Gov't donates to lake Nyos victims

The Governor of the Northwest Region Adolf Lele L’Afrique, on August 25, donated gifts to the victims of the Lake Nyos disaster of Buabua and Kimbi Villages in Boyo Division.

The gifts included; materials and financial assistance worth FCFA 33 million to over 15,000 survivors of the Lake Nyos disaster that occurred in 1986 and killed thousands, including those of Buabua and Kimbi camps in Boyo Division.

Philip Gwe Chia, the Mayor of Bum Council with headquarters in Fonfuka, enumerated a series of problems faced by the resettled population; such as enclavement, the lack of hospitals, absence of drinkable water and electricity, farmer/grazer conflicts, lack of enough classrooms and teachers for the seven primary schools and two secondary schools existing in Buabua.

The spokespersons for the Lake Nyos survivors disclosed that their lives were threatened by the Fang and Fungoh people over the resettlement area.

In response, the Governor told the population that the administration will resolve problems within its competence and will forward other concerns to the appropriate quarters. Governor Lele assured the people of the presence of security around Lake Nyos.

He said the gifts are for the victims to take care of their health, stressing that there will be no preferential treatment. He equally asserted that, with the rapid degassing of the Killer Lake, “Nyos is now comfortable for resettlement and I call on all the victims to resettle there”, he stated.

The Director of Civil Protection, Jean Pierre Nnana, said Lake Nyos has four components which are, the reinstallation of the population and reinforcement of security, environmental protection and development of infrastructure. He said the projects are presently going on and will soon be completed, depending on the contractors.

The Senior Divisional Officer for Boyo, Joseph Oum ??, said there are 1,002 students, 1,464 pupils and 239 households in the area that are supposed to benefit from the gifts.

Talking to The Post, the General Manager of Civil Protection, Dr. Joseph Victor Hell, earlier on during the commemoration of the anniversary of Lake Nyos, said, about 85 percent of gas in the Lake has been removed and the degree of fear around this environment has been reduced.

“But I am not saying that it is completely safe”, he said. He equally asserted that; “We are putting in all the efforts to see that all the gas in this Lake is removed and there should be no fear of any explosion from the Lake.