Imagine Living in Constant Fear of a Pipeline Going Off Any Minute!

Imagine living in constant fear of a pipeline going off any minute! Imagine feeling unsafe in your home because you don't know if your family or you will be the next casualty of a pipeline explosion. This is the reality of a lot of Nigerians who live close to oil pipelines. This is my third year of being (living) here Whenever it happens that people come to vandalise here (the pipeline) a lot of us panic When it happens in the night… in the midnight, neighbours will start waking each other don’t touch anything fire, don’t turn on your gas or your stove. We will alert everybody in order to avoid a gas incident. We can not even breathe all we keep inhaling is the smell of fuel. In the past three years, hundreds of lives have been lost to oil pipeline explosions in Nigeria. The recent fire outbreak in Abule Egba, a Lagos suburb, claimed five lives, raising the death toll in Lagos alone in the past three years to about 15. Even with the rising death tolls and loss of properties, nothing appears to have changed. At least, I have been living in this area for a while. I think in 20… thereabout when Fashola was in government, something of this nature happened. I was living at Dove Estate at that time. He came here, and he promised people that he is going to fence the pipeline, he is going to protect the pipeline that he will make it up to them and put street light from Awori to Ejigbo Up till now, nothing like that Since three years ago, we’ve been calling on the government to find a solution to the leakage here. I have noticed it for some years now that every year, there must be a fire outbreak. This is the second time there will be fire this year. The question is, how many more deaths do we need to record before something is done? How many properties worth millions of naira need to be lost before someone takes action? A lot of things were destroyed yesterday, we couldn't sleep at home. Most of the houses that got burnt were built from their owners' sweat. Where do they start from? All our stores went up in flames. As you can see, we are bringing out all the wares that were destroyed by the fire and they run into millions. In 2017, four people allegedly died in Rivers State pipeline explosion, although owners of the pipeline, Nigeria LNG Limited and Agip claimed there were no casualties. In October 2018, Abia state was thrown into mourning after 200 people lost their lives in a pipeline explosion near Aba depot. In March 2019, 50 people went missing after a pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in Nembe kingdom, Bayelsa. In 2019, about 100 people were killed in Kom Kom, Oyigbo local government, Rivers State In December 2019, at least one life was lost in a pipeline explosion in Gloryland Estate, Igando. These are only some of the recorded deaths. What of those that were not reported? On Monday, January 21, 2020, another oil pipeline exploded in Abule Egba. And just like many explosions in the past, the residents pleaded with the government to come to their aid. The government are supposed to provide enough security and they (the securities) should be monitored properly so that they don't take bribe from anybody. Help us beg the Government, the Police, the Civil Defence and the armed men deployed to protect us called security to protect us and not think of themselves alone. All the residents who live close to pipelines want is a safe environment to live, work and pursue their dreams in. We have Civil Defence in the area. They sit at the junction. They spend 12 hours there. They should protect us, that's all we want. Amid all the sorrow, tears and blood from oil pipeline explosions, it doesn’t look like much has changed. The NSCDC needs to take its job more seriously and remember that innocent lives are at stake here. The government needs to always remember that the security and welfare of its people is the primary purpose of government. NNPC and other oil companies need to work with the government to find a lasting solution to these recurring incidents of pipeline fires. Vandals need to stop or be stopped! Because every time they burst an oil pipe to steal petrol or diesel, they are not robbing the government but their fellow citizens and themselves of a good life. CTA: How long do we want to keep losing people whose only ‘crime’ is living near a pipeline?