Felele fire and stories around the losses

BY KINGSLEY FANWO

It was a Wednesday we will never want to have again, a Wednesday wet in blood and ashes, dashed hopes and sorrow. The immortality in us received conscience and we were all reminded how true it is that we all don’t see beyond our noses. As the information messenger of the State, I had to quickly move to the scene to have first hand information on what was developing into a hugely sorrowful day. There was indeed an overlay of emotions over officialdom. I lost it completely and wept profusely seeing the ashes that took over the beautiful fleshes of five minutes before the carnage. Life, indeed, is nothing.

The security agencies were prompt to respond and the primary focus was on how to evacuate the bodies and put an end to the furious fire. Government moved in promptly. The Governor directed the Deputy Governor to move to the scene which he did. Also, Her Excellency Hajia Rashida Bello quickly moved in to calm the situation and give some rays of hope and comfort to the families robbed by the fate of death.

Then the stories. A civil servant who went to Abuja on official duties was tricked home because of the weight of his loss. On arrival, he discovered all his children and wife were consumed by the fire. He grinned. He smiled and gazed on. At that point, the smile was a dangerous one. Medical personnel had to take over immediately to save him.

The other one was a family of six. Father, mother and four children. The fire consumed the father, mother and three of their four children. The only one left went for an examination in Ilorin. Quite pathetic.

I also saw a woman that actually touched my heart with her story. She has been losing children until God gave her two that she was grateful for. On Wednesday, those children and her husband were lost to the Felele accident. She lost her husband and the two children she had, all!
These stories are sad. Very sad. Unfortunate, heart-rending, sorrowful, and pathetic. The kind we only see in horror movies.

So, when the Governor stormed the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to protest the poor condition of federal roads in Kogi, he was right and rightly angry. Three years ago, the Governor made the same plea after about ten people lost their lives to a tanker accident in Kogi State.

It is strange and curious, that the State that is the centre of the nation and the closest to the FCT has suffered utter neglect in road rehabilitation. Abuja to Lokoja, Lokoja to Okene, Kabba to Egbe, Ajaokuta to Idah; all have been the same story of terrible neglect. Needless loss of lives like we witnessed on Wednesday is a sad reminder and a tap on the back to all of us, to rise to the challenge of taking responsibilities. As a State, Kogi has done a lot to improve that road. As a non-oil state with very limited income, we also know our limitations. Our bar should be the beginning of Federal Government intervention to fix our roads and other infrastructure.

Same Wednesday, the Ganaja area of the Lokoja-Ajaokuta Road, another Federal Road was taken over by flood. Kogi is Buhari and Buhari is Kogi. Those working with the best President ever, should please come to our rescue.

We are not blaming all on the Federal Government. We know what to do as a State and we have started action on how to reduce such accidents to the barest minimum. Even if our tears form an ocean of sympathy, they won’t bring back our compatriots that were painfully lost in the morning of that Wednesday. But our action can stop a future occurrence.

As we continue to mourn the departed, the best way to immortalize them is to avert possible future occurrence. All of us. Let us come together as a people to correct today for the future. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.

Fanwo is the commissioner for information and communications in Kogi.