Time Bomb In Ogijo

A first visit to Magbo Community in Ogijo, Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria, reminds one of the many neglected areas in Nigeria. Electricity supply in the community is nothing to write home about coupled with the bad road that leads to the town but these are not even their major worries; the death trap set by the steel factory in the community, African Foundries, happens to pose more threat to the lives of the residents than any other issue.

Established well over three years ago, the steel-producing company was first seen as a blessing to residents of the community as it offered employment to the people at the time. They never envisaged the danger ahead of them as the years to follow seemed to reveal but sooner than later, the factory’s location became the worst thing to happen to the community.

“I’ve been living here with my uncle for about three years I’ve never really enjoyed staying here due to the havoc that the company has wreaked over the years. The smoke from their factory always blows across the community and it has affected my health. The tunnel which is supposed to lead the smoke out into the air is faulty and the smoke now comes into our homes” Micheal Ikukoyi, a Prophet in a Celestial Church within the community lamented.

“Recently, there was a blast from the factory which was reminiscent of the Ikeja cantonment bomb blast of 2002, this happened the day after the Ileya celebration and it shook my house to its foundation that I thought armed robbers had besieged us,” Michael said.

According to another resident who works in the factory, “people are injured in the factory from time to time while working and we are suffering here. Something has to be done very soon before we witness worse troubles” says the young man who pleaded anonymity.

However, the factory had enhanced the community’s power project by helping them get a transformer, an achievement which was quickly downplayed by some of the residents who said that the danger posed by the company is worse than the assistance which was rendered to them.

“They helped us get a transformer, and so what? They have really destroyed lives here and we don’t want them here again,” one of the community leaders, Alhaji Fatai Sekoni says furiously.

“On the 1 October, this year, there was a blast which lasted about 45 seconds very early in the morning and I was just raining curses on them. The entire building was shaking and I started wondering when the whole mess would be brought to an end,” he says.

Having experienced such nervous moments in the community, the residents gathered and made a resolve to find a lasting solution to the issue but it was rendered futile.

Sekoni alleged that quite a handful of leaders in the community are often ‘settled’ by the management of the factory and they are the ones dragging them back in getting a lasting solution to the unending problems.

“I’ve attended series of meetings with some other community leaders and what I discovered was that there are some people among us who don’t want us to have a lasting solution to the problems. Worse is the fact that one of the leading traditional rulers in the country from Osun state (name withheld), is also a shareholder in the company; thus, ejecting the firm is quite difficult.”

“Or how do you want me to explain the fact that we sleep with protective masks at night without power supply? The situation is so terrible that one man in the community was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night after suffering from suffocation from the smoke that the factory emits. Asthma, tuberculosis are among other ailments that people here have had to contend with over the years because of the unchecked carbon-dioxide from the factory.”

Interestingly, the management of the company is aware of the problems and has been making efforts to bring the situation under control.

Head of the company’s administration, Michael Aderemi, reiterates the company’s commitment to finding a lasting solution to the menace.

“The smoke they’ve been complaining about was supposed to go through the chimney but it developed some faults and the contractors who constructed it were brought in from India to fix it; unfortunately, the man fixing it died in his sleep. This has prevented them (the contractors), from sending another person to us. We are asking for a period of six months to enable us clear all the mess and restore peace to the community,” he pleaded.

To a visitor to the community, the blast from the factory might be scary but to residents of Magbo, it is an everyday thing. The company’s management have also promised to address this.

“Nigerians bring the scraps which we melt here for use and at times, they contain fuel filters. When scraps are being melted, the filters are the component that cause the blasts because they are stronger than other materials.

“Fortunately, we now have a shredding machine which will help us shred the filters before they are melted. We only ask for patience from the community members though some of them want us to give them compensation for releasing the smoke into the community which we won’t do” Aderemi explains.

However, the residents are eagerly awaiting when the community would be free from the emission of dangerous smoke from the factory

—Damilare Okunola