AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
The Bodija Estate Residents Association, BERA has urged the government to, as a matter of urgency, unravel facts behind the Tuesday, January 16 explosion at Adeyi Avenue, Bodija, Ibadan.
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BERA also tasked the authorities on the need to be more proactive in its response to emergencies in a bid to averted grave consequences on the citizens.
The association made the calls during a press conference held, on Wednesday, at its emergency Face-to-face Consultative Forum meeting where issues such as damages, impact, and security matters resulting from the explosion, the ‘Smart Bodija Initiative’ and the operation ‘Know Your Neighbour’ were discussed.
The President of the association, Pastor Muyiwa Bamgbose, in an interview with journalists at the sidelines of the meeting held at Number 18, Arigidi Estate, Old Bodija, Ibadan, lamented the plights of those who were affected, saying that some people were displaced as their shelters had been destroyed by the blast.
On the number of casualties and those who are missing, Pastor Bamgbose said, “I am not in a position to be specific but between the ones that had been confirmed dead, there is one body unidentified, I am told. I think it’s now like eight or 10. We have brought the map of the streets to them (the emergency management team) in trying to account from house to house. That is how you can get an accurate figure.
“If someone was seen yesterday and you can’t find him today, then you need to get worried. I believe they are nearer 10 now.”
Asked if the affected members of the estate are paying for treatment at the hospital, he said, “A lot of people who can afford their hospital bills are paying. Some didn’t even go to the designated hospitals. They just treated themselves. I can tell you, some of the hospitals were initially treating people without recording; there were so many people. They just gave first aid, so the hospitals contributed. They treated people without asking for money. And some people that can afford it just treated themselves.”
Reacting to question on government’s intervention to the emergency, he said, “There isn’t proper organization. If you are a decent person and they tell you government is going to pay for your accommodation – God forbid, I am not likely going to walk into an hotel and say that I am told that I can stay here free of charge – I would rather have a paper in my hand that says I am assigned to this particular hotel.
“I am afraid that government may end up being shortchanged. How do you know those who stayed in the hotel? Yes, it was a chaotic situation but there should be some order and process. That is why some people would not wait for anybody. They just took care of themselves.”
On response to the tragedy, he noted that “This is the first time in Oyo State, we never had anything like this before. I must first and foremost appreciate the spirit of the government. The government is definitely concerned. There is a difference between will and ability. If you are willing, then ability can come in later. We know government that are not willing. The administration in Oyo State has shown a great deal of willingness.
“People worked overnight without sleeping. Even the Federal Government took the incident so seriously. The security apparatuses have all been rolled out with the National Emergency Management Agency working with the state agency. Everybody collaborated, but the effort seems still short of word ‘best.’ I think we need to learn from this experience, where have we failed? I was discussing with one of the people in Bodija on where the gaps are? What were the things that we didn’t do right that we can improve? We are not praying for another one to happen, but it may not be a blast but something else. Emergencies can occur. It could be flood or whatever. How do we respond to emergencies? I think we need to dust up best practices.”
Asked about the owner of the house where the explosives were kept, he said, “We can’t find anybody who says he is staying in that house from all records and that is an area of deficiency. We have taken it upon ourselves by rolling out an initiative called ‘Know Your Neighbour. Not just know who is staying there; know who is the owner of the house. Is there an agent involved in the house? If somebody is staying in the house, what does he do?
“If we had good record, it would have been easy to just punch in figures and say in this house, how many people are here? How many are young children, how many are elderly? That record does not exist right now, so it is difficult to say. People talked about some people running out of that house when the thing just started. Nobody knew whether they ran away or got caught up in the blast.
“Nobody has a good record of who they are, but definitely in the housing corporation, they have the record. But you won’t be surprised if the person who has the house had sold it and the person who bought it has not changed the ownership. These are the things that nobody is 100per cent certain about.”
Chief Dayo Morakinyo said on his way home on the faithful day, he branched to fetch something for his wife when the explosives rocked his neighborhood. His house was affected with his wife managing to come out of the rubbles that were left in the wake of the huge blast.
He said, “My gate went off, some things were destroyed. I cannot wait for government; I am a builder and I know that rain would start soon. I thank God that my wife is alive. We both slept in the car till the next morning.”
Giving an account of his experience, Taiwo Salami who lives at Number 30A, Dejo Iyiola Street, which is three houses away from the point of the blast, said, “We are extremely close (to the house where the explosives were kept). I wasn’t at home but my wife was around with my daughter. My wife was injured because the burglary flew out of the wall and hit her. She didn’t even know that she was bleeding on her leg.
“My daughter was on the bed, so the ceiling collapsed on her. She and my wife were stepping on broken glass. They went downstairs. When they got outside, the gate had been blown open and the car had been damaged, so they couldn’t drive. They went to the road looking for just anybody that could help. She was taken to the hospital. When I got home, I found complete chaos. Everything had been blown apart, security door, burglar proof, the ceiling, everything had come down. I was at Ring Road; I got a call from one of my businesses in Bodija saying that the glass of the building had all got shattered.
“The next call I got was from my daughter. I said hey, something is definitely up, so I started coming. Everybody is saying it was a dynamite, it was a bomb and whatever. But as they say, investigation is going on. One cannot preempt anything. Security teams would do their utmost best to unravel the mystery of what could have caused such a devastating carnage within the neighborhood or residential community. Everybody is waiting.
“My wife is a lot better now. I am sure that maybe those who went to government hospital would have their bills paid by the government. But most people are just sorting themselves. For the fact that they are alive, some people are just paying their bills by themselves.”
On the plights of those who were affected, Salami who currently squats with his brother, said, “You can imagine being displaced within the twinkle of an eye; it’s been extremely difficult. You are used to your comfort zone, now you are squatting with family members or friends or at hotels. You don’t know where your belongings are. Your things are all over the place. It is difficult, especially for the older ones.
“Some people had lived in their houses for 40 to 50years. They are used to their homes. Even this is devastating for the younger ones. They are mentally traumatized, not able to go to school for a couple of days. Like for me, I don’t know where my drugs are everything is all over the place. I just have to buy new medicine, get cosmetics, buy clothes because you can’t even wear any of the clothes in the house for now. They are full of dust.”
On what government priority should be, he said, “I think number one is for government to quickly unravel the cause of this incident. What actually happened? What kind of explosives? Just to even give people confidence in other neighborhood that such is not there, and if it is there, let them search and make sure such blast does not happen.
“Government needs to regain the confidence of the citizens as far as safety of lives is concerned. The only way you can do that quickly is to unravel what actually happened. Secondly, assist the victims. A roadmap for the government to rehabilitate those who were affected should be established. For the houses that might need to be demolished, what assistance can the government give? Government should continue to care for people that are displaced for as long as they can.”
Among other affected persons who gave their accounts are Mrs Bisi Olasope and Engineer Rufus Ishola.
Meanwhile, Governor Seyi Makinde has assured the residents of the state that the government would do its best to mitigate the effects of the disaster to the affected residents and ensure that justice is brought upon those who were responsible for the tragedy.
