Ibadan Explosion: Afenifere Leader, Fasoranti, Expresses Shock
..calls on govts to prevent a re-occurrence
Leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and political organization, Chief Reuben Famuyide Fasoranti, OFR, has expressed shock over the devastating explosion that occurred in Ibadan on Tuesday evening and called on federal and state governments to ensure that such does not happen again.
The elder stateman expressed this in a message to condole with the families of the victims, government of Oyo State and Nigeria as a whole “because what happened in Ibadan that Tuesday evening was not for the victims’ families or Ibadan residents alone as some of the victims were from different parts of Nigeria and perhaps from outside the country!” Fasoranti commiserated.
National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Comrade Jare Ajayi, in the condolence message, stated that Pa Fasoranti deeply felt for the families of those who lost their lives and prayed that the injured get well as quickly as possible.
It would be recalled that a seemingly mysterious explosion occurred at about 7 o clock in the evening of Tuesday, January 16, 2024 around Dejo Oyelese/Awolowo Avenue, Old Bodija, Ibadan, capital of Oyo State. Reports have it that lives ranging between two and ten were lost, about 80 people were injured while houses and cars were destroyed. Bodija is one of high-brow areas in Ibadan housing middle and upper-level individuals.
President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Oyo State governor, Engineer Oluseyi Makinde, not only expressed sadness over the incident, they charged security agencies to dig deep into the root of the incident. Makinde also promised that the state government will take care of the hospital bills of those who were injured and assist those whose properties were destroyed.
Incidentally some properties of the state government were also among those that suffered in the explosion.
“As the saying goes, an injury to one is an injury to all. What happened in Ibadan, just like various terrorist acts happening in different parts of the country, are quite worrisome to us in Afenifere and indeed to all of us in Yorubaland.
This is why we always called on those concerned to take decisive steps to put a stop to these destructive acts as we all are the losers” Ajayi quoted Pa Fasoranti as saying.
He added that Afenifere Leader lent his voice to that of President Bola Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde in calling for the unveiling those behind the explosion with a view to ensuring that such does not happen anywhere in Nigeria again.