Lessons for Cameroon from the Japanese Earthquake: Cue from Kah Walla

Japan suffered one of the worst natural disasters ever documented in human history on the 11th of March 2011. As the extent of the human and material loss mounted, a very different narrative emerged, it was the story of the Japanese people and their dignity in the face of massive loss.

The magnitude 9 earthquake that occurred off the coast of northeast Japan unleashed a killer Tsunami.Whole villages and waterfront communities were swept into the sea. The death toll now stands at 4300 on the 16th of March 2011, and is still rising.

The incredible story of the resilience of the Japanese people starts with the earthquake itself. As it shook structures like toy fixtures in a playground, you could see no one panicking. In shops, workers tried hard to hold on to shelves so that customers do not get hurt. No one ran outside, presumable aware after years of drills that it may be more dangerous outside in a city during an earthquake. Objects may fall from street signs or balconies and shatter a human skull.



Next came the story being reported in some of the hardest hit areas. These are stories of people in shelters, who have nothing to hang unto, but when supplies arrive at their location, calmly form lines to get food and water. There is no scramble, there is no rush, there is no shoving, there is no fighting, just human beings recognizing their predicament and lifting each other in a way that their cumulative strength shows the power of a united community and country.

Further down the line, there is the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor. In the aftermath of the earthquake, power was lost in vast swaths of Northeastern Japan. This particular reactor is about 140 miles north of the capital city of Tokyo. There are multiple redundancies in nuclear reactors due to the dangers inherent in the radioctivity of the fuel used in the reactor core. In the absence of grid power, the systems are designed such that a backup generator fires up and keeps the plant going. If that also fails, then there are banks of batteries that will still keep the plant running for a few hours, buying time for grid power or the generators to come back online. Those are three layers of protection, each one meticulously maintained with surgical precision.



As fate would have it, two of those layers of redudancy failed, leaving the nuclear reactor to have its vital systems run on batteries. They could last only so long, and when they got depleted, and chain of events led to the nuclear reactor at Fukushima overheating, and a series of explosions ensued. What happened next is simply extraordinary.


Knowing full well that there background radiation levels were very high and unsafe for humans, workers returned to the nuclear power plant to avert further leakage of radioactive material into the environment. Their action prevented a nuclear meltdown as was the case in Chernobyl in April 1986. While the United States issued an advisory for its citizens in Japan to give a 50 mile radius berth to Fukushima, Japanese scientists headed into the belly of the beast - the site of the reactor- to contain the damage.




A reporter for NPR in the United States reported that vending machines were strewn everywhere, in streets, on lawns, in bushes, but no one had broken into them under the pretext of getting much needed water or other supplies. It is a very humbling story of human restraint, discipline, and selflessness from the people who brought us the Toyota Prius, and the Wii. It is one we all stand to learn from.




So what lessons can we draw from this picture of Japan under crises. Let's start by having a cursory look at recent event in Cameroon. The oil-rich nation has had the same ruler since 1975. That was when Paul Biya became Prime Minister of the country, and later president in 1982. So, for 36 years, the country has had the same ruler which gives us a basis to evaluate his achievements. Youth organizer and pro democracy advocate Kah Walla did just that and found that the plight of the average Cameroonian is much worse compared to when Biya became head of government.




Furthermore,the world has changed drastically since 1975, and a leader who never visits with the people he rules will no doubt never care about their plight. Observers noted Mr Biya is more frequent in his Lakeside home in Geneva than in Cholera ravaged Bafoussam or Maroua.



Extra judicial killings of innocent Cameroonians like the "Bepanda Nine" and of investigative journalist Bibi Ngota highlighted the dangers of speaking your mind under Biya's regime. These roadblocks didn't deter Kah Walla, who is the first ever female presidential candidate in Cameroon. She felt things had come to a head and someone had to stand up to Paul Biya who was holding back development of the country and the emancipation of women along with failing to stop female genital mutilation, in a bid to tighten his stranglehold on power.

On February 23rd 2011, something marvelous happened in Cameroon. Kowing full well they were exposing themselves to thugs and live amunition, Kah Walla and some Cameroonians of good will on that day decided to face Biya. It was a small action, but the repercussion will one day come to haunt Paul and Chantal Biya, and they unleashed their thugs who mercilessly brutalized the youths and Kah Walla.



Where a dictator is glorified, such as when the national squad wins a soccer tournament, tons of money is invested and the best manpower, in this case a French coach is brought in. But the people need infrastructural development. It can be argued that bringing in an expatriate to run the country, even for two years will see a vast improvement in the quality of life of Cameroonians. If it works in soccer, then it should work in administration.


It is a shame the action of Kah Walla failed to gain traction, but with Hon Ayah Paul Abine, Louis Tobie Mbida, Jean Jacques Ekindi, Chief Mila Assoute and other opposition figures coming together, Cameroonians may just be able to stand a chance when presidential elections come up this year. The discredited opposition should be thrown into the dustbin of history, an be very quickly forgotten. They are in league with Biya and his thugs.


Looking at the level of discourse in some Cameroonian fora, it is clear the nation still has a very very long way to go. Hopefully Paul Biya would NOT be making this journey with Cameroonians whom he abandoned and despoilt of their glorious future.

Cameroonians will take a lesson from the Japanese. Kah Walla O Bosso!