Tanker Fire: Okogbe Loses Cream Of Youths

The President of Igbuduya Youths Assembly, Comrade Charles Eli, has said that Okogbe community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State lost the cream of its youth population to the tanker fire disaster which ravaged the community 11 days ago.

It would be recalled that the worst tanker fire disaster in Rivers State, left in its wake more than 135 persons dead, scores with burn injuries and over 35 motorcycles destroyed.

The youth president, who spoke with The Tide in an exclusive interview in Okogbe, said he lost his personal aide, Comrade Henry Eligwe to the unfortunate incident, adding that most of the youths who lost their lives were unemployed graduates, who were still roaming the community in search of jobs.

According to him, “if most of the employable youths were gainfully engaged, they would have been at their various duty posts during the incident”, adding that even the bulk of the Okada riders, who thronged the scene to scoop fuel, were youths who found solace in using their motorcycles to fend for themselves and their families.

The youth leader appealed to the Rivers State Government to set up a special empowerment programme for the youths of the area to alleviate their plight, noting that the economic life of the community had been seriously devastated.

Also speaking, on  Okogbe youth leader, Hon Daddy Green said the incident had devastated the youthful population of the community, appealing to government to provide succour to the remaining youth population to cushion the effects of the shock received from the fire disaster.

According to him, two men who lost all their children to the disaster had died out of shock few days after the incident, adding that some others, who lost wives, husbands, or children, were yet to recover from the shock.

When The Tide reporter went round the community, several women were seen in clusters, apparently mourning the unfortunate death of their loved ones.

In his remarks, the traditional ruler of Igbuduya clan, Eze Joshua Eyiba, commended the Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for his prompt intervention to save the lives of victims of the worst tanker fire disaster in the history of his community, saying that the swift action of government and its agencies had in no small measure, saved a lot of lives.

Eyiba, who made the commendation in his palace at Okogbe a week after the incident, said that decomposing bodies of the dead as a result of the tanker fire were still being picked from the circumference of the disaster while some of the victims hospitalised had lost their lives.

He attributed the huge death toll to poverty, ignorance and the fact that the road was overdue for dualisation, and called on the Federal Government to prevail on the contractor handling the East-West Road dualisation to speed up work on the Kaiama-Mbiama-Port Harcourt section of the road to save more lives.

Eyiba also thanked President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, and the National Assembly members representing the area as well as the local government chairman, Awori Miller, for their words of encouragement and condolences, and appealed for proactive measures to alleviate the plight of the people, especially those who lost their loved ones to the unfortunate incident.

Beemene Taneh