Lagos - Concerns are rising in Lagos that authorities are already backing off a proper investigation of the collapse of a guest house on the grounds of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in which an estimated 115 people died, including 84 South Africans.
The Lagos government started investigating the collapsed building and vowed to take action, including implementing the state building code to the letter and possibility confiscating the property. But it is now dragging its feet, some activists said.
Lagos commissioner for information and strategy, Lateef Ibirogba, had announced he would brief journalists on Tuesday on the progress of the investigation.
But instead he told journalists the federal government had set up a committee to investigate the collapse, so it would not be right for the state government to pre-empt the committee’s report. “For now, it is not right for us to say anything about the incident,” he said.
The change did not go down well with some Nigerians, who believe most reports of such investigating committees in the past have never seen the light of day.
Ayo Obe, lawyer and human rights activist, said that since the Lagos state government has control over building matters in the state, the federal government should not have a hand in the matter. “I do not see why everybody is trying to protect the man when we are being exposed abroad. People are afraid of saying or taking the right action because of elections. They should do the right thing even if it means you don’t get elected,” said Obe, a former president of the Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO). She was referring to the visit last Saturday by President Goodluck Jonathan to the church to express his condolences to Scoan founder, TB Joshua.
“The president went to console the man who did not die but he did not bother to go and console the family of Dr (Ameyo) Adadevoh. The person who was the first line of defence so that Nigerians could be an Ebola-free nation, the president did not visit the family.”
Adadevoh, the senior consultant/physician and endocrinologist at First Consultant Hospital in Lagos died last month while fighting the spread of Ebola in Nigeria.
“Do what’s right, the worst that will happen is you won’t be re-elected,” Obe said. Joshua’s claim that a mysterious aircraft caused the collapse of the guest house was embarrassing and that the construction flaws should be examined before looking to witchcraft, she said.
Asimiyu Bashir, chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building, said the collapsed building was not the only structure in that area the aircraft had passed over. It appeared the church had also not followed building procedures.
“In Lagos state, for any building approval, a builder must be involved and there is a particular form that a builder should sign. Up till today, none of my members in Lagos have come out to say he signed the form for that project,” Bashir said.
Engineer Joseph Adebola Bello said on Facebook the church used “quack” unprofessional builders, which had caused the collapse.
Lasun Taiwo Olabooye, a Nigerian based in the UK, posted on his Facebook page that Joshua’s claim of an aircraft causing the guest house cave-in was a lie. “Please do not let the whole world laugh at Nigerians. Concord aircraft with all its might landed and took off at the Lagos airport and we did not hear of building collapse. We do not (buy) this white lie. Please, some of us refuse to be hypnotised,” he said.
Funmi Bands Bratular posted on Facebook: “He deceived his followers, not everybody. I hope the Lagos State Government will not sweep this under the carpet.”
Emmanuel said on Facebook: “He (Joshua) knew Lagos state would seize the property so he told a lie – a big one – man of God or god?
But many survivors remain faithful to Joshua and his explanation of the disaster. South African survivor, Shadrack Mamzini, had told Emmanuel Television, the church’s TV arm, that he had taken a photo of the aircraft before the building collapsed because he was worried that it was flying too low.
“By the time the incident happened, there was a lot of talk that maybe the structure was poor… until the man of God revealed what really happened,” he said.
Taiwo Temitayo, trapped for 28 hours under the rubble, said the building collapse was a “demonic attack” in a press briefing organised by the church.
Independent Foreign Service