Abule Ado gasfire:survivors count losses days after

Barely a week after the gasfire which broke out suddenly at Abule Ado, in Amuwo Odofin local council area of Lagos State,where several lives and choiced properties were razed down by the ranging blast,business men whose businesses got shattered narrate ordeals.

Not quite a kilometre away from the scene of the explosion likened to a bomb blast,the Lagos International Trade fair Complex was not spared,as virtually all the halls were left with smashed glasses,collapsing ceilings and more.

Business owners were of the view that government agencies, saddled with emergency response ought to be more proactive and preemptive of such happening.

Mr Mike Ezeeji, who runs a water bottling company in hall six Trade fair Complex in a chat with National Daily said the damages done to his business was humongous.

“It is not only my own even my neighbours factories,you can see by yourself everything shattered.

Ezeeji added maintained that, “there are government agencies responsible for our safety generally in this country,they should think about everything,not limit themselves to fire incidents.

“They should think ahead,if really this is pipeline disaster,they should have premonition of this kind of thing happening at anytime, anywhere and again allowing people’s houses or shops or offices to be near pipelines is so dangerous for this country.

“You can imagine the number of lives I have heard loss since Sunday,I am crying and everybody is crying,go to the main site now and millions of Nigerians are still trouping to see.

“You could see more than two hundred houses shattered and destroyed including this our own,so I think there is some kind of negligence somewhere in our National planning.

“Agencies concerned with safety should think ahead,just like Europeans do,they think ahead of all these things and take action before it happens. “Looking at the general losses,I can say I’m not too confident,that it runs to billions,I might be understating the reality,coming to my own here it is not going to cost the government less than five,six,seven million just my side alone.

“I urge the government to be proactive,preempt this and then inspect regularly,there is something the western world do.

“If they install a pipeline this year,they know the year that it will expire and start decaying to the extent of having this kind of experience.

“These are some of the things that should be considered by such authorities. They keep records of when a pipe was laid and what purpose it is serving.

“It is very very important,if it is gas it is a very serious business that they should continue to watch and maintain it regularly and then when it is due,if it is supposed to last ten years,immediately it is ten years even if it still look new,they should uproot them out and replace.”

Commending the timely visit of the Executive Director of the Trade fair, Chief Lucy Omosefe Ajayi.

He said,”Madam Lucy has talked to me,a very effective woman,she was even here on Sunday,I was far away,she called to sympathize with me and told me to be patient about the whole thing that Federal government would be informed of what have happened here.”

Chief Nwabueze Umeh,chairman building committee of cornerstone destiny home quite close to the scene of the horrendous gasfire who was clearly devastated.

Notes that they sell plates and other home appliances.

“The development here started last two years and we have many structures.

“The lesson here is when you perceived an odour you leave the place,live is more precious than anything,it is only God that can quench this,nothing anybody or government can do,it is a disaster.

“The loss is much and we are on it as you can see many building are grounded,it is billions of naira and it is individuals effort that made it all,no government support.

“So we urge the federal and state governments to come to our aid and help us,because some of us loaned money from the banks,some lend from different institutions.

“We need government to come and help us. It is very far to where the pipeline is and it is from there that the thing encroached to this place.

“After our own you see another site, so pipeline is not here but far away, the effect is much.

Mr Anthony Maduadichie,owners of Adidas and company limited,occupiers of trade fair halls states his ordeals trying to pull through the disaster.

“I was at home on Sunday when the security man,called me and told what happened but normally we come two times in a week to check things because we are installing machines there for production.

“So when my boys came they saw what happened that everything was shattered all the glasses,upper side we have the roofer glasses but down is the bigger glasses both doors were shattered everywhere is opened now, I think it is the vibration.

“Something happened they say oil pipeline explosion and to my thinking the under laid pipe caused the earth to quake,the vibration was too much,we have two halls here in the trade fair,hall 7 and 8.

“When we came there was nothing there,so we had to refine everything and we installed all the roofer glasses,if you go there now,you would see our machines.

“I called the Alumaco man to check and even the Aluminium village because we want to do something that will last,instead of glass we would use echo crowding board which is aluminium.

A sheet of which cost 11,000 naira but now I have told them to go and calculate everything to know the exact amount.

“I discovered that had it been not glass the loss won’t have been that huge,it seems the blast specifically went for the glasses.

“If we used aluminium,even if it pulls it down,it won’t scatter so we felt those one that breaks we must change them to echo crowding board which is pure aluminium.

“When we rented the place we spent almost four million naira to fix the place okay,now this is happening and you know to start industry is not easy,my intention is to give jobs to people the little way we can,we are in support of what the President is doing,we intend to employ up to fifty hands here.” He said.