The above pictured woman, a resident of Utuh Street Mrs Bashirat Rauf, was not
the only person who died on the fateful day. Another resident identified as
Sodiq Saka also died while trying to ensure that others did not die in a fire
outbreak.
The fire was said to have started after two high-tension
cables fell on a school building in the area, sparking an inferno. Residents
who mourned Rauf and Saka also gave thanks to God, saying that many school
children would have died but for the Sallah break.
Surprisingly, Rauf and Saka, who were trying to save people
died, while those they tried to save are alive. It was gathered that Bashirat’s
husband had gone out. A resident, however, attempted to recapture how the woman
died on September 24. The resident said: “Bashirat has two kids; a boy and a
girl.
The kids were playing outside when the high-tension cables
fell and caused fire. The school is close to residential homes. Bashirat ran
out of her apartment, screaming for her two kids. As she rushed to pick them,
she stepped on one of the cables. When people realised that she was
electrocuted, they screamed, but there was nothing anybody could have done.
The two kids are still alive. Nothing happened to them, but
Bashirat died.” Saka, who many described as a Good Samaritan, was also
electrocuted. According to some residents, when Saka noticed the raging fire in
the school compound, he dashed out of his apartment and frantically searched
for a bucket to fetch water.
The thought in his mind was how to arrest the fire from
spreading to other buildings. He had already fetched the water and was making
his way towards the burning building when he also stepped on a cable. He died
instantly. Saka’s grieving father, Imam, said: “As a Muslim, I have accepted my
fate. There is nothing I can do to bring the dead back to life.
"Sodiq was the person who slaughtered the Sallah ram he bought for me on that day. When he was through with the ram, he told me he was going to get something down the street. A few minutes later, someone rushed to tell me that my son had been electrocuted in the neighbourhood.
“I was told that my son only went into the school premises where it was burning to assist in battling the fire, only for him to be electrocuted. What can I do now? Is it possible for me to give birth to a 30-year old again?”
The Secretary of Araromi Community Development Association,
Mr Wahab Awoyemi, said it was a very sad day for all residents after the
community lost two persons in a day.
No comments