The tragic November 2 incident that left about 28 worshippers dead and several others injured at the Holy Ghost Adoration Centre, Uke, in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, is unfortunate. Reports say that a false fire alarm raised by some people at the end of a prayer vigil organised by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obinma at the venue led to a stampede that culminated in the ugly incident. The Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Diocese, Most Reverend Valerian Okeke, confirmed at a news conference on Sunday that the stampede was caused by a false fire alarm and not sabotage, as alleged in some quarters. Among the thousands of worshippers who attended the vigil were Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and his 10-man entourage. The governor and his team had reportedly left the Adoration Centre at 3.30 am before the incident occurred at 5.08 am.
However, since the incident took place at a time that political parties are campaigning for the gubernatorial election coming up in the state next Saturday, politicians in Anambra have surprisingly elected to play politics with the monumental tragedy. For instance, leaders of the political parties of the two leading contenders in the Anambra State gubernatorial poll, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), have been trading accusations on the matter.
Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has rightly visited those who suffered injuries in the hospitals. He also declared a 3-day mourning period for the repose of the souls of the departed and commiserated with their families on the great loss.
The governor, in addition, instituted a probe to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the incident with a view to forestalling a recurrence. He promised that the state government would offset the burial expenses of the dead.
We sympathise with the people and government of Anambra State, as well as the families of the victims, over this sad incident. But, the accusations and counter-accusations on the tragedy among politicians in the state are clearly out of place. At this period of deep mourning, politicians should be reflective and sober in their utterances, instead of trading blames. Let politicians and their supporters desist from playing politics with the dead. It is the height of political naivety and insensitivity for any politician to be playing politics with such monumental human tragedy. Political actors in Anambra should not make political capital out of the tragedy. It is unwise and crude to do so. Rather, they should be more concerned about the great loss and how to help the wounded and bereaved families to overcome the trauma of the incident.
Therefore, the hair-splitting and blowing of hot air over this matter are unnecessary. Cantankerous and inflammatory comments on this sad loss do not lessen the pain of the bereaved families or accord dignity to the memory of the dead. People should not demonize vigil prayers and those who attend them simply because of this particular incident.
Nobody should be blamed for attending such prayer sessions because it is within the constitutional rights of all Nigerians to attend whatever programmes they wish.
However, the organisers of the prayer programme, and similar ones, should learn the necessary lessons from the tragedy to avert a recurrence. There is the need to ensure that prayer grounds do not carry beyond their normal capacities. There should be enough entrance and exit routes.
Organisers of programmes of this nature should ensure adequate security and crowd control. They can enlist the assistance of the police in this regard. Ambulances and first aid givers should also be provided to attend to health emergencies that might arise during such events.
Let organisers of programmes that attract large numbers of people design workable strategies to prevent stampedes and loss of lives. Now that the state government has instituted a panel to probe this incident, its members should work hard to unravel its immediate and remote causes, and make recommendations that can help to prevent such in future. The panel should also identify those that raised the alleged false alarm and determine the motive for the action. It is only by determining the cause of this particular incident that future ones can be prevented. The Anambra State Government should also make public the outcome of this probe. Nothing about the investigation should be swept under the carpet.
The post The Uke Adoration Centre tragedy appeared first on The Sun News.
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