As he lay down writhing in pains on his sick bed at the Trauma and Burns Centre of Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos, Mr. Osinanna Odidika pondered on what had become of his life. Suddenly, life had become a nightmare for him, as he lost his wife and three children to a cooking gas explosion at their home in Pakuro, Ogun State on August 15, 2015.
He was fortunate to have escaped death but sustained serious burns. At the sound of approaching footsteps, he would turn towards the aisle of the hospital ward gaze anxiously at any person entering the ward.
He was still wondering why his wife and children had not been brought to see him in the sad condition.Sunday Telegraph learnt that as at Friday, he had not been told that his entire family was wiped out in the incident.
Until that fateful day, they were one happy family, comprising Osinana; his wife, Nkechi; five-year-old Glory; her three-year-old sister, Joy; and their 18-month-old brother, Testimony. Osinanna was happily returning home after a hectic business day on Lagos Island with his in-law identified as Simon Maduakor when they made a stop-over at Ketu to refill their gas cylinder.
They then left for home but little did they know that trouble was just ahead. Narrating the incident ordeal to our correspondent who visited the area, a teary Maduakor said, “We were coming back from business together and decided to refill their gas cylinder at Ketu.
We then drove home. “After we got to their house, I left for my own abode. After two hours, I decided to go back to their house. On my way, I heard a huge sound from their two-bedroom flat and I thought a water tank had collapsed.
A huge ball of fire suddenly rose from their flat. I later learnt that the cylinder exploded while they were trying to light their gas cooker.” He said that immediately after the explosion, his in-law had rushed to the only door to the house and tried to force it open.
Unfortunately, the key handle was defective and so he resorted to pushing the door open and throwing out his burning family members. “He tried to save them, even with fire all over him, while we decided to carry them away.
Their flesh was just peeling off as we were taking them away. It was devastating experience,” he stated.
However, Maduakor said he rushed them to Onyi Medical Centre in Mowe, Ogun State.
When they saw the extent of the burns, he asked for a referral letter to transfer them to Gbagada General Hospital in Lagos, where they were all admitted at the Trauma and Burns centre. “It was three Sundays ago that I took them to the hospital.
On the Thursday after, Joy was first to die at 2p.m. After an hour, Glory died and then their mother followed an hour and half later. Testimony died on Saturday. I’ve just returned from the village where we went to bury them.”
The visibly traumatised Maduakor has been at the hospital where his in-law is recuperating for over three weeks. Asked why the news of his family members’ deaths has not been broken to Osinana, he replied, “We are being careful with what we tell him.
He must not know that his family members have all died. We told him they have been transferred to Lagos University Teaching Hospital at Idi Araba. But blood is thicker than water, as he is beginning to suspect that that’s not the truth.
We don’t want to lose him also.” He added that he and some wellwishers and friends had spent over N1 million on the victims’ hospital bills as well as additional N60,000 weekly.
He added, “We are requesting for help. Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, and well-meaning Nigerians should come and assist this man so he does not die. We are still spending money on him. There is nothing we can do about the dead now, but we have to help Odidika to survive.”
A member of the family’s church, Mr. Kenneth Uzomah, said the tragedy should be blamed on the shoddy construction of the flat. “Imagine a two-bedroom flat with one entrance only at the kitchen. In case of an emergency such as this, little or nothing could have been done. Let our builders please consider the safety of people while drawing building plans,” he said.
