Breaking news: School building collapses in Jos
A school building, Saint Academy situated in Busa Buji in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, has collapsed, trapping numerous students and teachers inside.
The incident occurred around 11 am while the students were taking exams.
Rescue efforts are currently underway to save the trapped students. Security personnel, including soldiers and police, have arrived at the scene to assist in the rescue operation.
The full extent of the damage and the number of students trapped is yet to be confirmed.
Building collapse across the country is becoming a thing of worry, with the government often blaming it on unapproved structure.
This time, the government has a reason inconsistent with the usual one. They said the structure collapsed due to it being built in a riverbank.
They quickly issued order to schools built closer to rivers to evacuate, more a statement than order.
There are controversies surrounding the number of casualties recorded in the collapse.
TV station based in Jos said 12 students were confirmed dead, while information coming out from international media said 21.
When Dailytab24 spoke to a resident who identified himself with his first name to avoid accruing the anger of the people who wanted to hide the figure of casualties, he said the number could be more than 21.
“You know I didn’t bother counting them, and I can not count them there. We rescued people who were half-dead, and we rescued those confirmed dead. We also rescued those who are critically wounded. Nobody knows if they will survive or not, so the number might prove quite difficult, ” Onyeka says.
Nigerian government is fond of changing narratives to manage its image internationally.
It could be a conspiracy to hide the number of the victims to avoid public or nongovernmental organisation’s outcry that will lead to inquiries to penalise those involved.
“The rescue effort went well but was not as prompt as I had wanted. Security agents came after the residents had gathered and were pulling debris with bare hands before the excavator arrived. ” Onyeka continues
Building approvals in the country only focus on approval payments and not inspection.
“You barely see the urban development or planning board come to a site to inspect the land, the materials, or the engineer. All you need to do is take your plan and go to their office, pay the money they asked you, and get the stamp for all you want. ” A labourer who spoke on the condition of privacy said.
The school building collapsed while the student were taking their exams. During exams, schools barely have absentees, meaning all students were in the building when it collapsed.
The collapsed two storey building has been sealed off. The government is yet to announce its next action.
“Oversight committee is needed to critically look into the disaster, find out what happened and profer solutions.
“People need to be held responsible. It’s the fault of people and not of the structure. Get the engineers, check the materials used, if they standard or substandard, who approved building on the site and many other things.
“We can’t continue like everything is okay and buildings keep collapsing everyday” Onyeka concluded
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