By V. E. K. Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Devastation and Anguish as Families Grapple with Tragedy
Jotted down on paper, a playful story about a lazy lion now stands as a poignant memento of a young life lost. Chidera Onovo, a 15 year old boy known for his caring nature and love for drawing, was his mother's unabashed favorite.
"He saved up his lunch money to buy biscuits to share with his siblings," recalls Blessing Onovo. "And he was always the one who noticed my moods and would ask, 'Mummy, are you fine?'"
Last Friday morning, Chidera went to secondary school with his younger sister, Chisom, but only one of them would return. Official reports from the Nigerian government state that 22 students were killed in the building collapse at Saints Academy, a private school in the central city of Jos, though local residents estimate the number is closer to 50.
Using their bare hands and shovels, parents desperately searched for survivors, managing to tunnel through and free some of the trapped children. "It took about an hour before an excavator came," says Chidera’s father, Chike Michael Onovo. "I saw my daughter Chisom being dragged out. I was relieved, but I kept shouting, 'Where is Chidera, my son?'"
The boy's body was later found, crushed by the fallen concrete in his classroom on the first floor.
Also searching frantically that day was 43 year old Victor Dennis. His worst fears were confirmed a day later when he found his son Emmanuel’s lifeless body at a local morgue. "My boy was a good boy," he said. "He didn’t deserve to die. They killed my son. He didn’t do anything wrong. He just went to school to learn."
Tears fall from Mr. Dennis' bloodshot eyes as mourners sing a farewell hymn at his son’s burial. Emmanuel’s mother, inconsolable with grief, stays at home.
People in Jos have rallied to support one another, with many young lives saved thanks to blood donors visiting local hospitals. However, there is anger and disbelief that yet another building collapse has been allowed to happen in Nigeria. Residents even claim the children had felt the building shake the day before.
"Substandard materials were used these could have been responsible for the collapse of the building," says Olusegun Godwin Olukoya, a regulator and architect leading the Nigerian Institute of Architects in Plateau state. "Our preliminary investigations indicate that there was a possible lack of adherence to building regulations."
He is scathing in his criticism of builders and the Nigerian authorities. "Unfortunately, due to the kind of society that we live in, lack of will has prevented the authorities from adopting our suggestions in the past. People cut corners, and when you try to raise an alarm, some feel that you are trying to victimize or oppress them. They use their people in positions of authority to circumvent the rules."
Following the building collapse at Saints Academy, the local governor has ordered a structural audit of all schools and public buildings in Plateau state, of which Jos is the capital. Officials in his government say it is not clear whether the school’s owner, who has since died, ever had a construction permit for the site.
Some suspect that mining activity nearby could have damaged the school building, so the governor has also ordered the arrest of any artisanal miners found digging in residential areas in the state. However, officials suspect the main problem was with how the school was built.
"Even as a layman who is not a building professional, you can see that the materials used in the construction are not standard. But we will investigate the cause of the collapse and punish those found culpable," said Musa Ashom, the state Commissioner for Information.
Similar promises came from Nigeria's Housing Minister, Ahmed Dangiwa, who spoke harshly of "unscrupulous" individuals whose actions he said had resulted in the Jos school collapse and caused unquantifiable loss. But those words offer little consolation to the many bereft families, like that of Chinecherem Joy Emeka.
The 13 year old was one of the best dancers at her school and dreamed of becoming a doctor one day, says her mother, Blessing Nwabuchi. Chinecherem, or Chi Chi as loved ones called her, was sitting her end of year exams the day she died. Photos from her junior high graduation last year are precious reminders of what she achieved and everything she might have gone on to become.
