Kano — As Nigerians continued to express outrage over Monday's suicide bombing at a bus park in Kano which claimed over 60 lives, survivors 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.
Thirty-seven-year-old severely burnt Emmanuel Bassey lies in a hospital bed at Murtala Mohammed Specialist hospital in northern Nigeria's largest city of Kano on March 19, 2013. Two suicide bombers rammed their car into a bus loaded with passengers at the bus station, killing at least 22 people and injuring 65 others, the following explosions burnt five buses
"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".
We saw death - Survivors
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 Vanguard 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".
Also speaking to Vanguard in the same vein, Hamisu Usman, another survivor, told Vanguard 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 to Vanguard 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.
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What proof do you have that Okorocha is funding Boko Haram? Is it just because he went to Borno state on behalf of the APC along with Fashola and Oshiomole and donated ₦200 million to the victims? They might be, I am not sure. As Jonathan himself has stated, Boko Haram's supporters are within the power structure. But it is a more sensible argument that they may really be donating to the victims as part of a political move to retain and gain more supporters for 2015. If the Edo, Imo, and Lagos state governors making the donation are supporting terrorists, then this supports what I have said all along that Boko Haram has nothing to do with Islam vs. Christianity in Nigeria. It would have everything to do with politics, as sick as it sounds, but then again, a lot of our 'leaders' are sick people at many different levels. The average person, rather it be in Maiduguri, Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Lokoja, etc wants an opportunity to have a decent standard of living for themselves and their children. When you have a legacy of looting by elites, you create an underclass that can be controlled, usually with money. Ever heard the term divide and conquer? The Kano, Kaduna, and Plateau riots during Obasanjo's presidency is well known to have been supported by local politicians who wanted to gain or stay in power. When the Niger-Delta militancy was going on, didn't governors like Ibori (Delta), Odili (Rivers), and Agugu (Ondo) utilize the militants to cause violence in elections so they would win? This happens across the board. Nigeria's divide and conquer issue is made more complex when you have a Western world that is in decline and looking to sustain itself in anyway possible. Some elements in those governments may aide destabilization to gain control of natural resources. You should ask why the U.S. has sent troops to Niger of all places to supposedly fight terrorism. It is a uranium rich nation after all. What I am saying to you Mr. Dougmel is that I suggest that you aim your anger elsewhere rather than at the Hausa people. You are playing into the divide and conquer culture, playing into the hands of the politicians you hate so much. I understand that you and so many other Nigerians including myself are angry at what is happening to our nation and the innocent lives being cut short. Ethnic baiting is the worst answer to this problem. We should wake up and unite in the face of this rather than implode into further division. Also, I find it fascinating that you tend to fluctuate quite frequently between supporting the SNC to save Nigeria, and the support of the Biafran Zionist Movement who calls for a separate Biafran state. Really, which direction do you want to see for Nigeria?
KANO DEADLY BOMB ATTACK- SAD INDICATION BOKO HARAM BETTER STRATEGISTS THAN JONATHAN, FG The recent deadly bomb explosions in Kano that claimed many innocent lives could not and must not to be wisely confused as primarily targeted at only Christians and particularly Igbos travelling from northern part of the nation down south but rather on wet lips dropping of President Goodluck Jonathan who unusually than expected of a national leader constantly makes reckless and unguarded statements on very sensitive national issues. The fact must be faced at this critical stage of our national existence that the Boko Haram and or their drop out are choicely carrying out their sponsors determined efforts to make governance totally impossible for Goodluck Jonathan as retaliation for Niger Delta militants having made governance difficult for the government of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The ongoing insurgencies in some of the Northern parts of the country that started no sooner Goodluck Jonathan became President can therefore not be reasonably distanced from the realities on ground of some of his enemies making the nation impossible to know peace until Jonathan is forced out of office. The kano bomb deadly attacks if well and deeply assessed would simply reveal mockery and nuisance value being made of Jonathan who wrongly once claimed that “Boko Haram was in his government” and later claimed that “Most of the Boko Haram leaders have been arrested” and to have again of recent again claimed that he could not dialogue with a “faceless Boko Haram organization” It behooves therefore for one reasonably to conclude that if Jonathan had claimed that “Boko Haram’ was in his government and or that he had arrested most leaders of Boko Haram he would be assumed totally wrong and out of his mind, not knowing what he is doing to have later claimed that ‘Boko Haram are faceless’ The recent kano bomb attack one could reasonably therefore conclude was done to expose the thoughtlessness and lacking coherent values most of statements often made by Jonathan on very sensitive national issues and to obviously point out that Boko Haram members are better organized planners than Jonathan and members of his government. The quickest way out as once suggested by my humble self is for President Goodluck Jonathan doing good to an hotly matter at hand to in concert with the national assembly convoke a National Peace Conference where nagging national issues will be openly discussed, tension doused and possible solutions found. Dr. Olapade Agoro (Aladura Patriarch) Owa’Tapa of Itapa Ijesa land National Chairman/ former Presidential Candidate, National Action Council (NAC)
I cannot imagine a person who wants to cause so much suffering to people, people who have nothing to do with what Boko Haram is fighting for. I saw some comments from when the news first broke of how the government is nonchalant about these atrocities. Sadly, the powers that be within the government use this organisation for their own personal gain politically and financially, so this explains the nonchalance. I also find it very strange that Garden-City Boy said that it is the culture of the Hausa people to kill on a massive scale. First, a lot of the victims of this attack were Hausa. Second, Boko Haram's members are from Kanuri dominated states like Yobe and Borno, not that Kanuris are terrorists either and they too have been victims/targets of Boko Haram attacks. The people in the North need to start speaking out more effectively against terrorism, and also those within the Federal Government who have an interest in this continuing. Reading the details of the civilian casualties is sickening, and no one should tolerate living in fear from terrorists or the state operating in the name of expunging terrorism.
Mazi Ookoroafor;what do say about your Governor,Rochas Okorocha travelling all the way to Borno and Yobe State to donate Imo people's money to those Hausa/Fulani killer squads, called Boko Haram and Jama'atu Ansarul? Sabon Gari,Kano was founded in the early 20th century by the Igbos and other Southern Christian pioneers who had accompanied European Missionaries and Colonialists to the North.It was the epicenter of 1966 pogrom against Igbos mostly,that culminated into 1967-1970 civil war. Christians,Igbos in particular were the main target of the twin suicide bombing in Sabon Gari,Kano.If at all there were Hausa/Fulani barbarians among the victims, those were purely victims of a collateral damage. It might interest you,Mazi Ookoroafor,to know that the Hausa/Fulani barbarians have been in the business of killing Igbos en masse from time immemorial.They did it in 1922,1945,1955 and 1966 through early 1967, before the bastard,Yakubu Gowon declared his war of genocide against Biafra. Your Governor,Okorocha and other so called Igbo Leaders are more concerned about looting and sharing our oil money with our Hausa/Fulani oppressors than protect Igbos .But at home and abroad members of Biafran Zionist Movement are gearing up for the expiry of Lord Lugard's Amalgamation at the end of this year.By then we will reckon with Igbo traitors like Governor Okorocha of Imo State.