Farakwai: Still Nursing the Scars of An Inferno

Tall, frail looking and nudging 70 years, Abdu Dutse tills the soil for a living but in spite of the drudgery, he is happy to be alive. On January 16, 1999, he escaped death by the whiskers when a surge of electric current, within two minutes, left sorrows, tears and blood in his Farakwai village. […]

Tall, frail looking and nudging 70 years, Abdu Dutse tills the soil for a living but in spite of the drudgery, he is happy to be alive. On January 16, 1999, he escaped death by the whiskers when a surge of electric current, within two minutes, left sorrows, tears and blood in his Farakwai village. In a flash, 13 people died instantly, 53 sustained injuries and several properties went up in smoke. The dead, almost immediately, were buried, the wounds have healed and Farakwai, a rural settlement, has picked up the pieces. However, 11 years after, the scars still remain and the sad memory lingers on. Recently, with a quivering voice, Abdu narrated the tragedy to Sunday Trust at Farakwai, a village along the Zaria-Kaduna expressway.

The tragedy, according to him, occurred around midnight when he had retired for the day. The children, Marwanatu and Mariya, his two wives, were fast asleep in their different rooms but Abdu, on that fateful night, was restless, turning and tossing on his metal vono bed. Mariya, his younger wife, was snoring beside him and lost in dreamland. In between mulling over life and building castles in the air, Abdu was jolted out of his reverie when a bluish flash ripped through the electric wires, burst the bulbs and unhinged the sockets from the walls, enveloping the room in smoke. Simultaneously, his wife fell off the bed, screaming and writhing in pains.

Elsewhere, children, women and the entire household, wailed in the courtyard and in the melee, Abdu grabbed his wife, kicked the door open and dragged Mariya to the open. However, his efforts came a little too late; Mariya was stone dead. Similarly, in the next compound, the killer current ripped through Alhaji Mohammadu’s house, killing, maiming and burning properties as it went. Mohammadu, the head of the family, Alhaji Dadi, his younger brother and Alhassan, as well as Samaila, their sibling, all died, either of burns or electrocution. Significantly, within two minutes, this gory scene was replicated in various households in Farakwai and the victims’ relatives gave vivid accounts to Sunday Trust.

Husky, low pitched and melancholic, Haliru Dalhatu’s tone rose above a whisper as the village head recalled the day he prefers to forget. Haliru, by his own account, slept before mid night but woke up in a hospital with burns, bruises and aches all over his body. Patients, all around him, were in similar shape and in his agony, he recognised most of them and the sympathisers around. In pains, immobilised and bandaged all over, Haliru asked them what went wrong and in bits and pieces, they narrated what happened, including the death of his twins. The news, his physical condition and state of his mind depressed him further and till date, according to Haliru, he is saddened by what happened.

Ironically, 18 days earlier, the people of Farakwai had celebrated the coming of electricity. Significantly, from neighbouring villages, people came to Farakwai to felicitate with relatives. In particular, kiths and kin converged in Yusuf Adamu’s home for a double celebration: the arrival of electricity and Eid el Fitr. However, a night before sallah, the religious festival ended even before it commenced. The fire consumed Yusuf’s house and instead of eating, drinking and visiting relatives, the family and his visitors spent sallah in hospital. Luckily, the inferno didn’t claim anyone.

Expectedly, outrage followed the incident and Nigerians, irrespective of status, commiserated with the victims. Elections, at that time, were around the corner as the military regime, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, had unfolded its transition programme and politicians went to Farakwai to either shed crocodile tears or on genuine condolence. Significantly, presidential and gubernatorial aspirants, including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Olusola Saraki, did not only go to Farakwai but doled out money to the victims and the money, according to Abdu, was used to buy drugs and settle medical bills. Similarly, Alhaji Shehu Idris, the Emir of Zazzau, visited Farakwai and spent over an hour calming nerves, visiting households and condoling the bereaved. Thereafter, he donated N100,000 to the victims. Similarly, the Islamic Foundation Hospital, Tudun Wada, Kaduna gave drugs, four cartons of drips and other medical supplies. In addition, Mr Ben Caven, the acting Managing Director and Chief Executive, led a high powered NEPA delegation to condole the people, assess the damage and “see what we can do.“

