Death on the river
From Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin
A NATURAL boundary between Nigeria and Benin Republic, the River Nano, that Friday, October 30, 2009, flowed as lazily as it had done from time immemorial, through Bukuro, a sleepy border town in the Baruten Local Council of Kwara State into neighbouring Benin Republic.
Known however as 'Opara' in French-speaking Benin Republic, the river, though a natural boundary, had also been shared by the Yarawondo in Benin Republic and the Baruba ethnic group in Nigeria.
Except for occasional disagreements over who controls commercial activities on the river, such as fishing and transportation, people from the two communities had over the years, lived in harmony.
But the same river from which the two sides have made a living and come to share its resources, has also become the source of great pain and sorrow to the people.
Despite the fact that the accident occurred almost a fortnight ago, a cloud of sorrow still hangs over the river and the adjoining communities.
It was a Friday, a school day as well as the Yarawondo Market day, as a result of which River Nano was particularly busy as dug-out boats carried traders and their goods as well as school pupils returning home back to Bukuro and the nearby villages.
Sources told The Guardian that about 5.00p.m., one of the last of the boats about to begin the journey back had been boarded by school pupils and traders.
"The boat ordinarily had a capacity for 20 passengers, but because the passengers made up of traders and school pupils were so many, it was overloaded.
"Then as the journey began, many of the pupils became boisterous and started to chant songs, including the French version of 'Row, Row Row Your Boat.... merrily merrily merrily merrily... and the boatmen rowed away.
"Then, suddenly, the merry boat ride turned ugly. There was a loud sound of an impact underneath the boat. It had struck something and stalled.
"It could no longer be moved, the boat was stuck and the paddles were useless. Fear and panic gripped the passengers.
"Another boat also on its way from the market approached alongside and the boat operators tried to transfer some of the now-screaming pupils into it.
"But this proved abortive as the pupils lost their composure and began scampering for safety.
"In the process, and the situation obviously compounded by the fact that it was also overloaded, the second boat capsized, leading to the death of 55 people.
"About 25 others who either could swim or had the good fortune to clutch and hang onto hang to shrubs or trees till help could come their way, survived", The Guardian was told.
The sad news spread fast within the two communities on both sides of the river.
Because it was dusk, it was difficult to know who had drowned or who was alive.
But the following day, the picture became clearer.
Parents who were already mourning the death of their children were overjoyed to see them return alive from the custody of those who rescued them.
But many others had truly lost theirs.
According to Mrs. Dipreye Dibowe: "It was the worst thing that could happen to people of a common destiny like ours. I had two children in the boat, Boha nine years and Toliha, seven. I had thought that both had died only for me to see them come home the following day. But the story was not the same with my sister who lost three children in the mishap."
The pain in Bukuro was no less in Yarawondo community across the river, which the President of Benin Republic, Boni Yayi, visited to commiserate with the people.
He promised them people four modern boats to prevent a recurrence of the ugly incident.
The Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, sent his Special Adviser on Emergency Alhaji Kayode Suleiman to the scene.
But sources told The Guardian that Saraki's visit to Bukuro might have been delayed following the comments of the Chairman of Baruten Council, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed Salihu that out of the 44 bodies recovered as at Monday, November 2, none was a Nigerian.
"I am saying the truth and nothing but the truth. There was no single Nigerian among the bodies recovered so far from the river. Those who lost their lives were people from Benin Republic.
These people used to come here for greener pasture and after sometime, would go back to their country."
Denying claims that there were no schools in Bukuro, the council boss said:" All schools within my area were not only equipped and furnished with educational and instructional materials but also have enough qualified teachers.
"No single Nigerian child goes to the Republic of Benin to receive any form of education whatsoever, hence the involvement of our school pupils was a misinformation."
But the Emir of Gwanara, Alhaji Idris Sabi, while reacting to the identity of those who drowned said they were "mostly" pupils from Benin Republic.
According to Sabi, "The President of Benin Republic was there. Also, their Navy came to offer rescue services. The 40 bodies recovered, were mostly pupils of Benin Republic coming from school."
On how to prevent a recurrence of the ugly incident, the Emir said: "The issue of the river has given us much concerns. The relevant law says the boundary is the middle of the river.
"But most of our settlements are far from the river.
" Because of this, the people of Yaworondo tend to monopolize business on the river. They see boat business as exclusively theirs. We have tried to put speedboats on the river but they destroyed them.
They do not want competition.
"They prefer dug-out boats to modern boats with engines. We had on several occasions suggested to them that we need a joint solution to the problem but they refused.
The issue goes beyond the council chairman, the state, the country or me. It is an international issue."
Speaking on whether or not the security operatives at the border were up to the task of protecting the lives of Nigerians in the area, Sabi noted that they would have a land mass covering up to 350 square kilometres to cover as against seven by their counterparts in Benin Republic.
The traditional ruler, however, urged Nigerian journalists not to concentrate their activities on the urban centres to the detriment of the periphery settlements.
Meanwhile, grief still pervades the community where it is difficult to find a house without a casualty or whose family members were not affected in one way or another.
A Primary Four pupil at Yaworondo, who resides at Bukuro, Abibat Sule said she escaped miraculously.
According to her:" After we decided to join the ill-fated boat after at school, we observed some water inside the boat.
"We quickly drew the attention of the owner to this, but he assured us of our safety, urging us to join the boat.
"But I can remember that I fell into the river. How I found myself outside it on a dry land, I cannot say."
Another survivor, John Mary, an apprentice said: "I fell into the river when the boat became filled with water. I held on to a stick but the stick was too fragile to carry my weight. As I was about to sink further into the river, I saw one of the loads floating towards my direction. I quickly grabbed it and held on until help came."
Meanwhile, the recovered bodies have been buried in a mass grave close to the river.
