Bukuro boat mishap: Tongues continues to wag over casualty figures

The towns are always busy due to their importance, as they are border settlements, sometimes sharing languages such as French, local languages and English Language .The two communities also have their market days fixed for Wednesdays and Thursdays. Confirming the incident, the chairman of Bartine Local Government, Alhaji Muhammed Salih, addressed the press in Ilorin […]

The towns are always busy due to their importance, as they are border settlements, sometimes sharing languages such as French, local languages and English Language .The two communities also have their market days fixed for Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Confirming the incident, the chairman of Bartine Local Government, Alhaji Muhammed Salih, addressed the press in Ilorin just few hours after the incident.

“The accident involved children and market women travelling in the capsized vessel on the Nano river, in the boundary between Bukuro in Bartine Local Government in Kwara State and Yarwondo village in the Republic of Benin”, he said.

As the chairman and chief security officer of the  area, “I have not received any report from any individual or group suggesting that any one from my domain was a victim in this mishap. To put the record straight, I received the report on the 30th of October 2009, and I paid a visit to the border village along with my education secretary, local government security committee secretary on Saturday October 31st for on the spot assessment. All information gathered indicated that no Kwaran was involved in it,” he explained further.

However, the Emir of Gwanara in the local government, Alhaji Sabi Idris, described it as the worst in the history of Gwanara district.

The royal father appealed to the federal government to pay more attention to the development of border towns, especially those in Baruten Local Government Area.

He lamented that his district had been described as the most neglected border town, a situation which he said called for urgent attention.

He noted that the incident would have been averted if the school in Bukuro was adequately equipped, emphasising the need for the federal government to provide the community with good road network and electricity to boost the economic activities in the area and discourage the people from crossing over to the Benin Republic for business transactions.

Also, the village head of Bukuro, Malam Isa Aliyu lamented that his village, with a population of about 20,000, could only boast of three teachers in its only primary school.

He said that the unfortunate incident occurred as a result of the determination of parents in his domain to get their children and wards educated, thereby necessitating the enrolment of the pupils in Benin Republic schools.

Meanwhile, Sunday Trust gathered that the president of Benin Republic was also there and that intelligence report indicated that those involved were not Nigerians and he   promised to give four new boats to the area.

This, the chairman used as a witness to confirm that it was the Beninoise that were involved in the tragedy.

The chairman added that, as against reports that 80 persons were involved in the accident, they were about 55 people on board, with 40 corpse recovered while 15 were still missing as at the time of briefing the press.

But the chairman also said that the state of schools in the area was a misrepresentation of the view of the traditional rulers.

In a comment, the Education Secretary of Baruten Local Government Area, Malam Umaru Zango, however, claimed that about 55 school pupils were on board the ill-fated canoes.

Zango, called on the Kwara State Government to provide more teachers for Bukuro primary school to reduce the number of Kwara pupils attending primary schools in Benin Republic.

Alhaji Sabi Idris, the Emir of Gwanara in Baruten LGA of Kwara State said on the ill-fated   Wednesday of the incident, children were coming from Bukuro through Nano River in a boat while another was loaded with  merchandise and school children.

Alhaji Idris said Benin Republic responded and a naval engine boat was sent. The vessel was able to assist in the recovery of 40 corps, adding that some corpses were taken to Benin Republic while others were buried in Nigeria.

He said that the law creating international boundaries says the border is the middle of the river, but Benin Republic seems to monopolise the water business, adding that the people in Yariwondo had four engine boats, which they used for business.

The Emir, however, said until the Federal Government decided what to do “we cannot do anything,” and pleaded for the presence of Boundary Commission in the area.

Kwara State Governor, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, commiserated with the families of all the Benin Republic nationales who lost their lives in the boats mishap.

Dr Saraki, in a condolence message, to the Beninois described the incident as a national tragedy.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Dabo Ezekiel, had earlier said that the mishap occurred as a result of overloading on the part of the boats peddlers.

Ezekiel urged the people of the state, especial boat peddlers who ply river boundaries to always avoid overloading, which he said, could save more lives.

As at the time of this report, only 40 bodies were found dead and have been buried while others were yet to be found dead or alive.