By Ishaya ibrahim, News Editor
Misfortune can become fortune to some. This was the case on Saturday, September 26, two days after the Lagos gas explosion which occurred around the Grailand area on Ishaga-Ajuwon road. The ruins in the site, replete with at least 10 burnt vehicles, at least 23 damaged houses and a market, has since turned business opportunities for metal scavengers.
When TheNiche arrived the scene of the gas explosion on September 26, the earlier gloomy environment occasioned by the tragedy had given way to commerce. The stakeholders in this enterprise were officials of the Ifako Ijaiye local government area of Lagos State, in their apron jackets, community leaders of the area, and scavengers who came with their hammers and chisels.
They were seen negotiating sales of completely burnt vehicles. And once the deal was struck, the scavengers descended on the wreckage with their hammers and chisels. The remains of the vehicle would be chopped off and tucked into tiny bits, and loaded into a sack.
It was a tragic irony that a car which few minutes before the blast had a market value of about N1.5 million, gets tuck into a sack with no more than N30,000 worth.
At the scene of the accident, one fellow was almost mobbed for attempting to steal a sack full of such wreckage. His mobster include officials of the local government, community leaders and the scavengers themselves. They pummeled the man with various degrees of slaps. He was spared by another giant of a man, who ruffled him out of the premises.
The scrap metal industry is a big business for scavengers. They pound the street in search of metallic scraps which they would sell to collectors who in turn would resell them to smelting mill to be reused in the manufacturing of home appliances and some other stuff.
But what the Lagos gas blast did for the scavengers was simply to provide them with these large amount of metals at one spot.
At the time our correspondent was leaving the scene, the Truck that caused the gas explosion was being negotiated by a crowd. Curiously, none of them was identified as the owner. It is doubtful if the owner was even aware that his damaged truck was up for sale.
Recall that the Lagos gas explosion occurred on September 24, killing at least 13 people, according to residents that TheNiche spoke to.
A number of the residents rendered similar account of what led to the incident. According to them, a tanker load of gas was supplied to a gas plant and the owner of the gas plant rejected the supply on the ground that the weight was below expectation. Consequently, the truck driver drove out of the gas yard in anger, and in the process, fell into a ditch. This was followed by an explosion which affected many buildings away. The impact of the blast also moved the truck close to a plantain plantation, and the entire vegetation immediately withered. Electric cables and poles were not spared. They were completely destroyed, leaving the area without electricity.
Despite the tragedy, the scavengers are making their kill.