A Close Shave with Death

 

hen the residents of the three-storey building at No. 82 Odunfa Street, Lagos Island, woke up on Wednesday, 21st of October 2015, nothing gave away the fact that doom was lurking. They went about their daily activities unhindered.

Suddenly, at about 9.30am, a loud bang went off and then a crack appeared on the building and it then crumbled like a pack of badly stacked cards, trapping five of the residents underneath the rubble for hours until they were rescued by emergency workers.

For one of the residents, Mrs. Kafayat Abdul, it was also a close shave with death. She was bathing her four-month-old baby when her husband set off for work. Suddenly the scream from Kafayat drew the attention of her husband who had just left the building.
The husband turned back only to meet a crumbled building. Without waiting for the emergency services to arrive, he began to dig and saw his wife lying on ground of the collapsed building where they lived on the last floor of the building.

It was gathered that Kafayat was instructed by her husband to throw the baby across to the next building. Taking advantage of the un-crumbled part of the building, the husband accessed the collapsed building.

However, as the wife threw the baby, he slipped through his father's hands and fell to the ground. The baby was quickly rushed to the hospital and tests were run on him and he was certified hale and hearty. Meanwhile, the mother was later rescued and she was taken to the Lagos Island General Hospital, Lagos.

What Happened at the Collapse Sight
That Wednesday, October 21, 2015, after the building collapsed, an Octogenarian, Alhaja Mistura Ahmodu, and four others including a teenager, were rescued from the rubble and to rescue the trapped, emergency workers had used two excavators to create holes between the concrete slabs, to create easy access for trapped persons to breathe.

Emergency workers drawn from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and their state counterpart, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), had pulled out the survivors from underneath the debris.

Other responders at the scene were the police, army, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), federal and state fire service; Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Lagos Road Safety Commission.

While four people were first rescued at about 12pm, the last person to be rescued, the octogenarian, was brought out at about 2pm, five hours after the building caved in. Immediately she was rescued, she was placed on a stretcher and an oxygen mask placed over her mouth and nostrils to assist her in breathing, as she was conveyed to a standby Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS).

The rescue workers had dug more for hours after the five persons were rescued, because there were fears that so many other persons were still trapped in, given that the caved building was a residential apartment. However, after hours of digging and finding nothing, rescue operations ceased.

In an interview with THISDAY, the South-west Spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said the casualty rate was reduced because emergency workers had responded immediately.

He said, "Four people were first rescued alive, and then later another person. No death was recorded. The search continued until we were sure nobody was underneath the rubble. Some of the survivors include an elderly woman and a boy of about 15 years. They were all rushed to the General Hospital on Lagos Island and were treated in the emergency unit."

Also speaking, LASEMA General Manager, Micheal Akindele, said all agencies responded in good time and they all did everything possible to ensure lives and properties are saved.

And Joy Turned to Sorrow
For the Ahmodu family, their joy at the initial rescue of the matriarch of their family, 82-year-old Alhaja Mistura Ahmodu, later turned sour. The day of the collapse, Ahmodu was one of the lucky survivors who were brought out alive well after five hours under the rubble.
Although she had a fractured leg, she was supposedly strong enough when she was brought out, five hours after the building collapsed. She was carried on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask placed on her mouth and nostrils before she was conveyed to a standby Lagos State Ambulance service (LASAMBUS). When she was brought out, she was covered with dust but looked strong.

However that was all to change that same evening as she slipped to the great beyond. According to her granddaughter, Shukura Ishola, the octogenarian, who hailed from Ilorin, Kwara State, died at about 5pm at the Lagos Island General Hospital.

She had also alleged that medical personnel at the hospital did not attend to her promptly. She said, "The hospital did not attend to for some time while they told us to get some drugs.  As at 3.30pm when we returned with the prescribed drugs, my grandmother was still alive.

"The doctors in that hospital did not take care of her on time. We were told to go and buy some drugs and they abandoned her. My brother and I went to get the drugs. We were initially told to buy the drugs in Oyingbo but when we insisted the place is far, we were told to buy them at a standard pharmacy nearby. When we came back with the drugs around 3.30pm, grandma was still alive."

But her allegations were debunked by her father, ‎Alhaji Tajudeen Ishola, who said Ahmodu was treated hospitably. He said, "She spoke with us around 4pm. She said she was thirsty and a doctor told us to go and buy Lucozade Boost which she drank. We were preparing to do the X-ray on her thigh when everything changed. She died at about 5pm. She was well taken care of at the hospital."

