"REFUGEE KAMP"
April 29th 1990 was a Sunday evening and I sat down in one corner and watched on as my mother rushed to iron our school uniforms in preparation for our return to school the next day. Professor Babatunde Fafunwa's 6-3-3-4 education policy alteration was yet to take effect so it was going to be the start of second term at all schools according to the old system.
We had enjoyed a treat only four days earlier because it was my youngest sister's birthday but that euphoria soon evaporated when my mother heard shouts and screams if "ilé yin jó o", "the house is burning come out! !!". She must have left the iron plugged in when she frantically bundled us all out of the house and down three flights of stairs and into the open space outside. We soon realised that the two topmost flats above ours (which was in the middle of the block of six flats) was on fire; many neighbors tried desperately to get buckets of water up the stairs to fight the fire while a few others including my father took their vehicles to notify the federal fire service at Stadium.
The fire service eventually made it with at least two vehicles positioned in front and behind the burning block. What ensued thereafter was that the fire razed through the two flats while the fire fighters propelled water into the middle flats thereby causing a flood in our house and spoiling our school uniforms. They were unable to reach high enough to attack the fire raging upstairs because of the poor quality equipment they had.
The world seemed to stop on that day and all of us children (probably about 9 of us) were whisked away to our neighbor's flat where we spent a few days while our parents sorted themselves out. We were effectively homeless for several months because the house was badly flooded and the repairs took a while. We were however fortunate to remain lodged within our estate in a flat which was uninhabited but used by a group for their meetings. That arrangement was known to us as refugee camp; it was not our property and we were not free to do as we liked even though we slept there.
I remembered this phase of my life because a property on my street got razed during the night today. The fire that consumed the roof and other items must have been initiated by an electrical fault and it raged on for a few hours. I understand that the federal fire service at Stadium was called but they said they had no battery to start their engines and water. The Lagos state fire service eventually arrived probably after about 2 hours but it must have been too late to extinguish the monster.
More than a few Nigerians live in their home nation like refugees especially within the more densely populated states such as Rivers, Lagos and the federal capital Abuja. The population of these areas continues to increase daily, a sad reflection of the lack of development for decades now. The finances of the union are localised to a few regions and controlled by a handful of power brokers. Everyone feels they have to be in these highbrow states to make it even if it means living in obscure locations and under adverse conditions.
I felt very sorry for the elderly couple and those who live with them in the now burnt building. Their lives could probably be in pause mode at the moment while they try to figure out where the reboot button is. Many onlookers and sympathizers came to see for themselves the charred remains and the media houses did not shy away as well.
Two important questions we need to ask are: 1. What are the factors responsible for fires in Lagos? And 2. Why is the system arguably ineffective in controlling fires? .
The erratic power supply, abnormal and unsupervised electrical connections, storage of combustible materials, gas explosion, arson, use of defective electrical appliances, sporadic bush and refuse burning, smoking and the overwhelming amounts of generators in use all over the state can all be tagged as potential causes of fires in the land. Most of these issues however are man-made, preventable and a reflection of the caseous necrosis inherent in our system.
If the economic situation of the nation had been well managed over the years, many would have remained outside of these highly active spots instead of coming to Lagos for example to live under bridges, in choked up accommodation which promote disease spread and in perpetual servitude to any benefactor. If power supply was decent; there would have been no need for generators and all kinds of illegal connections and petroleum products storage. Why would anyone purchase a third-hand or infinity-hand appliance if he could afford a new one?
Many areas considered as residential zones while growing up in Surulere Lagos are now almost taken over by fast food joints, boutiques, banks, telecommunications companies, supermarkets and of course religious organizations. Just about anything is permissible now and the city councils appear to be all at sea about their primary duties to the people they ought to serve. Buildings that ought to provide shelter for people to lay their heads and sleep are now locked up all night while slums proliferate uncontrollably. Everyone is hopeful of making it in Lagos and think it will be shameful to return to their modest roots or reach out to a region of less entropy to eek out a living and do more than just survive with one's dignity intact.
The original development plan of Lagos (if any existed ab initio) must now be in paradise because a place which used to be the capital of Nigeria is now nothing but a nodular mass of disorganised regions multiplying out of control. The roads are generally very bad in many areas and there seems to be no standard for building construction observed by contractors. The local government chair persons are gods in their own right with most of them devoid of any workable development plans.
I think it is high time the state government put their foot down to stop this drift and truly transform the state. It is clear that more ambitious projects by the state are ongoing at a few choice locations but they should realise that the local governments need urgent liberation to do their work and ensure all and sundry benefit from the system irrespective.
Nigerians deserve to eat, sleep or feed like proper human beings and not be treated like outcasts in whatever region or state they find themselves. It is not until internal displacement becomes rampant across the nation before we realise that anyone who is only able to do these things at a level less than a pet dog is in a refugee camp and in need of urgent help and compassion from all and sundry.
If the fire engines of a fire department could not function due to batteries, we can just imagine the number of hospitals unable to function because they lack one very basic item or the other. Let us continue to sing it loud into the hears of our stewards till they dance to our rhythm and that we refuse to be refugees in our own backyards. We should also be prepared to weather the storms of change as well.
