Barrister Iyiola Oladokun, a former deputy governor of Oyo State, has lamented that he has been rendered homeless by the explosion that rocked Ibadan on Tuesday evening.
I have been rendered homeless following Ibadan explosion – Former deputy gov. of Oyo State laments
Barrister Iyiola Oladokun, a former deputy governor of Oyo State, has lamented that he has been rendered homeless by the explosion that rocked Ibadan on Tuesday evening.
Governor Seyi Makinde on Wednesday morning said the explosion was caused by illegal miners who had stored explosives in a building on Dejo Oyelese Close in the Bodija area of Ibadan, the state capital,
According to the governor, two people had been killed while 77 others were injured by the blast.
Oladokun said he was one of those whose houses were destroyed.
Oladokun, who served as deputy governor during the late Alhaji Lam Adesina’s administration from 1999 to 2003, said he and his family would have to find a permanent place to sleep as they had been rendered homeless by the incident.
He said a friend provided accommodation for them on Tuesday night.
“My house was affected. We were just watching a football match when the explosion occurred. All the doors that were closed were forced open by the blast. But my wife and I were not hurt.
“The doors, burglaries, windows and even the roof have gone. But we can’t sleep here again. We couldn’t sleep here last night; we had to find somewhere to sleep yesterday.”
The Redeemed Health Centre, close to the site of the blast, had four victims from the incident left on admission when media visited the hospital.
It was learnt that more than a dozen victims were taken to the hospital immediately after the explosion on Tuesday evening but some have been discharged while some others with critical cases had been referred to the University College Hospital.
One of the victims left at the hospital, Oluwakemi Akande survived with bruises on her face and injuries on her arm and leg.
She lamented that what she lost to the incident could not be quantified as “I lost everything”.
“When I heard the loud bang, I thought it came from the cooking gas at home but I soon realised it was bigger. It affected my face, arm and leg. I was brought to the hospital that night.
“My house is gone; the building was destroyed. I’m homeless now because I don’t know where I will sleep when I’m discharged from the hospital. We will need to start from scratch. We will need the government’s support to rebuild everything. I cannot quantify what I lost; it is too much,” she said.
Another victim who spoke media lamented that he did not know where to start from.
“You can see for yourself; everything is gone. The whole house has been destroyed. How do you come back from this? I don’t even know where I will sleep tonight, let alone know how tomorrow will be,” he said.
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