Residents Recount Ordeal
Although some of the residents said the building had not given any sign before its sudden collapse, leaving all perplexed as to the cause, others said otherwise. Before the building described as barrack collapsed, some of the residents, particularly those on the third floor were said to have escaped through the window.

However, other residents who admitted that the government had issued warnings on the building, blamed the owners and caretaker for negligence.

They insisted that they had complained to the owners of the building; the Onibudo family and the agent, Shile Buga, that the building was leaking and weak, but they allegedly did nothing.

One of the residents identified as Fatimah Usman said, "They didn’t give us quit notice. My shop is not far from my house. I took my child to school. I was relaxing outside when the building collapsed. I ran and called my husband who was inside when the building collapsed. I don't know how he came out. I just saw him few minutes later.

"We have been living here since four years ago. We have told the landlord severally that the house wasn’t good but he didn’t listen. Even last month, when they brought a letter from the state government about the building, he ignored us. Some of us even contributed money for the renovation and now we have been rendered homeless. Those on the third floor may have seen signs on their floor but I stay on the second floor and I did not notice anything."

Also speaking, the daughter of the deceased, Alhaja Fatimat Ishola, said she was in the bathroom when the building collapsed. According to her, when the walls came crumbling down, darkness surrounded her until she was rescued.

She said, "We lived on the first floor. I was in the bathroom while Mama was in her room sleeping when the building collapsed. Just as I made to pick my towel, I heard a loud noise and saw myself going under. Everywhere instantly became dark and I was covered with dust. I couldn’t breathe and I realised I was trapped by a pillar.

"At a point, I gave up and called to God to save me. It was at that point I remembered that my old mother was asleep when the incident happened. While ‎I was trying to escape, some rubble dropped on me. It was God that saved me. I didn’t know where the entrance was. The entire house was dark. I was just praying."

Other residents also lamented the loss of their valuables including clothes, furniture, their international passports and documents.


And the Scavengers Struck
As obtained in all incidents of this nature, scavengers under the guise of helping out carry out rescue operations struck. These set of people are known for stealing valuables from accident scenes, be it fire, crash or building collapse sites.

At Odunfa Street, it was no different as they again struck to steal the valuables of the victims and they pander or sell it off afterwards.
At the collapse site, a resident and businessman, Saidi Balogun, lamented that some miscreants cashed in on the incident to steal. He said he was able to recover few of his belongings.

He said, "It is surprising that some people use a situation like this to steal. Out of the 40 wrist watches I kept at home, I was able to recover only six. The N480,000 I kept in my cupboard had also been stolen. I don't even know where to head for with my family members now."

Thus, after rescue operations ended, the emergency workers particularly those with the bulldozers tried to assist the victims to salvage their properties.

To ameliorate this trend of robbing victims, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Joseph Offor, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said policemen were deployed to condone off the entire area. He said this was to prevent the hoodlums from using the opportunity to steal, while also providing rescuers an enabling environment to carry out their operations without hitches.

A Little Too Late
Given the disclosure by the residents that the government had already earmarked the building and nothing was done to ensure compliance, the move by the government agency to conduct structural tests on other buildings have been tagged as medicine after death by industry watchers.

This was because, the day after the building collapsed, the Manager, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Fouad Oki, ‎who visited the scene of the incident, said about 15 houses had been sealed in the area, adding that they would be demolished soon if deemed fit.

He said, "So far, we have sealed over 15 houses. All we are saying is that we want to know the structural integrity of these buildings. If the material laboratory result shows that the buildings are okay, we will reopen them. But if it states otherwise, we will direct the owners of the structures to pull them down. The test doesn’t take time before it is concluded.

"It is either one does the right thing or we show the person how to do it. There is law and residents must adhere to the laws. We will do everything to save lives,‎ era of impunity is over in Lagos State. It is either people do what is right or face the full wrath of the law. The measure is not punitive but corrective.”

Given that the state has recorded several building collapses in recent months, with loss of lives and destruction of properties, NEMA PRO, Ibrahim Farinloye said NEMA has made public their official number so that people could report cases of deficient structures in their environment.

While calling on residents to report buildings suspected to be under threat of collapse, Farinloye had in past interview with THISDAY reiterated that NEMA and Lagos building inspection personnel have been deployed to checkmate such incidents from occurring.