Kunle Adelabu
-Humanitarian group ought to have involved us – CDA actors
Some of the victims of the stampede that occurred on Friday, May 15, 2020, when a humanitarian organization, Rosula Foundation, distributed relief materials to residents of Ikorodu West Local Council Development Area at Ajagunro community, have blamed the incident on lack of proper arrangement and crowd management.
Community leaders and residents, who also spoke with THE IMPACT, also queried the way the entire exercise, which was aimed at cushioning the effects of the lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of COVID – 19, was managed by the Foundation.
The good intention by the foundation turned sour due to stampede at the venue of the distribution which allegedly claimed some lives while several others were injured.
Our reporter, in a bid to get clarifications after gotten wind of the incident, contacted the Ikorodu West LCDA Authority and Community Development Associations (CDAs) in Ajagunro when it was impossible to reach the management of the Foundation.
As reported in our online report on Monday, May 18, the Chairman of the council, Hon. Jumoke Jimbo – Ademehin, and the Deputy Leader of the Council’s Legislative arm, Hon. Tejumaiye Adeyanju Julius, who is also representing Ward B where the incident occurred, promised that the council would investigate the matter.
On May 17, our reporter contacted the council and was informed that the 2-man committee comprising a Councilor and traditional chief (Baale) in Ajagunro, set up by the council to investigate the incident, found out that nothing of such happened.
We were informed that the school gate that was damaged by the crowd that stormed the distribution venue has been fixed by the foundation.
Our reporter, who was inundated with calls by residents of the community, embarked on a four-day investigation combing the length and breadth of Ajagunro for some of the victims and eye witnesses of the incident as well as community leaders to ascertain further claims and denials.
A major impediment is that families of most of the victims of the stampede prevented them from speaking with our reporter when approached for the fear that such action would reveal their identity to the public.
The fear of speaking with a stranger whose intention they did not know also caused initial challenges faced by our reporter.
Encounter With Some Victims, Residents Of Ajagunro
The findings we thought could not take us more than a day took four days as our reporter found it difficult to get the residents to speak on their experiences regarding the incident.
But the efforts eventually paid off when one of our sources took us to the home of late Mrs Morenike Ayeotan, a 38-year hairdresser who was one of the victims of the stampede at the Ajagunro Primary School, Ajagunro, Ikorodu West LCDA, where the distribution of the relief materials by the Rosula Foundation was held.
The residence of the deceased, which is a one-room apartment with a shop which she used for her hairdressing business while alive, looks more like a shanty and this indeed proves that she was truly in need of the relief packages that was distributed by the humanitarian organization.
The deceased, who was a single parent, stayed at the apartment with her two children – Emmanuel Awe, 12, and Dorcas Awe, 8 and her brother, Abiodun Aiyedun, a plumber.
The grave where she was buried on Saturday, May 16, was still fresh when our reporter visited. The grave has been covered with sand and blocks but was yet to be plastered.
When our reporter asked Morenike’s brother who later joined our reporter at the home of the deceased, about the deceased’s two children, he said that they have been taken to her eldest sister’s place for care.
Abiodun, who said he was not at home when the incident happened, added that he was told that her sister was among those that were trampled upon during the stampede that occurred at the place she had gone to collect relief materials.
Mrs Hadiza, a Fulani woman who lives directly opposite late Morenike’s house, told our reporter that the deceased was with her till she left for the venue of the distribution of the relief materials and also narrated how she was brought back home dead.
“We were here together till around 2pm on that fateful day. She was actually with me while I was washing clothes. I later went inside to take my bath and by the time I came out, she had gone but she left a message with someone that she went to Ajagunro where they were distributing food items”, Mrs Hadiza told our reporter.
“I then called her and later sent somebody to her but they could not locate her. I was told that the crowd at the place was huge.
“I was told that people also gathered at a chemist shop and that people were beaten at the venue. In actual fact, I was told that they shot guns”, she claimed.
“Those that I sent there returned home panicking and suddenly, I saw people arriving at Mrs Morenike’s house and l was told to take her (Mrs Morenike’s) children inside my house because she left them at my place.
“It was not long after that that they brought her corpse and I was told that she fell down during the stampede and was trampled upon by others. There were sand all over her body. She was brought back here dead”, the neighbor said.
When asked if she also heard about other victims of the stampede, she answered in affirmative but added that her major concern was about her neighbor.
“I was only concerned about her (Mrs Morenike) alone because she was very close to me but I also heard about other victims too. I was told that a pregnant woman, a man and a child also died at the place on the same day.
“It was really a chaotic scene where everybody was said to have scampered for safety”.
Our reporter also met another victim, Mrs Alli, an elderly woman over 70 years who resides in Abule Alfa, Ajagunro.
While narrating her own experience at the venue of the distribution of relief materials, she said that she was pushed to the floor by the crowd during the stampede but that she was luckily rescued by some people.
“I was at the venue where they distributed food items last Friday”, she confirmed to our reporter.
