By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda
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| Lake Nyos |
The gifts which comprised mainly of foodstuff, sanitary kits and back to school material were handed recently by North West Governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique accompanied by the Director of Civil Protection in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization Jean Pierre Nana.
The donation included FCFA 1.5 million meant for school fees of needy pupils and students, 1,150 textbooks and dictionaries, 4,000 pens and pencils, 8,000 exercise books, 350 school bags, 350 mathematics sets, 300 bags of rice, beans, salt, 60000 boxes of savon,100 mattresses and 100 blankets for aged persons among others.
Speaking on behalf of survivors, Ban Michael and Ngong Courage stated that: “We appreciate President Biya for numerous gifts that rekindle our hopes. We salute the Head of State for standing by us in our educational endeavours by paying our school fees. There will be no more frequent school fee drives.”
Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique also recorded the concerns and worries of survivors and instructed the SDO of Boyo Division to forward to hierarchy, names of elite who could be empowered to serve the nation in decision-making positions. He revealed the actions of the government and international partners to improve the lives of survivors and accelerate the process of their return to the land of their ancestors.
About disaster
At around 9 :00 pm on August 21, 1986, a limnic eruption occurred at Lake Nyos which triggered the sudden release of about 100,000 - 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulphide, or cyanide gas; this cloud rose at nearly 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).
The gas spilled over the northern lip of the lake into a valley running roughly east-west from Cha to Subum, and then rushed down two valleys branching off it to the north, displacing all the air and suffocating some 1,700 people within 25 kilometres (16 mi) of the lake, mostly rural villagers, as well as 3,500 livestock.
The worst affected villages were Cha, Nyos, and Subum. Scientists concluded from evidence that a 100 m (330 ft) fountain of water and foam formed at the surface of the lake. The huge amount of water rising suddenly caused much turbulence in the water, spawning a wave of at least 25 metres (82 ft) that would scour the shore of one side.
Following the eruption, many survivors were treated at the main hospital in Yaoundé, the country's capital. It was believed that many of the victims had been poisoned by a mixture of gases including hydrogen and sulfur gases. Poisoning by these gases would lead to burning pains in the eyes and nose, coughing and signs of asphyxiation similar to being strangled. Following the disaster, the lake was dubbed the "Deadliest lake" by Guinness World Records in 2008.
American, Israeli, and French teams of geologists who carried out an on-the-spot survey of the disaster did not rule out the possibility of Lake Nyos erupting again.
The first of such disaster occurred in 1984, when Lake Mounoum, erupted, emitting cyanide gas which killed thirty-seven people. In the Northwest region of Cameroun, there are twenty of such volcanic lakes capable of emitting these toxic gases.
A Survivor's Testimony
Perhaps one of the best testimonies of the event is contained in a jeremiad dated August 21, 2002, and written by one Johnson Nkwain, a survivor.
According to the author, he and his nine-year-old daughter, a Class Five pupil then, were at home reading when he heard the thunder-like explosion. He thought rain was about to fall and prepared to go out and collect rain water.
Suddenly, he sniffed some odour that smelt like gunpowder. He and his daughter went to bed and covered themselves with blankets. But the smell became unbearable. He got up to check his daughter but was overcome by the poison gas. He lost consciousness, vomited and remained on the floor till 9:00 am the following day when he was awakened by a loud knock. By then his daughter was dead.
The jeremiad, in which Nyos is personified as a powerful and wicked god, ends with a series of questions: Are the Cameroonian authorities sure that the survivors will live for the next 10 years?
Apart from the foreign aid, what has Cameroon done for the survivors? How far are they sure that those settled in camps are really those who survived? What of the abandoned houses, property, etc, any compensation?
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