As
Nigerians continued to express outrage over Monday’s suicide bombing at
a bus park in Kano which claimed over 60 lives, survivours of the bomb
attack, yesterday on their hospital beds, recounted their harrowing
experiences and agony, saying they saw death.
 |
Abdullahi
Maiagogo Gayawa, a 70 year-old wrist watch seller who was affected by
the blast said: “I was at the motor park as usual for a routine business
when in a middle of the transaction, I heard a loud bang that sent me
sprawling on the ground.
Initially,
I could not comprehend what happened but rose and took to my heels only
to notice that my stomach was ripped open,with my intestines gorging
out.
I
quickly packed my intestines with my cloth and was trying to escape
from the scene when suddenly I woke up in the hospital surrounded by a
team of medical doctors”.
The
Septuagenarian, looking frail and worn out told Vanguard on his sick
bed: “I saw death at a close range and I had almost given up hope of
living but all praises to Allah for His intervention.
Gayawa
further explained that “as you can see I am still active and I struggle
hard to feed my family and this particular motor park where the
incident occurred is my place of business and I had been getting serious
patronage from the travelers.”
In
the stretch of my life spanning seven decades, I have never seen this
kind of trouble, the bang was so loud that I saw many going down,
covered with their blood and the wailing that followed was such that I
thought the end of time has come”.
Another
lucky survivor, Magawata Goje, 45, told on his sick bed thus: “I was
inside the Lagos-bound luxury bus when the blast occurred. I was seated
at the back seat, and it was Allah that understands how I survived the
blast.
“I
heard people saying that I was dead because I was covered with blood
and I could see a lot of people in comatose position and I had to raise
my hand to draw the attention of the rescuers before they attended to
me. Goje who sustained second degree burns then appealed for quick
intervention of government to save his life.
In
pains, he struggled to raise his burnt neck and hand and looked through
the window pointing at where his children and members of his family
were anxiously waiting and monitoring his health from the sideline.
“Look at my wife and children watching from outside and you can imagine
what will become of their lives if adequate measure is not taken to save
my life”
Hamisu Usman, another survivor, told
that “I was in a Port Harcourt-bound bus when a blast ripped through,
and the rest I knew was that I found myself in the hospital where the
doctor was telling me to remain calm”
I spoke with the suicide bomber before he struck - Emmanuel Bassey, 40 years old tout
In his account, Emmanuel Bassey, a
40-year-old bus park tout who survived the blast revealed his encounter
with the suicide bomber before he struck
Bassey who claimed to work for Ezewanta
Group of Motors stated that “the guy came in a blue Golf car, I could
recall that he was dark in complexion and appeared to be in his mid
30’s. He was calm during my brief interaction with him and did not look
harmful. I asked him where he was going, and he said, ‘I have not
decided’, and in no time some of my colleagues at the park were rushing
towards him and suddenly he sped off, applied brake close to a loaded
vehicle and in a twinkle of an eye, I heard a loud bang that sent me
sprawling on the ground”, Bassey explained.
He revealed that four of his colleagues
who were running after him to ascertain which part of the southern part
of the country he wanted to go all died on the spot due to the impact
of the blast.
Bassey who suffered second degree burns
cried out: “Men, I saw hell and believed that I was going to die before
some good Samaritan brought me to the hospital.
Bassey lost his skin and his stomach
was ripped open by the blast but has undergone several procedures and
appeared to be in a stable condition. Bassey who complained of excessive
heat on his sick bed displayed a deep hole on his stomach saying: “I
was simply not lucky on the day of carnage but all the same I give glory
to God that I am alive but I hope government will do their best to
bring the perpetrators to book”.
In the meantime, Kano State Government has offered to foot the medical expenses of those affected by the blast.
Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the Acting
Governor gave the assurance in Kano shortly after paying a visit to the
injured victims at the MurtalaMuhammadSpecialistHospital, Kano.
“The carnage perpetrated by whoever is
behind this is totally condemnable, this is not religion, and definitely
this is not the teaching of Islam. It is there for everyone to see and
it remains the basic truth”, Ganduje stressed.
Source: Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment