would spread to other areas perched perilously in the Pacific. The earthquake, one of the most powerful in Japan’s history, struck causing a ripple of water that waved to the height of a 4 story building, flattening whole towns that disappeared in an instant. Watching the shocking nightmare scenario may not show the exact reflection of the force involved until we understand the power carried by the sea wave that invaded North Eastern Japan with untold devastating effects with human suffering in tow. To get a closer picture of this epic deluge, the force required to exact the earthquake is equal to the force of water transferred to the sea by the earthquake and which subsequently was dissipated as it ploughs through the land consummating all on its deadly path.

Ancient Wisdom

The ancients were more versed with the raging oceans. When humans began building large cities, with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, their acute wisdom and intuition directed them into the hinterland. From Thebes (Luxor) in ancient Egypt to Timbuktu in present day Mali, they established their cities and administrative capitals in the middle of their respective nations. Even Rome and Paris were and are not coastline cities. Although ancient Carthage was founded in the coastal regions of northern Africa, this could be attributed but to the barrier of the unforgiving and inhospitable Sahara desert.

When Alexander the Great from Macedonia founded Alexandra at about 300 BC in Egypt, he possibly never thought of earthquakes. However, recent anthropological research has revealed that the famous Lighthouse of Alexandra built by Cleopatra, one of the ancient wonders of the world was destroyed by an earthquake. Deep sea divers are today unearthing ancient monuments that were destroyed by this earthquake. While times have changed, and modern methods of building take into consideration the earthquake factor, it is only reasonable to believe that a coastal city is more prone to annihilation when the thunder of an earthquake is registered within destructive distances within the sea bed from populated coastal settlements and civilisation. Thus, ancient monuments and hence civilisation are more likely to survive and preserved, albeit possibly damaged in cases of natural disasters, when they are located miles from the coastline than within the confines of the sea boundaries.

This week’s devastating earthquake that almost brought down high-tech superpower Japan should now be brought into the debate. Japan, an Island, is more vulnerable to destruction by earthquake and a possible resultant Tsunami. The explosions at the Fukushima nuclear facility due to the earthquake and Tsunami could therefore not be prevented. Designs that include safety factors with an earthquake-proof concept in mind are ingenious but whether it is wise to locate a nuclear plant on the coast of an earthquake zone is another matter. However, an industrial nation needs power; and as Japan grew mightily in this respect, it logically follows that they will import nuclear technology.

Japan has an enviable record of technology transfer from already developed civilisations. Prior to World War 1, Japan sent out its students to Europe to learn, study meticulously, and import western technology to power her industrial and imperial ambitions. When the Chinese opposed Europe in their objective to colonise China in the nineteenth century, the Europeans, particularly the UK, devastated and bombarded China, seizing Hong Kong. This drama did not escape the keen eye of the Japanese. So, when the West arrived to Japan, the Japanese merely pretended to be in tandem with them. The unsuspecting Americans and Europeans were fooled! Thus they taught the Japanese the art of technology – building planes, ships, machine guns etc. Trade between the two counterparts boomed. It can, therefore, be inferred that Japan is no stranger to sophisticated technology; open to new and helpful ideas; and are not afraid to risk trying their able hands on new ones. This may provide a background as to why Japan became both an industrial superpower and a nuclear one to boot! 55 nuclear power stations all on its earthquake zone’s coast. To blame Japan for this location is to misunderstand how nuclear power technology works.

Technological Realities of a Nuclear Power Facility

Nuclear facilities are normally built near the coast or in riverine regions; reason being the availability of cooling water. There are possibilities of gas-cooled stations but this can be prohibitively expensive and technologically complicated. Abundant and accessible sea water is a more technologically and economically feasible natural facility. A nuclear reactor in action means that neutrons are used to bombard unstable radioactive elements such as uranium and plutonium pellets that take the form of fuel rods. This process results in the splitting of the atoms of these elements since they are unstable. Spitting requires that energy is released in the form of heat. At the same time, the striking of this atoms releases more neutrons which again strikes other atoms of the radioactive element to form a chain reaction and yet more heat and radiation. The temperature of the fuel rods can reach 1500 degree Celsius. Water contained in the nuclear reactor becomes superheated and turned into steam at very high pressure. The steam then powers a turbine that generates electricity. The water therefore is used to:

1 provide the power to make electricity

2. Cool down the fuel rods that carries the radioactive plutonium.

The second point on cooling is the most crucial. If the cooling system fails, as it did in the Japan case, then we may have what is called a nuclear melt-down. The fuel rods become overheated with the radioactive plutonium or uranium melting at the nuclear core through the protective re-enforced steel and concrete pressure vessel casing, thereby releasing dangerous radioactive material into the atmosphere that can kill or injure persons and animals instantaneously. Secondly, the pressure in the reactor becomes so large that the protective concrete wall gives way resulting into an explosion. Again, it is possible to release steam to reduce this enormous pressure. However, if the released steam has pressures that are greater than the safety limit on which the pressure vessel casings were designed, this, obviously, will also result to an explosion: again releasing radioactive material into the environment.

That has been the case with the Fukushima nuclear facility where three explosions have left the fuel rods exposed while the nuclear chain reaction might have continued with the possibility of a nuclear meltdown. Although there is shut down mechanism of the power plant to prevent nuclear reaction,, this cannot be guaranteed when the fuel rods are exposed and are not efficiently cooled with desalinated water. Moreover, the enormous temperatures may cause the water to disintegrate into its elements – Hydrogen and Oxygen making a fire more likely after the explosion or creating more pressures to trigger an explosion and fire. The danger is that the Pacific Ocean might have been contaminated by this unfortunate accident caused by the Earthquake and the Tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident. The problem is that rivers obtain their water from rain fall which in turn is obtained from the evaporation of the oceans. Is there the possibility of a nuclear rain after these nuclear explosions and possible melt-down in a nightmare scenario? That is the question for the next series.

*This writer extends his sympathy to the people of Japan; and that the entire world should take steps to bring this unfortunate and devastating incident under effective control by contributing resources in man, material and moral support.