The cry of Amaka Okonkwo, an elderly woman, caught the
attention of the crowd from several parts of Lagos who were at the scene of the
explosion which occurred at Soba, a community at Abule Ado, Amuwo Odofin local
government area of Lagos state on Sunday.
“Oh, Lord!!! This is unbearable. It’s too much for me!” She
cried aloud as the crowd gathered. She rolled on the floor, mindless of the
specks of dirt and other particles scattered around. Findings revealed that she
lost three grown-up children in the unfortunate incident. To the elderly woman,
all she had worked for was gone in less than a day. One of the three children
was said to have just returned from London to attend the wedding ceremony of
the second child scheduled for Saturday.
Like Okonkwo, some families in Soba community also lost
loved ones. No one had predicted that the Sunday would not be a regular sunny
day. Bodies were counted and so were damaged houses and cars.
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| A crowd which gathered around the elderly woman who lost her children |
Victor Okoli, one of the residents, told the tale about the
sad fate of one family. While assisting in bringing out movable belongings from
the collapsed building, he said it was only the elderly mother who had gone to
church at the time of the incident that survived the explosion. Okoli said the
woman lost her only son, his pregnant wife and her nephew.
“Three lives were lost, a husband, wife and another
relative. And that husband is the only son and the wife was pregnant. They are
four in this building but their mother was in the church, so the son, his wife
and nephew were inside the building. I was also in the church when I heard the
sound. Everybody else was in the church,” he said.
Emeka Eze, a resident who stood dumbfounded in one of the
collapsed buildings, said three people died in the building.
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| Your lives or belongings? The occupants of this place could not salvage some of their properties probably because these pillars could cave in anytime |
“Three people died in this building, even the other one (he
points to a story-building next to where he was standing), children died
there,” he said, in a sad tone.
OVER 80 BUILDINGS, 25 CARS DESTROYED
The explosion which occurred around 9am on Sunday affected
several buildings. Although, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
had said over 50 buildings were destroyed, counts done by TheCable showed that
at least 80 houses were damaged. Some of the buildings were shattered to the
ground, while others had their roofs in terrible condition.
 |
| The morning after… ruins everywhere |
While Bethlehem Girls College, a secondary school in the
area, got some of its buildings shattered and its administrator killed, Michlom
Schools, also in the area, had its roofs in a terrible condition. Like
buildings, motor vehicles in the area were badly burnt while some had their
parts damaged.
Dolapo Fashare, director-general,
Lagos State Emergency Protection Agency (LASEPA) said checks would be done to
identify persons who might be trapped in the collapsed buildings.
NEMA had said 15 corpses, including a family of four, were
recovered from the scene as of Sunday evening. Three other persons were rescued
on Monday.
DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS ON CAUSE OF EXPLOSION
Since the explosion occurred, there have been speculations
as to the cause especially based on the impact seen and the sound felt in
several parts of the state. Many had speculated that the explosion was caused
by either pipeline vandalism or bombing. But Ibrahim Farinloye, acting
coordinator, Lagos territorial office of the agency, had said it might have
occurred in a factory located in the area.
 |
| One of the destroyed buildings |
In its own account, the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) said the explosion happened when a truck hit gas cylinders
around the corporation’s pipeline right of way. The cylinders were said to be
stacked in a gas processing plant located near the corporation’s system 2B
pipeline right of way.
A former chairman of Soba residents association who
addressed journalists said the fire was caused by the pipeline in the area,
which according to him, was not well placed.
“The real cause of this explosion is the pipeline. There is
either a gas emission through that gas pipeline or it was no well-laid because
the contractor worked on it last year. He repeated the work two times. So we
had an understanding that every pipeline should be at least five to six feet
deep, it should be wrapped in concrete and buried into the ground. So there is
no way it will be ignited by fire,” he said.
 |
| Shattered creates of beer |
Samuel, who had resided in Soba community for 10 years, gave
an account of the incident. He said that a granite truck which found
it difficult to pull its way through hit a diesel pipeline, leading to the
explosion.
“A truck carrying about 30 tons of granite was about to
enter the street when some guys demanded money from the driver. The driver
stepped down and paid them,” he said.
“After paying them, the driver tried to move the truck, but
it had sunk into the muddy grounds since it rained a few days ago. As the
driver was primming, the truck got on the diesel pipeline and then it burst it.
The content of the pipeline filled the air and covered the school (Bethlehem
Girls College). There was a guy who sold noodles around the school, so the diesel
in the air caught fire from the guy’s cooking, and a blast occurred.”
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has set up a
multi-sectoral committee to investigate the cause of the explosion and give a
report in two weeks. The committee is headed by Obafemi Hamzt, deputy governor,
and co-chaired by Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, the state commissioner for special
duties.
SANWO-OLU: EXPLOSION TURNED SOBA INTO A WAR ZONE
 |
| Sanwo-Olu and his cabinet members at the scene |
At the scene of the incident on Monday, Sanwo-Olu said the
explosion turned the community to a war zone, adding that he has never seen
anything of such magnitude before.
He admitted that the state government could not
single-handedly address the effect of the incident and bring immediate succour
to the residents of the area. Sanwo-Olu said a N2 billion emergency fund has
been established to grant relief to victims of the explosion. He said the state
government will immediately put N250 million in the fund, adding that other
members of the public are encouraged to donate.
WHAT HOPE DO RESIDENTS HAVE?
 |
| Sad tales everywhere |
Kalu Okafor, another resident, lost only his house burglary
and louvres in the incident. But he is still shocked as to the degree of loss
recorded in several other places. Okafor, who has for several years, lived in
Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers, an oil-rich state, said hope seems to be far
from Soba residents at the moment.
“Look at that building, the man with his two sons and his
wife, four of them died. I haven’t seen such thing like this before. I have
lived in Port Harcourt and I have seen pipeline go off. But this one is
different, I don’t know what to say about it,” he said.
When asked what the hope is for his family friend, Okoli
said the only hope is for them to seek succour elsewhere as the building which
sheltered them was gone.
“The hope is for them to go and look for new apartment. This
house is gone, the next thing is demolition,” he said.
Residents pray that the emergency fund as announced by the
governor would be well utilised to bring relief to them. For Okonkwo and other
people of Soba community who lost their loved ones or shelters, hope seems to
be far away at the moment, but it is expected that with time, they will move on
again.
culled: TheCable
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