Guardian

Ije-Ododo is a community in Ojo-Iba Local Council of Lagos. Until the last one two weeks ago, the community has been facing perennial vandalisation of  Nigerian National Petroleum  Corporation (NNPC) pipelines and the attendant inferno. The people now want the government to take a pragmatic approach to end the menace.

IJE-ODODO is a suburb of Lagos adjourning Ijegun and Ijagemo. The communities are surrounded with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines. The roads leading to the communities are also in poor state.

The only road leading to Ije-Ododo from Ijegun is now a den for robbers who attack motorists. Besides, the untarred road passes over NNPC pipelines. Motorists ply the road with trepidation.

In addition, the residents  have been facing perennial NNPC pipelines vandalisation. Around 8:30 pm penultimate Monday, the vandals attacked the NNPC pipelines again (fully armed). They came in a canoe full of Jerry cans. But in the process of scooping petrol from the pipelines, there was an explosion.

It took the combined efforts of the officials of NNPC, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and fire service, to put out the fire three days later. It was not certain how many people died in the inferno but locals put the figure of causalities at about eight.

Many  electricity poles that supply light to the community were destroyed. The thick fumes emanating from the pipelines covered everywhere, constituting a serious health hazards for the community.

The topography of the place made it easy for vandals to operate without the villagers knowing.

The place is bushy and swampy. The vandals sneak in from Abule-Ado and its environs. Getting to the scene of the fire, was almost impossible; even the NNPC had to use a pressure machine to put out the fire.

When The Guardian visited the place,  area boys were all over the place extorting money from people who were eager to go to the swamp to see the fire. Close to the scene were leftovers of jerry cans used by the vandals.

The scene is about fifteen minutes walk to the Badagry Expressway.

The residents of Ije-Ododo want the government to construct a bridge to link the community with the Expressway. This, they say, will help to put an end to the waste of human and material resources every two years.

One of the residents, Seyi Santos, lamented: “The only road to Ije-Ododo was constructed by the NNPC to protect their pipelines in 1973. What ought to be the state road to the town is now a thick swamp.”

He recalled that the community has for long been calling on the government to help sand-fill the swamp from Ije-Ododo to where the latest vadalisation of NNPC pipeline took place.

“Some boys used to come from Abule-Ado to vandalise the NNPC pipelines. Every two years the situation repeats itself. We complained to NNPC but nothing has been done about it. Two years ago the pipeline explosion affected the power supply as our electricity poles were destroyed. We celebrated Christmas in darkness,” Santos added.

Ibrahim Farinloye, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National Emergengy Management Agency (NEMA) said that

disaster management is a  responsibility of everybody.

He maintained that the immediate and the larger society would suffer from the devastating effect of the pollution emanating from the thick fumes from the fire.

“It is going to contribute to global warming. We need to be our brothers’ keeper. NEMA has the responsibility of guaranteeing the welfare of everybody. Our report goes straight to the president. This is the first time NEMA will be participating in the Ije-Ododo pipeline disaster,” he said.

He promised that the government was going to find a lasting solution to the recurrent vandaliation.

The Baale of Ije-Ododo, Alhaji Tajudeen Suberu, recalled that after he received the distress call, he called on the NNPC, the fire service and the Police to come to their aid. “There was no way to get to the fire. We have said it several times that the solution is for the government to build a bridge across to Abule -Ado. Once a bridge is constructed, those people will have no hiding place again. Once the government can open up the place, the problem of pipelines vandalisation will be over,” he stressed.

He recalled that when the last one occurred the people of the community did not have light for six months.

“The fire destroyed our electricity poles and the government did not fix it on time.

The one that happened in the year 2000 many lives were lost…” he said.

The Baale who was a solder before he became the traditional ruler of the community in 1993 used to be one of the security men protecting the community from the vandals. “One day the vandals were in the process of vandalising the NNPC pipeline when I shot one of them. Before we got to the scene they had escapedwith the dead body in a canoe,” he disclosed.

He took the reporter to the thick swamp where the road that was meant to connect the community with Ijegun and Abule-Ado ought to pass.

“The road we are using was constructed by the NNPC to protect their pipelines. We are not using the road that was meant to be our road. We have been calling on the government and the NNPC to come to our aid,” he said.

One of the residents of the community Okpoko Cyprian, said that since 2009 that he moved to the community, they have been living in danger.

“We have experienced about five explosions. I feel bad. Pipelines vandals usually come here during holiday. We are sure that they are not going to fix the electric poles that were destroyed by the fire until next year,” he said.

He reasoned that once the government can construct a bridge to Abule-Ado, there will be movement of people and the vandals will disappear.

“If the government can open up this place, it will also help to reduce the traffic on Ikotun-Isolo road. It takes less than 15 minutes to get to Abule- Ado from Ije-Ododo,” he said.

Cyprian said that many people going to Lagos and Apapa will not have to go all the way to Cele Bus Stop or Igando and be held up in traffic. “They can easily go through this end to Lagos,” he said.

He explained that the Cele -Ikotun road leads to many satellites towns like Isheri, Igando, Ijegun, Ijagemo. “One of the ways to reduce the traffic is by opening up alternatives roads for easy movement of commuters and motorists,” he said.

In May 2008, the pipeline explosion which occurred in Ijegun when a bulldozer of a construction company struck NNPC pipeline at the Ije-Ododo junction also claimed many lives and properties.