“There were shouts that people were being trampled upon during the stampede and several people were pushed towards me and they all fell on me. I was rescued by some people who lifted me up. I still have my cap at the place”, she said jokingly.
“There were lots of caps and shoes that were abandoned at the place during the stampede”.
When our reporter made attempt to inform Mrs Alli that he heard about the alleged stampede, she interrupted him, saying:
“This is not that you heard, I am confirming to you that several people actually died. There was also a pregnant woman who had miscarriage at the place. There was blood on her and I was later told that she died but I cannot confirm that”, she claimed.
“They also rushed the son of this woman (pointing to another woman) home. He was trampled upon too during the stampede”.
She also gave suggestion on how to avoid such unfortunate occurrence in the future.
“In subsequent distributions, organisers should endeavor to distribute cards to beneficiaries ahead of the day. Like what happened when another organization distributed relief materials in Ikorodu, it was cards that they issued to the beneficiaries prior to the distribution proper.
“There was also another organization that came here to distribute relief materials and when they saw that there were crowd of young men at the venue, they spoke with them that what they brought were meant for the elderly people. That was how they were able to give us the packages without any problem”.
Mrs Yusuf, a resident of Asolo in Ikorodu West LCDA whose shop was very close to the Baale Ajagunro’s palace, also confirmed to THE IMPACT that her son was one of the victims of the stampede.
She also condemned the report that there was no stampede at the venue of the distribution of the relief materals.
“It is true, my son, Temitatyo, was also among those that were affected by the stampede at the venue where Rosula distributed food items. He is about 15 years old”, she confirmed.
“Those that said that the incident did not happen are liars. It happened in our area and one of the victims is a woman in our area. She had two kids. You will see her grave if you go to her house”, she said.
“Many people were affected. There was a case of a pregnant woman who lost her pregnancy at the place. I learnt that about three deaths were recorded at the venue. I also learnt that a child also died too”, she stated.
“My son fainted at the place but he is now getting better”, she confirmed to our reporter.
She blamed the foundation for what happened despite the presence of policemen.
“My own opinion is that people were not well organised. Though, the Foundation came with police officers but they were only inside the place (school compound) and not outside where there were crowd of people.
“They did not inform the people on how they wanted them to conduct themselves.
“I was there myself but not for long because the crowd was much and uncontrollable and as a result, I had to leave the place. I later learnt that many people fainted. In my area, they brought a lady from the place and she later died”.
She advised that distribution of that nature should be done on house-to-house basis with police protection or ensure that people queue to receive the relief items if the distribution must be done at a venue.
‘It was the lack of organization that caused the problem at the Rosula programme. They were not well organized at all. They brought about three trailers with enough food items to go round those that were present but people were not well organised at all”, she alleged.
Mr Arowolo, popularly called ‘Baba Block’, who was also trampled upon during the stampede and was injured on his leg, told our reporter on phone that people at the venue of Rosula foundation’s relief materials distribution became rowdy, adding that organisers of such event should find means to ensure a hitch-free exercise in subsequent editions.
“I was at the venue where the relief materials were shared and I did sustain injury on my leg. Only God saved my life. The crowd at the place was much.
“The stampede at the place was caused by the large crowd which gave some miscreants the opportunity to misbehave. It was the large crowd which was uncontrollable that caused the stampede”.
When asked about his health, Mr Arowolo said: “I am getting necessary treatments and I thank God.
“In subsequent editions, the foundation needs to ensure that they put every necessary arrangement in place and possibly find means of engaging boys in area of the distribution in the exercise so as to prevent them from disrupting the whole exercise”, he advised.
While stating that the Rosula Foundation meant well, Mr Arowolo put the blame on those in the large crowd which he said were impatient.
“The group that brought the relief materials only brought socor to the people that are in need. They had good intentions but it was the people that those materials were meant for that got rowdy and impatient”, he said.
When asked about other victims, ‘Baba Block’ said that he left the place immediately he was assisted out of the stampede.
“I left the place as soon as I was able to get up. I didn’t know what happened there thereafter”, he said.
The Vice Chairman of the Shokunbi CDA, Mr Wahab Kayode, who also attributed the incident to lack of organisation, called for the inclusion of the CDAs in such programmes in future for effective delivery.
“One of the victims of the incident lived in our area and she had since been buried on Saturday, May 16, 2020.
“The sad incident was due to lack of proper arrangement. They did not follow protocol in ensuring that people are on queue to collect the packages one after the other. This made people fell one another while scrambling for the packages”, the community leader said.
He suggested that any organization that is embarking on such programme must make solid arrangement to avoid such unfortunate outcome.
He also said that organisers of such exercise should involve the CDA in the area of the venue of the distribution to ensure smooth outing since officers of the CDA know their terrain better.
“They supposed to have contacted the CDA before going ahead with such programme. They have to let us know about the exercise so that we can work hand in hand.
