Ex-presidential spokesman Dr. Reuben Abati woke me up from slumber a few days back with his column on churches in Akwa Ibom. In the well-put together piece, Abati said churches in the state were becoming more or less government parastatals.
There is something the piece did to me for reasons I am yet to figure out. It reminded me of last December’s tragedy at the Reigners Bible Church, Uyo.
The piece raised a poser in my mind: Will we ever see the White Paper based on the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry received on July 7 by Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel?
Justice Umoekoyo Essang, who chaired the panel, presented the report to the governor at the Executive Council Chamber, Government House Uyo. After receiving the report, Emmanuel said: “I want to thank you for this great job that you have done and to assure you once again that the recommendations of this report would be taken seriously. We would do everything to implement and prevent future occurrence of this tragedy. May this affliction never occur the second time”.
Emmanuel used the occasion to commiserate with families of those who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.
He said: “Things of this nature should go beyond politics. When the incidence occurred it did not select members of a political party, it did not only affect a particular denomination, race or colour. It was a tragedy that affected all. It’s unfortunate that people decided to politicise a tragedy of this nature. Such people do not deserve to express opinion in the public.”
The report was submitted a little over six months after the Uyo tragedy. One of those it took away was Josephine Effiom.
Emmanuel survived by the grace of God. Effiom, who was a polytechnic student, a friend said, “was one of the first three brilliant chaps in my class”. Her seat at the polytechnic lecture theatre is now occupied by another, a sad reminder to her course mates that a brilliant soul had been wasted.
Effiom was the face of a tragedy in a house of God, where fear should have been the last thing on anyone’s mind. The founder of the church was to have his ordination as a bishop. He is not a small fry. So, the church was jam-packed. Emmanuel came with some of his commissioners and aides. Some of the commissioners were new in the State Executive Council at the time having been sworn-in December 1, last year.
Thirty minutes into the governor’s arrival hell literally came down. No thanks to human error, the church’s iron pillars gave way and the blue roofs came thumping down. Of course on people! And Effiom died. And many others too. An account even said someone was cut into two by the iron pillars. A policeman who reportedly saved the governor is now six feet below. And some others broke their necks, their limbs and their back. The founder of the church, Pastor Akan Weeks, had his leg broken.
As typical of our nation, no one appears sure of how many people died. The day after, we saw figures as high as 160 in the media. It was attributed to the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, who later denied it. Police gave the figure as 29.
Commissioner for Health Dominic Ukpong said 26 people died in the unfortunate incident. His words: “Death toll now 26. Patients in the hospitals are 168. Total out patients are 50. Total deaths 26. Nine hospitals have the following patients. UUTH, 28 patients; Ibom Specialist Hospital Uyo, 70 patients; Sifon Clinic, 9 patients; Lifecare Clinic, 24 patients; Premiers Clinic, 9 patients; St Lukes Hospital, 22 patients; Gateway Medical Centre, 2 patients; Uwah Mfon Clinic, 1 patient. First Line Clinic, 1 patient. Alma Clinic and Surgery, 2 patients.”
And no one is willing to give the names of the dead. Thanks to Effiom’s classmates who revealed her identity, she would have died anonymously!
This tragedy turned the University of Uyo Teaching hospital (UUTH), Anua General Hospital, Life Care Hospital and the Ibom Specialist Hospital into Mecca of some sort. In these hospitals, those who defeated death received treatment to heal their broken necks, arms, back and heads. Tears from families of those recuperating now rented the air in these hospitals for weeks. The story at the mortuary sections of these hospitals was grimmer.
For students of the University of Uyo and the Uyo City Polytechnic, which are believed to have been worst hit by the disaster, reality looked like dream.
Emmanuel’s men who crawled out of death’s hole had interesting testimonies to share. His Chief Press Secretary Ekerette Udoh said an iron rod nearly cut his neck, but eventually hit him on the back. The cap of his left knee was broken and pains travelled all over his body.
The Commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh who joined the State Executive Council only some one week earlier, thought he was watching a movie when the pillars started coming down. He was on his way out of the church to catch a flight when tragedy struck. He would have been out but protocol demanded that he told the governor before vanishing from the church hall. It was this protocol-induced task he was accomplishing when death almost took him away like Effiom and the others whose true figures and names we may never know. He had to run here and there to prevent the iron pillars from turning him to a candidate for the mortuary.
Nollywood actor Ekere Nkanga, who had acted almost all roles imaginable and was some sort of bad man in Emem Isong’s ‘Weekend Getaway’, was humbled when he had to wade through bodies to safety.
“Shortly after the governor and his entourage and the bishops took their seats, the next thing I heard was the bang from the falling iron. By the time the iron came down, I noticed that people from the safe areas were running to the centre, where I was sitting,” he said, adding: “I hid under some people. A few seconds later, as I was trying to get up, the body of a man cut into two and fell on me. There were other corpses on me. I looked out for my brother but I couldn’t find him. Later, I found my phone. I called the Chairman, Uyo Local Government Area, to mobilise rescue officials to the venue.”
He managed not to have a direct impact with falling rods, but he later discovered his neck was broken.
“The impact of diving must have been responsible for my broken neck,” he said.
He wore a neck collar and was under observation in the hospital for some time. Effiom and others would have gladly given testimonies if Nkanga’s fate had befallen them.
Pastor Weeks argued it was the devil fighting back and he urged Christians to unite and not see it as his battle alone. The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) said the tragedy was caused by shoddiness.
My final take: Those who overtly or covertly contributed to the tragedy must be punished. The Reigners Bible Church Int’l Inc tragedy must not happen again. One way to do this is to implement the recommendations of the Justice Essang panel. Anything short of this will be a disservice to the memories of the dead.
Adieu, the Precious one who called me Master
The last time he sent me a story was August 28. His mail came in 2.23pm. In the afternoon of September 4, Shola O’Neil, the big man who oversees this newspaper’s operations in the Southsouth, called me. He had a bad news: Precious Dikewoha, whose story on a group faulting the Federal Government’s figure of expenditure on projects, was in coma. I was shocked. He gave me a few details and I was hoping Precious, who loved to call me ‘Master’ or ‘Oga’, would pull through.
But Precious left that night. I cannot remember if I ever met this remarkable soul from Ubima, Rivers State during one of those trainings correspondents like him came for at our corporate headquarters where I operate from, but we connected on phone regularly. He was a jolly good fellow. He never shied away from doing his assignments and he was down-to-heart.
At a time like this, all I have to say is that we are all passengers in this bus called life. We will all disembark at some point. Precious has gotten to his bus stop and has alighted. It is a pity a man who lost his parent when he was 14 has left his daughter when she is just two. Only God can help his wife see through this baby who gave him so much joy while the journey lasted.
I lack the right words to say to his wife Nkechiyere with whom he had to wait five years after their marriage to have their daughter. No one but God can console her and his family and I pray they are comforted by Him.
Sleep well Precious; your passing is a reminder to those of us still in the bus that we will sure alight at our own time whether we like it or not.
