Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said
yesterday that he would have died in the fire that gutted parts of his Hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, last week.
Obasanjo, who said he had had the grace of
escaping many near death situations in the past, added that if the fire that gutted his home during the Yuletide had occurred at night, he would have died. Said he: "The fire, which occurred in the office of my private secretary, resulted in a thick smoke that covered my bedroom. If it had happened at
night, I would have been a dead person now." The inferno occurred about 4:30pm and it disrupted an evening merriment as panic- stricken members of the Obasanjo household, including his daughter, Funke, wife, Bola and visitors scampered for safety.
His grandchildren, who had come to spend the Christmas holiday with him, were hurriedly evacuated to a safe place, while calls for water, ladder and fire fighters filled the air. Sympathisers, who were attracted by billowing smokes, rushed to the scene to help, but were prevented from entering the compound, as the fire, helped by the harmattan breeze, spread. It took the security agencies – members of the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
(NSCDC), Nigeria Police, State Security Service and close friends of the President nearly an hour before they prevented the fire from spreading to other parts of Obasanjo's sprawling estate. Efforts were made to salvage some furniture from
being destroyed by the fire, which started 20
minutes after the former President had left for
another of his residence at Ita-Eko, Abeokuta. At least two persons, including an NSCDC operative identified as Kunle Famakinwa, sustained injuries in the course of putting out the fire.
While Famakinwa suffered a cut in his index
finger and was treated by the doctors attached to the NSCDC Ambulance marked CD 1041 A01, another said to be one of Obasanjo's drivers sustained injury in his foot.
Ogun State Fire Service truck with registration number OG 122 AO9, which arrived the compound an hour after the fire was detected, was joined by another 10 minutes later. Narrating the incident to the executive members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lagos State chapter, who had come to commiserate
with him, the ex-President said the fire, which
occurred inside the office of his private secretary, destroyed many items and resulted in a thick smoke in his bedroom that could suffocate a person.
Obasanjo said he was full of praise to God for sparing his life. He said he had been receiving telephone calls from sympathisers, friends and associates within and outside the country. Said he: "I thank those who have called me on the phone within and outside the country. Let us appreciate the mercy and kindness of God. There are many we started last year together, but they are no more today. We are not mocking them, but
only thanking God. "In fact, that I'm able to stand erect is God's blessing. Many of my age mates cannot stand well again. I'm not mocking them, I'm only thanking God. My hope and prayer is that 2013 will be a glorious year." Obasanjo thanked his guests for their concern. Addressing reporters, Mr. Tunji Shelle, the Chairman of Lagos State PDP, said they were in Abeokuta to commiserate with Chief Obasanjo on
the recent fire that gutted parts of his home.
The Nation
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