Fate dealt a cruel blow on a household in Ibadan, when a man, Mr. Kunle Oke of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), lost eight children to the flood that ravaged the Oyo State capital last Friday. There was a seven-hour downpour on the largest city in West Africa.
When the flood subsided, there were tales of woes as the city buried 30 victims by the river bank, according to Yoruba culture.
Tears flowed at Oke Ayo, along Odo-Ona Elewe in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area as six of the eight children were recovered by some youths while the remaining two were still missing at Press time. A middle-aged man, Mr Sikiru Adisa of Adeoye Street, Agbowo Area in Ibadan North Local Government Area, could not fight back tears as he wept uncontrollably after losing his father and four children to the weekend flood.
Adisa told Daily Sun that he had to climb the roof of his house and stayed there until the water which rose up to his neck subsided before he finally came down.
At Agara Area in Oluyole Local Government Area, Daily Sun also learnt that 50 people have so far been rescued. Among them, according to the Caretaker Chairman of the council. Mr. Aleshinloye, who was also on assessment tour, were residents who climbed trees and roof-tops during the more than seven-hour rain.
He, however, regretted that two victims could not be rescued after jumping into the flood when they were threatened by a snake on the tree which they climbed. Aleshinloye said although the snake was eventually killed, but not after it had forced the victims into committing ‘suicide.’ The six bodies recovered at Oke-Ayo were laid by the river bank
It was gathered that the father of the children, Mr Oke, was said to be on night duty at the station.
Daily Sun also learnt that Oke phoned his children, ordering them to move out of the house around 10 pm during the downpour but the kids told him not to worry that the water would soon recede.
They, however, ran out of luck, when they were trapped and later washed away by the water.
The whereabouts of the mother of the dead children were still unknown as a source claimed she died in the hospital where she was rushed to while another source said she was hiding in a neighbour’s house.
Also narrating his ordeal, Adisa told journalists that he was in the house with his father and four children when they discovered that the flood had forced the door open.
He said he had to break the ceiling of the house which he latched on until after the water receded.
He added, however, amidst sobs, that his father and the four children were not so lucky as they were swept away by the flood. Adisa, who is a commercial bus driver, appealed to the state government to come to his aid.
At Oke-Ayo, a group of youths who led the rescue operation were in tears after removing six bodies from the ravaging river, only to discover that their relatives were among the corpses recovered.
Daily Sun gathered that over 30 victims of the disaster, mostly children and women, have been buried by the river banks of the affected areas that include Odo-Ona, Agara and Oke Ayo. Meanwhile, the state government has begun sharing of relief materials to the flood victims. Handing over the relief materials, the Deputy Governor, Moses Adeyemo, assured them that government would not allow them to suffer as it would continue to provide succour to all of them. Government also set up mobile clinics in areas that were affected so that victims could access immediate medicare.
Hon. Adeyemo, who proceeded to the homes of many victims to commiserate with them, assured that there would be more palliative measures from government to the families. The Deputy Governor, who visited Adisa, who lost his four children and his father, prayed that God would give him and the rest of the family, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. Government also, for the second day, deployed a helicopter which went round many of the affected areas to have an aerial view and to ascertain what actually went wrong that led to the calamities.
The Deputy Governor, who was in the helicopter for about an hour in the company of the Chief of Staff, Dr Adeolu Akande, and three journalists, surveyed all the affected areas, taking aerial pictures of the spots which, they said, would help government plan the next line of action in bringing sanity to the city.
Sun News online.
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