Alhaji Temitayo Yusuf, Secretary Omotayo CDA, Ajagunro, and a member of the Ikorodu West LCDA Community Development Committee (CDC), also stated that the stampede was caused by lack of crowd control.
He corroborated Mr Kayode’s statement by calling for the inclusion of the community leaders of affected areas in such exercise.
He spoke with THE IMPACT in the presence of the Charman, Treasurer and one other exco member of the CDA.
“Although, we were not informed about it initially but we heard about the incident when it happened. We were properly briefed about it simply because the deceased was one of our members”, he said.
“We heard that some of the people at the place (venue of the distribution of the relief materials) took her to the hospital before she was brought home dead. It was at that point that the community leaders were alerted.
“We stood by the family and gave them support for the burial.
“From the information that we gathered so far, there was a stampede at the venue of the distribution exercise simply because there were too many people”, the community scribe said.
“Many lives were lost and one of those that died happens to be our member. There are other casualties but the one that concerned us was the one that lived in our community”.
Speaking on the importance of involving CDAs in any activity meant for the grassroots people, the Omotayo CDA Secretary said:
“The government knows what they are doing when it established the Community Development Associations (CDAs) which is a community of people that reside in a particular area and their representatives are in the local government as the Community Development Committee (CDC).
“If anything is coming from the government to the people, it usually passes through the local government to the CDC and from there to the CDA which is referred to as the grassroots. There is no way the federal or state government will get to the grassroots without the CDAs because they are the ones with data of their local areas.
“In that sense, if any organisation, company or group want to get in touch with the people in a particular community, such needs to contact the local government who in turn will get in touch with the CDC and then the CDA which will get in touch with their community members’’, he advocated.
“What the humanitarian group that brought this progarmme ought to have done was to make arrangement with the council which would carry along the CDC and CDA and that would have prevented any stampede”, he suggested.
Also, a concerned resident, who assisted our reporter in identifying some of these victims, stated that the arrangement by the humanitarian organisation was porous.
She also condemned the attitudes of the Foundation towards what incident.
“What happened was terrible. Those people (Rosula Foundation) are behaving as if nothing has happened, they do not see themselves as party to the sad incident which they are in the real sense of it. From the situation of things on that ground on that day, it shows that they are not bothered about the people”, she alleged.
“The fact is that no one would have been at that venue on that day to scramble for food if they had not brought the relief materials. I am not saying that they did anything wrong, but the only concern is that they appeared not to be concerned about the incident.
“If they truly cares which was why they brought they the relief materials for the people, they would have shown more concern. But they did not bother about what has happened to those that gathered at the venue for the relief materials.
“The basic requirement is to ensure that they don’t just ask people to converge on the venue, but also to ensure that they do that in a way that would ensure orderliness and physical distancing”, she said.
She also described the reports by the councilor and Baale on the incident as a compromise against the people that they are serving.
“What you told me is very shocking and unbelievable. Is it possible for a the Baale whose people are among those that died and injured in the stampede to say that nothing has happened? Which Councilor is that ‘gan’ sef? Is it our own councillor whom we have not been seeing or what?” she asked sarcastically.
“Nobody has deemed it fit to visit the community and commiserate with the residents that are affected. The people risked their lives to scramble food because government failed to provide for them while the humanitarian group, Rosula Foundation, that acted in good faith failed in managing the situation properly”.
She stated that somebody should assist in taking care of late Morenike’s two kids who are now without their mother due to the failure of the society.
Another woman, who also spoke in confidence with THE IMPACT, called for thorough investigation into the unfortunate incident.
She also called demanded for compensation for the victims, especially the family of late Morenike and other that lost their lives in the incident.
On Friday, May 21, our reporter visited Chief Sikiru Orepitan, the Bale of Ajagunro, in his home at Ajagunro, and he told our reporter that no incident happened at the Ajagunro Primary school.
When engaged further, he said that they have resolved everything around the incident without stating parties to the resolution.
When our reporter told him that he has both videos, voice recordings and photographs on the incident to prove otherwise, the traditional chief stated:
“Well, I was not at the scene and cannot tell you anything. You may contact the council for further clarification”.
When contacted on same Friday and informed about our findings which contradicted the reports by the Councilor and Baale, the Chairman, Ikorodu West LCDA, Hon. Jumoke Jimbo – Ademehin, said that she was still trying to reach the humanitarian body that distributed the relief materials and that all her efforts in that regard were yet to materialize.
While stating that the council was in no way involved in the arrangement of the foundation for exercise, Hon. Ademehin said that she felt for the victims.
Further attempts by our reporter to reach the foundation proved abortive while attempts to reach it and its founder via their online platforms also proved abortive.
The Foundation’s online address, “Rosemary Osula-Atu’s Email & Phone# | Vice chairman/ceo …contactout.com › Rosemary-Osula-Atu-24235443”, where we thought we could also get the founder’s or representatives of the Foundation, was also not helpful as the email and phone contacts only revealed the details below:
“Rosemary Osula-Atu’s Email r****[email protected]”.
