Fury Of Fire

After an inferno ravaged an area in Ibadan, most of the affected victims are now homeless

Monday, 22 April 2013, was a day citizens of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, will not forget in a hurry. That was because of the fire disaster that occurred at Omitowoju-Inalende area of the city, which has rendered many people homeless.

Eyewitnesses revealed that though no life was lost, over 50 houses, some shops, vehicles, motorcycles and other property were gutted by the fire, which started around 6:30pm. It took several hours of efforts by men of the state fire service, assisted by the affected victims (they fetched water) to extinguish it.

Trouble started when a petrol-laden tanker, with registration number Lagos XJ 288 SMK, entered a ditch as it tried to negotiate a bend around St. Stephen’s Church. Consequently, the fuel it carried spilled on the road and caught fire.

When this happened, the driver and two others in the vehicle ran away to avoid being lynched by a mob. The fire destroyed houses from the junction up to Oku Abere Street, where it was curtailed by fire fighters. In addition, the Police, led by the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of Mokola Police Station, assisted to forestall crisis. In fact, his men arrested some hoodlums who were trying to take advantage of the situation to steal.

Among those that revealed their ordeals was a 100-year old man, Ali Bello Olatunbosun, living at NW 5/153B. He lost N58,000, kept with him by some people. He lamented that he was left with only one tattered dress on him. “If not that I was carried out by some youths around, the fire would have burnt me to death in the house. My only problem now is where to get the money that some people kept with me”.

A tenant in the same house, Henry Egbuliwe, lamented that hoodlums stole people’s property and money while pretending to offer help. He said: “They have stolen all my property. I was not around when it happened. I was on my way to work when my wife called to say that there was a fire incident in our area and I had to come back home. By the time I did, the hoodlums had packed all my belongings and gone away with them. I was only able to rescue my refrigerator from them.” He added that they stole N185, 000 from his room. They were able to do this in the name of helping his wife to rescue his property.

Johnson Olusegun Oladejo, living at NW5/152A, also claimed to have lost an inherited building and N50,000. He appealed to the government for relief materials adding, “I don’t have a dress to wear, apart from the one on me”.

A victim that sustained injuries, Alhaji Amusa Ajibade, disclosed that the day was a bad one for him, saying apart from sustaining injuries trying to save some of his property, he lost all that he had laboured for.

One Mr. Fatai Raji, living at 951, Inalende Road, claimed that he lost property worth about N6m. He asked: “How do I recover from this or where do I start from now?”

Iyaloja, Ode Olo in Ibadan North Local Government, Chief (Mrs). Motilade Adedeji, passionately called on the government at all levels to assist the affected people. In her words: “If government failed to help, some people will die of hypertension. Most people living here are poor; they inherited all these houses. Look at these houses, you will find out that they are all old houses built with mud. It shows that their fathers or mothers built them and they occupied them because they cannot get better ones. Now that they had lost the houses, what do you think will happen? I pray that the government will help”.

Other victims appealed to the state government to revoke the license granted filling stations constructed in residential areas. Alhaji Ibrahim Ayanfe said: “It is bad that government allows filling stations to be constructed in residential areas. It is too risky. Thank God that the filling station around was highly protected by men of fire service during the inferno. If not, the story would have been different. Maybe the entire Mokola would have been destroyed”.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his Commissioner for Environment and Habitat, Mr. Lowo Obisesan; Senator Femi Lanlehin, representing Oyo South Senatorial District and the Caretaker Chairman, Ibadan North West Local Government, Wasiu Olatubosun, sympathised with the victims.

Ajimobi who described the incident as unfortunate noted that he could feel the pains of the victims as a man who had once suffered a similar fate. He promised the state government’s support to the victims.

He promised to foot the medical bills of those that sustained injuries in the incident. In addition, Lanlehin, apart from promising succour for the victims, assured that he would mobilise relevant agencies to assist them.

—Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan