RESIDENTS of the Abule-Egba/Awori axis of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State were thrown into sorrow and despair last week when a ruptured petroleum pipeline in the area caught fire, razing eight houses, 100 shops and 51 vehicles. The fire occurred in the dead of night and residents were roused by the alarm raised by those who were still awake and found that houses and shops had been engulfed in thick smoke. Curiously, the incident occurred a few days short of the second anniversary of a similar tragic occurrence in that vicinity on December 26, 2016.
Before professional fatalists begin to draw weird inferences as they are wont to, it is crucial to highlight the absurdity in having residents living atop petroleum pipelines in a congested neighbourhood and in the kind of urban settlement that Lagos represents. With the nefarious activities of pipeline vandals scooping fuel illegally, fire accidents should be expected, together with the attendant loss of life and property. When the latest fire outbreak occurred, it took down houses, cars and the livelihoods of the unwary. According to media reports, the activities of pipeline vandals, whom the Lagos State police commissioner says the residents are unwilling to identify, were responsible for the fire outbreak. It was fortuitous that no life was lost in this particular incident unlike the previous one, but many were certainly scarred.
It becomes imperative to ask questions regarding the legitimacy of the affected houses. Were they duly approved by the town planning authorities? What happened after the earlier incident in December 2016 which reportedly claimed scores of lives? Was there any relocation of houses and shops? How many of the eight houses razed by the fire had approved plans? Who approved the plans for these houses and shops knowing that they stood on or close to petroleum pipelines?
Even if corruption has compromised the approving authorities to the point of looking the other way when these buildings sprouted in the area, residents of the area should not have elected to live atop ruptured petroleum pipelines. The report of the incident cynically referred to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) saying that the activities of the vandals would not affect the distribution of petroleum products during the Christmas season, as if the distribution of the products takes precedence over the risk to life and property!
The fire incidents in Abule Egba and other areas like it deserve more attention. This is not a question of merely looking for vandals. It is first and foremost about compliance with town planning rules and regulations and sanctioning all forms of deviance in the bid to protect the sanctity of life. The fact that some citizens are willing to discountenance the risks to their lives out of desperation does not mean that they should be left to their own devices. For the most part, their actions are fuelled by ignorance and poverty. The essence of governance is for citizens to be protected by the state, even against themselves. It is unacceptable that people are allowed to live under the kinds of conditions typified by Abule Egba.
We are persuaded that the leadership of the Ifako/Ijaiye Local Government and the state government can do better than allowing optional genocide to persist under their watch. The razed buildings should not be allowed to be erected again and residents still living in the area should be evacuated and relocated immediately. On their part, the police must track down the culprits who made vandalism of pipelines a profession. They deserve the harshest punishment allowed by law.
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Mr Jimi it is not the pipeline that is the problem, it is the thiefs that are looking for quick money,with the help of the police and the military guys. Don’t just sit some were and write about this you don’t know all in the name of writing for people to read.that pipeline has no problem with anybody, if people don’t go and tamper with it. The biggest problem with the pipelines are the thiefs in uniform that Conives their civilian brothers to vandalise the pipelines and bring disaster to their fellow humans, all for the love for money. The greatest problem is the connivance of the people that are suppose to protect life and property, alas,they are the one that are destroying it.mr Jimi please investigate before writing stories, don’t just write from we’re you dey sit.make findings. Thanks
If you had bothered to read well you would have known that the article was culled from the Tribune as the appropriate credit was given so there was no need for you to say,:”.mr Jimi please investigate before writing stories, don’t just write from we’re you dey sit.make findings. Thanks”.I have advised times without number before you react sit back and think it out well.You owe me a peace offering of a bottle……lol