Hearts bled, pain and anguish
once again enveloped the
solemn atmosphere that
Sunday, the Sabbath and
Holy Day of the week holds for Chris-
tians around the world when the news
broke that another deadly explosion
has taken place in Lagos that would
eventually claim the lives of about 15
persons including that of a Reverend
Sister.
Among the dead at the last count was
Mrs. ChisomUdoakonobi a lector of
the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Oni-
reke in Satellite Deanery of the Catho-
lic Archdiocese of Lagos, Amuwo Odo-
fin Local Council Area. The husband
and their housemaid reportedly died
along with her when their apartment
came crashing down under the impact
of the blast. A family of four heading
to the Church that Sunday morning in
a private car was not that lucky as they
succumb to the blazing fire.
And now our heroine of the moment,
Rev. Sr. Henrietta Alokha, the Princi-
pal of Bethlehem Girls College who
fought bravely to rescue the children
from the raging fire but gave up herself
in the process.
Since then different versions of the
ugly incident are being told. One side
of the story has it that an NNPC pipe-
line exploded when a truck about to
be pulled out of the mud ruptured the
pipeline. Yet, the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA,) Lagos
territorial office acting coordinator, Mr.
Ibrahim Farinloye denied the claim
insisting that the explosion occurred
in a factory located in Abule Ado area
where the accident took place. Still the
blast has been attributed to a gas plant
that went up in flames when a truck
rammed into it. Notwithstanding the
conflicting reports, truth is that lives
were lost and properties destroyed.
As secondary mourners, especially
so for the Catholic Church, we grief
and are pained on these unfortunate
incidents of pipeline and gas-induced
explosions with the attendant loss of
precious lives. Not long ago, precisely
January, 2020 another pipeline fire
ignited by oil thieves caused panic
and untold hardship to some residents
of Abule Egba, Ifako-Ijaiye Council
Area where cars and properties worth
millions of naira got burnt.
We are no less saddened with the
Sunday, March 15, 2020 inferno at
Abule Ado that shook life out of
innocent students of Bethlehem Girls
College, a Catholic mission school of
the Archdiocese of Lagos holed up in
their dormitories as they scampered to
safety in the midst of the confusion that
followed the deadly blast. Well over 60 of
them were said to have sustained various
degrees of injuries and treated at a Naval
Hospital, and 50 houses torched. The
Principal of the college, Rev. Sr. Henriet-
ta Alokha dared the fire convinced that
no child under her care would go miss-
ing. Her last attempt however proved
fatal as the building caved in on her even
after taking head count of the children
including the supposedly missing two
that forced her to brave the fiery fire.
For now the blame game is playing out
as expected. Some believe the govern-
ment at every level have failed to remedy
the situation. They accused officials of
the government of not doing enough to
reverse the trend, just as they condone
land speculators and buyers who put
up structures near facilities that is life
threatening. For instance, they contend
that NNPC pipelines and high tension
transmission lines right of way are
violated by persons desperate to own
properties at cheaper cost egged on by
land speculators.
While we urge the authorities to act
fast in rehabilitating the traumatized
students of Bethlehem college and
indeed those who are still counting their
losses, we commend the Lagos State
Government for setting aside the sum of
N2 billion to assist victims of the recent
pipeline explosion.
Our hearts are with the bereaved fam-
ilies at this difficult moments and pray
that the soul of Sr. Henrietta Alokha,
who should be immortalized for her
rare courage, and the souls of the
faithful departed rest in the bosom of
the Lord. Amen
