A truck driver, Joseph Alao, 24, whose elder brother was among the victims of the Ibadan explosion, tells ABDULLATEEF FOWEWE about his brother’s condition and how the incident has affected the family.

My name is Anuolawapo Joseph Alao, and I am 24 years old from Ibadan North Local Government in Ibadan, Oyo State. I am not the victim; it is my 27-year-old elder brother, Oluwatobiloba Segun Alao, who has fallen victim. His workplace is the third house from the explosion site. He works as a distributor for a watch company. It was a catastrophic incident, but we thank God he did not die that day. He was on his.

He went back to retrieve the document. The explosion occurred while he was on his way back from the office. According to what he told us, he was unconscious for a few moments before regaining consciousness; after gaining some strength, he crawled to the gate, which is where we picked him up.

He (Oluwatobiloba) called his girlfriend and informed her, so it was his girlfriend who came to our house to tell us about it. We rushed to the scene of the accident in our grandfather’s car. However, when we arrived, we found him near the estate gate where the incident had occurred. The surroundings were filled with dust, and It’s difficult to see clearly.

The situation was so distressing that I nearly fainted from the pain. Our panic levels were high, especially as our mother’s condition deteriorated. We rushed to the scene, determined to find out the truth. At the estate gate, we noticed him bleeding and unable to stand. His body was covered in injuries, making him unable to speak or remember anything. We carried him to the car and rushed him to our family hospital. However, the incident left us unable to sleep for two days. When we arrived at the hospital that night, we were told that only one person could stay with him. I chose to stay.

with him, but my mother insisted on staying with him; I returned home and couldn’t sleep all night.

I went to the hospital at 5 a.m. the next day because I couldn’t handle the situation. Even the doctor was surprised that I did not sleep. I told him I hadn’t slept and found it difficult to blink my eyes. Despite her continued illness, my mother returned to the scene as a nurse to provide first aid to other victims before they were transported to the hospital.

This presented a significant challenge for us when we arrived at the hospital because we had not planned for it, and our family is not wealthy.