Eseka train accident: Kah Walla puts Biya's regime on blast

The following is an official statement posted by the president of the Cameroon People's Party, Kah Walla...

It is with tears in our eyes and with profound grief in our hearts that we address sincere condolences to the families and friends of all those who lost their lives today in the train accident at Eseka.

The Cameroon People’s Party grieves with you. We grieve for the loved ones you have lost, we grieve for the senselessness of their deaths, and we grieve for ourselves as a nation that can no longer ensure the basic safety of its citizens.

To those who are wounded and in pain, the Cameroon People’s Party sends you thoughts and prayers for courage, healing and strength. Our entire nation is with you at this difficult moment and it is our sincere hope that each and every one who is affected will find their health and vitality restored.

To the rest of our fellow citizens, the CPP raises its voice to ask of you solidarity and action. Now is the time when we must stand for our nation. Now is the time when we must define what it means to be Cameroonian. Every woman, man and child who was wounded or died in that accident is our sister, brother, child and compatriot!

Cameroonians, let us Stand up! Let us stand up for our families, let us stand up for our children, let us stand up for Cameroon! It is enough. How many people must die? How many must be wounded? How many are we going to sacrifice at the altar of our government’s incompetence?

Hundreds have died in Cameroon this year alone, simply trying to get from one part of the country to the other. Hundreds have been wounded, maimed. We cannot as citizens of this beloved country allow this to continue! It is you and I, our children, our families and our friends who are in danger. There is no question that we have lost dozens of Cameroonian lives today because:

- The current regime is unable to provide basic, safe and secure transportation services to its citizens between its two largest cities.

- Cameroonians pay billions of francs CFA in road tolls and taxes which have been used to create road funds and other facilities. Despite this, the regime is unable to carry out basic maintenance and upkeep, let alone upgrade of our roads to guarantee our safety.

- The officials of this regime whose salaries are paid for by you and I will always seek to protect themselves and their power rather than our well-being.

* The Minister of Transport, who should have been conducting emergency response since the early hours of this morning when the road collapsed was either uninformed or lying when he denied the derailing of the train after it had occurred.

* Ministers managed to find a helicopter to transport them to the site, but no helicopter to transport the wounded or the dead.

In a crisis situation, the regime has absolutely no emergency response system.

The overflow of passengers at the train station today was predictable, due to the collapse of the Douala-Yaoundé road. No system was put into place to manage it.

Risks appear to have been taken to board almost double the number of passengers the train usually carries. A private, profit-making corporation was left on its own to manage this crisis. As a result over 50 Cameroonians are dead and over 500 have suffered injuries.

Once the accident occurred, the complete lack of emergency health services in our country was once again most painfully brought to light. No ambulances, no emergency response teams, no one.

As Cameroonian citizens today, we have no one. No functional government that in any way protects our rights and well-being as citizens. We do not need another death. We do not need another crisis. We do not need any further proof that this government has reached the end of its abilities and possibilities.

The Cameroon People’s Party is asking YOU as a Cameroonian to stand up! Stand up and let us take control of our welfare as citizens and our future as a nation. We can only count on ourselves and we will have only ourselves to blame if we do not stand up now.

As a member of the Stand up for Cameroon movement, the Cameroon People’s Party will be joining other political parties and civil society organizations to take action with regard to this train accident in particular and the state of our nation in general.

We ask you to join us. Join us to say enough is enough and to take action that will transition our country to a new system of governance.

It is important to sound the alarm on Facebook and on Twitter. It is important to write newspaper articles, it is important that we talk with our friends and console one another in our families.

However, it is time to follow talk with action. It is time to take action as a citizen, to take responsibility as a Cameroonian. We must refuse to keep dying as a people. We must choose life.

Join us at the Stand Up For Cameroon movement as we organize and prepare for legal and protest action. We will be demanding:

1. That the rights to emergency services and healthcare of those who were wounded in this accident be respected. That the families of those who have lost their lives receive all they are due.

2. Basic services for Cameroonians: water, electricity, healthcare, Safe and secure roads and more.

3. Political transition for Cameroon. It is time for a new political system for our country.

If these are your objectives for our country, do not let these Cameroonians die for nothing. Take action today. Call 694 693 463 or send an email to standupforcameroon@gmail.com to join those who are standing up for Cameroun.

The Stand Up For Cameroon movement will be communicating specific actions for Cameroonians to take within Cameroon and outside of Cameroon to protest this complete lack of responsibility for our safety and security as citizens that our government continues to demonstrate; as well as to take the first steps in taking the destiny of our country into our own hands.

The Time is now !!!

Kah Walla