This endeavour took them to a private clinic in Jaji  to see the victims and the officials were disgusted with what they saw. Sprawling on the floor, the patients were either laying under the tree or on a dusty corridor and the facility lacked both staff and equipment. Caven and Mrs Janet Sadauki, matron of Gambo Sawaba hospital, Zaria, decided to move the patients to the hospital and instantly,  from his delegation, the Managing Director raised a committee for the task, including  picking  their medical bills. In addition, Kaduna state government, according to reports, paid for their general up keep but the federal government, under Abdulsalami Abubakar, shelled out N20 million as compensation. However, neither the victims, nor the local authorities were notified and but for a good Samaritan, they wouldn’t have heard of it.

One Abdul, on his way to Zaria, stopped by Farakwai and asked for Alhaji Musa Manager, Magajin Garin Farakwai, a few months after the incident but the district head was not around. Abdul, before proceeding, left his address and phone number as well as a message, accusing the people of ingratitude. In his 30s, the stranger said that the federal government, as a palliative, had given N20 million to the victims but neither the leaders nor the people of Farakwai had acknowledged receiving the money. The people, at this point, denied seeing a dime but Abdul, a staff of the finance ministry, stuck to his guns and promised to provide details. The stranger, on that note, zoomed off and the next week, he brought evidence of the disbursement and the district head, armed with this information, went to the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government. Momentarily, the SSG began clutching at straws, arguing that the money was for kerosene fire victims. Unimpressed, the Magajin Gari reached out to Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, the state governor, who promised to intervene. Makarfi, a few weeks later, lived up to his promise and the state government, after due process, coughed out the money and on October 27, 1999, he set up  a committee to verify claims, come up with the list of victims and to recommend criteria for disbursement.

The committee, comprising seven members, had Alhaji Jafaru Makarfi, as chairman and it sat a week after inauguration, where a sub-committees, was also set up. The members of the subcommittee included Magajin Gari, Alhaji Dari Mohammed and Alhaji Mohammed Labaran, sarkin Farakwai as well as Alhaji Hussaini Jallo, the council chairman, Alhaji Yaro Farakwai, the House speaker and Alhaji Iliyasu Ladan. The rest were Alhaji Mamman Yakubu, Haruna Shehu and Alhaji Yusuf Maínu, including Alhaji Ibrahim Maínu as well as representatives of the police, the bar and the bench. The subcommittee, according to its terms of reference, did not only come up with an authentic victims list, it recommended criteria for disbursing the N220 million. Significantly, it first met on November 4, 1999 and subsequently, it met eight times where it scrutinised the victims ’list,   visited Farakwai, saw and interviewed either the victims or their relatives.

Thereafter, the subcommittee resolved to assist only the dependants of the deceased that were dependants at the time of death because the largesse, the committee argued, is an assistance not compensation or Diyya.  However, on compassionate grounds, some victims still benefited, especially children, deceased women and or anyone who left no dependant behind. In the end, the committee paid N13, 688,199.92 to sixty eight beneficiaries of dead victims, while the 50 people who received burns were given a total of N5,857,799.94 and the 19 people  who lost property got N474,000.00. In all, the committee disbursed N19,999,999.86 and the event, according to its report, was documented in photographs and video, where beneficiaries or their representatives were collecting the monies.

However, till date, the cause of the fire remains unknown and as at that time, NEPA and government officials gave divergent reasons.  The most logical, according to Sunday Trust findings, is that the line supplying Farakwai with electricity passed through a high tension wire and for this reason, the former was so over charged that the excess current produced the deadly sparks.  Electricity, for a long time, became synonymous with deaths, burns and anguish of January 16, 1999 in Farakwai. Specifically, Malam Tanko Imam, following the incident, disconnected his house from NEPA, removed the wiring in his house and reverted to his lantern and several others followed suit. However, about 11 years after, the people have gotten over the phobia but not forgotten the sad memory of the incident.