The tragic loss of 22 students and teachers in the collapse of a Jos school building on 12th July, 2022, has left a bitter tang on our tongues and kept our spirits numb for the past few days.
As the entire nation is wrapped in a pashmina of grief, we are once again reminded of the fleeting nature of life: one minute, the school environment was abuzz with evaluation and assessment activities;
The next minute, human bodies were reduced to debris and lives snuffed out of children like an angry wind blowing out the fire of a candle.
154 other persons were trapped and injured in the rubbles.
The couple who reportedly lost four children in that collapse must have been the envy of other couples struggling with infertility and yearning to have a child.
Unable to bear the weight of the sorrow, the hearts of the parents forgot how to beat, and caved-in; like in a Nollywood storyline, an entire family was swept off the surface of the earth in a jiffy, all because of a crack in the wall.
The family had left home in the morning with the hope of reuniting in the evening; the couple probably had a hot argument before they went out that morning or the siblings teased one another about who the best superhero was.
Those voices were silenced forever by a crack in the wall.
Yes, it started with a crack in the wall.
Some survivors of the school building collapse have recounted how they had first noticed a crack on the wall of their classroom and had attempted to flee to safety from the looming disaster, but the wall had crumbled with a swiftness that outpaced them, trapping them beneath the unforgiving weight of concrete and iron.
The crack on the wall of the school building is a poignant metaphor for the crack on our national wall.
Investigation into the cause of the collapse of the school building has revealed two major structural weaknesses: first, the building was erected in a swampy area; next, the resources used for the building were substandard.
These deficiencies mirror the broader issues cracking the walls of our nation – corruption, insecurity, hunger, unemployment…
Nigerians have seen the widening cracks on the national wall and are now desperately trying to flee, even in the literal sense, just like the students of Saints Academy before the mishap; this is the idea behind the “japa” syndrome.
A lot of Nigerians are desperately deploying their income and other resources towards relocating abroad.
While some are “fortunate” and have successfully left the shores of Nigeria, a host of others keep encountering obstacles and setbacks in their attempt to leave, and there is a growing sense of entrapment for the populace who are unable to flee the crumbling structure of this homeland.
The saddest truth about buildings with structural flaws is that the architects, landlords and bricklayers are often unscathed when the walls come crashing down.
The victims of Jos school collapse were innocent students and teachers; the owner, contractor and builders of the school were in a safe distance away from harm.
It’s a vivid reflection of the political system where the power holders receive top-tier care in foreign hospitals while innocent lives are daily lost in underfunded ill-equipped Nigerian hospitals.
it is the same the way the children on Nigerian power holders cruise on smooth roads abroad while the common man loses his life in accident on death traps masqueraded as roads in Nigeria.
it is the same way fresh food items are trashed in the kitchens of the “mighty” as adults collapse in local markets after days of hunger.
Our walls are cracked, and the dust is already settling on our heads. We can’t fold our hands and pretend that all is well. Jos school collapse should not be treated as an isolated event; it’s a signal of the urgency of our national predicament. The lives that were lost in the school collapse should not be lost in vain; their death should be a price for our national redemption. We have seen the cracks and should not wait for the crash before we mend our walls.
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