Story of Barewa College’s infernal weekend
When the news of the fire at Barewa College filtered into the ancient city, what came to mind of many residents was that the Boko Haram onslaught on schools had arrived Zaria. Those residents held on to that belief for many days largely because the school’s authority has declared the cause of the inferno as […]
When the news of the fire at Barewa College filtered into the ancient city, what came to mind of many residents was that the Boko Haram onslaught on schools had arrived Zaria. Those residents held on to that belief for many days largely because the school’s authority has declared the cause of the inferno as unknown. However, after investigation, it emerged that the fire, which was said to have started at about 3am, has consumed 15 classes, a staff room and a hall. The classes razed by the fire are among the oldest in the school, as they were built in 1947.
An eyewitness, Malam Mati Mati, said the fire lasted some time as help couldn’t come at the right time. “My house is very close to the College. When I noticed the fire, I tried to mobilise some neighbours to help. Unfortunately, help did not come in good time because the fire started at wee hours and many were reluctant to come out from their houses for security reasons.”
“However, some good Samaritans volunteered and they assisted in putting off the fire. Our efforts were however in vain because we were only able to prevent the fire from spreading to other blocks of classrooms in the school. It is really unfortunate what happened that night. I really sympathise with the management and the students of the school,” Mallam Mati said.
A student of the college said the roaring of the violent flames woke them up from sleep. “I stay at the Nagwamatse Hostel. Actually, when we woke up, we were helpless because Barewa has been with the problem of water for many years. The problem of water coupled with the power of the raging flames made us put little or no effort.”
“Actually, it is disturbing that such number of classes has been burnt down. In Barewa, we have an average of 70-100 students in one classroom, therefore the number of students that were displaced from their classes in the school are between 1,000 and 1,500. We don’t know what the school authority would do to address the problem. For now, we the affected students are stranded but I know that our principal is caring and I am sure a solution would be found soon,” the student said.
When contacted, the Principal of the College, Malam Muhammad Abbas Aliyu, said the fire has dealt a serious blow on the school and its students, quickly adding that the management of the school has taken measures to provide temporary solutions. “What you should know in the first place is the fact that we have 33 classrooms in the school. 15 classes were affected by the fire; we are now left with 18 classrooms. On that ground, we introduced shifting among the students. The senior students come to class in the morning while the junior students come to class in the afternoon. In between the periods, we have introduced inter-class competition for the junior students, while for the seniors we have already started inter-house competition. This is in order to keep our students busy to avoid a situation where students would be left idle.”
“It is true that the school need urgent help for things to return to how they were before the fire incident. For now, where we think we would have problem is when we start the Senior Secondary Examination (SSCE) next month. We have a hall but would the students’ desks and chairs that were burnt are definitely going to affect our sitting arrangement. We hope that before that time, help would come from somewhere,” Malam Aliyu said.
A day after the incident, the Principal has set up a committee headed by the Vice Principal, Academics, Mallam Tanimu Tanko, to investigate. In the committee’s preliminary report, which Weekly Trust was privileged to see, it was revealed that the fire started from the staff room that is among the block of 15 classrooms. “It is the only room that is connected with public electricity. The classes burnt were powered by a generator for students’ night prep. We think that an electric fault occurred when the Power Holding Company (PHCN) returned power that night,” a source, who preferred anonymity said.
Sympathisers have since started visiting the college to see things for themselves, while some are sending messages. Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris and the members of the Barewa College Class of 1962 were among the first batch of sympathisers. Speaking when the members of the 1962 class paid him a courtesy call as part of their Golden Jubilee celebration, the emir said it is unfortunate that some of the oldest classes of Barewa College were completed razed by the early morning inferno. Alhaji Idris urged the 1962 class to continue to assist the College in overcoming its challenges, which would help the school to continue to maintain its long history of being the source of northern unity. “The fire is indeed an unfortunate incident. We should all do our best to assist,” Alhaji Idris said.
Earlier, the 1962 class had inspected the burnt classes after a meeting. They set up a committee, under General Alwali Kazir, to look into the problems that are facing the school and recommend the possible way out. The principal, Malam Aliyu, earlier told the 1962 class that apart from the fire, problems of water, overpopulation of classes and inadequate teaching and learning facilities are hindering progress.
For now, students of the 91-year-old Barewa College have been forced to set-up a “morning and afternoon shift,” while using the remaining 18 classrooms for their lessons. Nobody can tell when that uncomfortable arrangement would end for the 3,000 students.