How 50 People Drowned Due To Carelessness

Yekini Jimoh, Ilorin
River Nano

The incident that occurred on Friday, October 30, in Bukuro village, in Baruteen Local Government Area of Kwara State, is one that cannot be forgotten in a hurry by residents and some Beninoise.

About 50 people made up mostly of pupils and market women drowned when the boats in which they were travelling on Nano River to Yariwondo village in the Republic of Benin, sank. The river is said to be the boundary between Bukuro and Yoriwondo.

The people that died were said to be among the 80 passengers that were travelling at the time of the incident. Saturday Tribune gathered that the community had one primary school which was renovated by the National Boundary Commission so that their children could have access to education. But pupils still crossed River Nano to Yariwondo to attend schools there due to the poor state of the only primary school in Bukuro. It was also learnt that because of the facilities in Republic Benin, the Beninoise residing in Bukuro also send their children to schools in Yariwondo.

The recovered corpses were given mass burial at the river bank by the people of the community. One of the survivors, Habibat Sule, said in an interview with Saturday Tribune that the tragedy could have been averted.

In painting a picture of the incident, she said that before the fateful journey began, it was noticed that water was entering the boat and this was brought to the attention of the driver, but the man said that this was nothing to worry about; that the boat would make it across the river, which is about 600 metres long.

Habibat said that on getting somewhere in the middle of the river, the boat began to sink due to the number of the passengers and the water that was continued to get inside. According to her, another passenger boat which was coming from opposite direction was asked for assistance, but both boats sank in the course of taking people from one to the other.

She explained further that those among them that could swim jumped into the river in an attempt to swim to safety while those who could not, including herself, went under the sea. Habibat stated that when she miraculously came back on top of the river, she first grabbed some floating loads belonging to the passengers but they slipped from her hand. Determined to survive, Habibat said she got her hand on a branch of tree by the river and held it until she was rescued.

Another female survivor, Mary John, said it was God that saved her from the tragedy. She disclosed to Saturday Tribune that she was an apprentice and was going to Yariwondo to buy things since it was a market day.

She said the people that died during the incident were mostly pupils, who were travelling from Bukuro to Yariwondo. According to her, most of the people whose relatives were involved in the accident were citizens of Benin Republic living Bukuro either as fishermen or farmers.

John said about 37 people were rescued during the tragedy while over 50 drowned. The Emir of Gwanara in the local government, Alhaji Sabi Idris, in a reaction,described the tragedy as the worst in the history of Gwanara District.

According to him, Bukoro is 55 kilometres from Gwanara as the two towns were always busy because they were border areas between Nigeria and Republic of Benin. He said that the people of both communities enjoyed good relationship.

The traditional ruler, who sympathised with the families of those who died, made a passionate appealed to the Federal Government to pay more attention to the development of border towns, especially those in Baruteen Local Government Area.

He lamented that his district had been described as the most neglected border town, a situation which, he said, called for urgent attention. According to him, the incident would have been averted if the school in Bukuro was adequately equipped. He also emphasised the need for the Federal Government to provide the community with good road network and electricity to boost economic activities in the area and discourage the natives from crossing over to the Benin Republic border towns for business transactions.

The village head of Bukuro, Mallam Isa Aliyu, lamented that his village, with a population of about 2,000, could only boast of three teachers in its one primary school.

He said that the incident was borne out of the determination of parents in his domain to get their children and wards educated, thereby necessitating the enrolment of the pupils in schools the Benin Republic.

Leader of the delegation and Special Adviser
on Emergence Relief to Governor Saraki,
Alhaji Sulyman Kayode Yusuf, and other
members at the grave side.The Education Secretary of Baruten Local Government Area, Mallam Umaru Zango, claimed that about 55 pupils were aboard the ill-fated boats. He called on the state government to provide more teachers for Bukuro Primary School, Zango, saying this would go a long way in reducing the number of pupils attending schools in the neighbouring country.

So far, 35 people were said to have been rescued, while 30 were found dead. Others were yet to be found. However, the chairman of the Baruten Local Government Area, Alhaji Mohammed Salihu, while addressing a press conference on the incident, said that 40 corpses were recovered by fishermen on Monday.

Alhaji Salihu said that the incident occurred last week Friday and that 55 people were on board, as against 80 passengers reported in some newspapers. Alhaji Salihu said that the President of Benin Republic had visited the scene of the incident.

He also disclosed that intelligence reports confirmed that those involved were non-Nigerians and that the Beninoise President donated four speedboats to the people.

“I wish to state unequivocally that the people involved were non-Nigerians and no Nigerian child goes to the Republic of Benin to receive any form of education, hence, the involvement of our pupils was a misinformation,” he said.

He said further that the school in question was not in Baruteen Local Government Area of Kwara State, but a border village of Yariwondo in the Republic of Benin. The Kwara State governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, commiserated with the families of all the Benin Republic nationals who lost their lives in the accident.

Dr. Saraki, in a condolence message to the Beninoise, who lived along the border towns of Bukuro in Baruteen Local Government Area of the state and Yariwondon, described the incident as a big tragedy.

The governor, who expressed shock at the incident, said the involvement of pupils in the accident made the situation even more pathetic. Saraki, who had earlier sent a delegation, led by his Special Adviser on Emergency and Relief Services, Alhaji Sulyman Kayode Yusuf, to the scene of the incident, enjoined the Beninoise in the border area to continue to live in peace and harmony with their Nigerian neighbours.

Governor Saraki, however, appealed to fishermen in the area to ensure that their boats were in good condition before embarking on any journey. He also urged government of Benin Republic to see to it that relatives of the victims were compensated.

Governor Saraki prayed God to grant the souls of the departed ones peaceful rest and the affected families the fortitude to bear the loss.