A whiteboard wrinkled by flames still had the
topic, “Anarchy,” written on it. The topic was apparently being considered in
the Civil Education curriculum. How ironical it turned out to be, indeed, as
what befell the Ansar-Ud-Deen Academy, Lagos, last week could as well be
described as anarchy.
Although located in the Randle Avenue area of
Surulere, a community that is well known for its cluster of schools, the
Ansar-Ud-Deen Academy shares boundary with a rather strange neighbour — the
once dreaded Odua People’s Congress (OPC).
Like the predictable fate of an air-filled balloon
tied next to a thicket of thorns, the Islamic school’s structure and premises
were inadvertently set ablaze by warring members of the vigilance group who
have always been known for their dare-devil operations.
It was gathered that everything had gone as usual
on Friday 16 January. School activities had ended and students had gone home.
Even the after-school lesson organised for final-year students of the school
had ended. But little did the teachers and students know that the next time
they would see their beloved school, it would be in ruins.
Trouble was said to have started at around 7.00
p.m. on the fateful day when members of a faction of the OPC from another
location stormed the premises of the faction that shared boundary with the
school. The factions are believed to have been at war for some time leaving
members of the Randle community terrified.
This time, it was learnt, a money-related issue
prompted an aggrieved faction to set the premises of the other located at
Randle on fire. Given the time of the incident and the fact that the
environment is predominantly occupied by schools and is largely deserted at
night, there was nobody around to seek immediate help to put out the fire.
Thus, after destroying the OPC base, the fire spread to the school, leaving a
trail of destruction behind.
On a visit to the school premises
during the week, it was observed that the entire roof of the two-storey
building, which served as the school, was destroyed. The ceilings were burnt,
whiteboards, desks and chairs suffered same fate. The floor was full of fallen
roof parts, just as the stairs were full of debris. The entire surrounding
reeked of burnt cement.
Speaking on the development,
the Vice-Principal (Administration) of the school, Mr Debiyi Kayode, insisted
that the disaster would have been averted if appropriate authorities had acted
on a request by the school management for the relocation of the OPC base away
from the school premises.
He said a series of requests were made in the past
for the OPC base to be taken elsewhere after it became clear that the presence
and activities of the group posed risk and danger to students of the school. To
underline the danger the group posed to the school, Mr Kayode disclosed that
the school management had had to lock the students in their classrooms on a
number of occasions when the factions fought.
“They are always fighting. When they start, we
endeavour to keep our children safe inside the school. If the appropriate
authorities had responded to a series of letters we had written over this and
relocated these people, we wouldn’t be talking about this today,” he stated.
The vice principal, therefore, called on relevant
authorities to take observations made by members of the public seriously,
irrespective of where such observations were coming from. He noted that the
only time any form of response was heard over the matter was about two years
ago when some government officials swooped on the base and drove the occupants
away.
“But no sooner had they been driven away than
another set came and took over the place. My appeal to the relevant authorities
is that they should take note of public complaints and find solutions
accordingly. Thank God this incident happened when everybody had left the
school. If the attacking OPC boys had decided to carry out their plans around
midday, then we would perhaps be talking about human causalties today,” he
said.
Mr Kayode listed some of the items destroyed in the
inferno to include pieces of furniture, air condition units, fans and books.
It was also had a chat with one of the
school’s security men, Mr Raphael Onoyom, who had just finished his work for
the day and was heading home. He said the OPC’s base was made up of mainly
wooden shacks and corrugated aluminium sheet which, he said, made it easy for
the fire to burn and spread.
According to him, about four generators were also
within the enclosure of the OPC base and those might have aided the spread of
the fire.
“The street is always deserted at night. It is only
the presence of members of the OPC group that often gives one a false idea that
people live here. Maybe if there were people living on this street, the school
wouldn’t have been razed in this manner,” he stated.
In the meantime, in order not to allow the incident
affect academic activites in anyway, the school management has made an
arrangement with a sister Ansar-Ud-Deen Academy, a few meters away, where the
students, numbering about 150, are currently having their classes.
A visit paid to the new school
showed students going about their normal school activities. Some of them were
seen observing prayers, while others were performing ablution.
A quick look around what was left of the OPC base,
which was promptly abandoned by members of the group after the incident, showed
the existence of common household items, as well as rather strange ones at the
place.
Spotted on the floor was a machete that had no
handle, broken bottles, crushed cooking stoves, two mortals of varying sizes
sitting on their brims, as well as an empty animal cage.
Another
section of a wall had collapsed into the school premises, and resting in a
corner that was quite difficult to spot was a dog that looked like it was going
to breathe its last any moment. At a distance from the main entrance sat a
strange object that looked like it belonged in a shrine