By Adeyinka Adeniran
President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has lamented the devastating impacts of the explosion that rocked Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday evening.
Bishop Oke, who paid a visit to Adeyi Street, Bodija, Ibadan where the tragedy occurred expressed grieves over the level of devastation that claimed some lives and properties with more than 50 people injured.
On ground to receive the PFN President were the Incident Manager, Prof. Temitope Alonge, Commissioner for Health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi; Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security Matters, Fatai Owoseni; and a Director of the Federal Road Safety Commission coordinating the recovery efforts.
The clergyman, who is the Presiding Bishop of Sword of The Spirit Ministries, described the incident as extremely sad and grievous, praying that God may heal the wounds of the affected residents and give the state government the wisdom, courage and resources to address the situation.
The PFN scribe, accompanied to the epicenter of the blast by the Presiding Bishop of Victory International Church Worldwide, Bishop Taiwo Adelakun; and many other Pastors in the PFN, stated that in all things, it is just and good to give thanks to God. He stressed that in good times and bad times, all humans must acknowledge the mightiness of the creator.
He expressed reservations on the decision of the mining company to store explosives at residential area, saying that the accident that happened could have been averted if greater value was accorded to human lives.
The PFN President appealed to security agencies to keep track of activities of the miners and borehole as well as well diggers in the state in a bid to avert a recurrence.
He also called for thorough investigation to be carried out to unearth more facts about the incident.
Bishop Oke, who was at the scene while body parts were still being pulled out of the rubbles created by the explosion, commended Governor Seyi Makinde who was said to have gone to Abuja to brief President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the incident, for his swift response and for mobilizing the first respondents to the scene of the blast.
The Bishop called on the Federal Government to “be more decisive in dealing with the horrible level of corruption that has pervaded every strata of the Nigerian society which has allowed this and several horrible disasters currently afflicting our society, resulting in the death of several innocent citizens.”
While appealing to the state and federal government to rise to the occasion by giving necessary support to the affected families and businesses in the area, he also advised that full safety protocols should be deployed in order to mitigate both the immediate and remote impacts of the explosion on human lives and the environment.
Assuring the affected people, the government and the residents of the state of continued prayers by the PFN and other Christian bodies in the country, he advised the residents’ association and the security agencies to keep track of those living in their midst.
Bishop Oke led a prayers for the families of the dead victims, the officials of the state handling the recovery efforts, the state Governor and President Tinubu.
He, thereafter, paid a visit to the former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Senator Iyiola Oladokun, whose residence is a stone throw to the scene of the incident before his departure.
He also commended the emergency responders at the scene for their life saving efforts in putting the situation under control.
