25/05/2024
ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION
Todays environmental sanitation reminded me of an incident that took place 9 years ago in 2015 while I was an undergraduate. I was in my 300l at the time.
I had a near death experience, it was Infact a close shave with death.
Now this is my story,
My fellowship back then in school, Redeemed Christian Campus fellowship (RCF) had a brothers and sisters program and it was held in one of the Redeem parishes outside the school and it was a vigil.
Next morning, which was a Saturday, we were done with the vigil and everyone was going back home.
We hit the road as early as 6:30am, there were no vehicles, so we decided to trek since the church wasn’t far from our hostels.
Few blocks to my hostel, we met a barricade by the civil defense.
They were already out catching violators on sanitation day.
We even saw some people doing manual labor.
As expected, we were held too.
We tried explaining that we are students and we were coming from a vigil close by.
I even went as far as pointing to my hostel so they would see how close it is but they were adamant.
At some point, one of their superiors asked that we be taken to their station.
In my mind, I was like, “Ahhhh station keh, Itaf nor reach laidat na”…
All our pleas fell on deaf ears, we were bundled into their van and they drove off.
Meanwhile, a particular woman was also arrested.
This woman kept insisting she is a force woman and was on duty but they refused to listen. She even showed them her ID but they paid deaf ears, maybe because she was on mofty.
We got to their station and met several offenders there already sitted on the floor, even children were not exempted.
It was a Wawu situation 😂😂😂.
We were bundled down from the trunk and made to sit on the floor like common thieves.
Then they went ahead to make videos and take pictures of us.
At this point, I was scared, I was already thinking of how my parents will see me on TV for committing an offense.
I was already crying, me and cry sha signed agreement 😂😂😂😂😂.
I left a part, while the officers were dragging us, our papa(fellowship president) managed to escape.
So, we got to their office and the officer woman became aggressive, she started threatening to let hell loose and rain down hail and brimstone.
She refused to sit on the floor like everyone of us.
Then the officers became violent on her, they beat this woman to the point she started vomiting blood from her mouth and nose.
They beat her to the point, she became weak. I almost took her as dead.
It was not a sight I was exactly ready to see.
My tears intensified, my fellowship colleagues tried to calm me down that everything will be resolved and we’d soon be out of there.
In no time, they started setting up a mini court, saying we would be tried and prosecuted.
Omo this wasn’t what I signed up for.
Na school I come oo and na fellowship program I go, I no kill person.
Before we knew what was going on, pandemonium ensued, a troop of police officers drove in shooting sporadically into the air.
Apparently, they had come for their woman colleague who was arrested.
I started wondering how information got to them though.
Soon, it became an exchange of bullets between the civil defense officers and the police officers.
The police officers started releasing tear gas into the air and in no time, the whole place became saturated, everyone scampered for safety.
Unfortunately, the gates were shut so there was no way of escape.
We kept running round in circles looking for a safe place.
But the whole environment was already saturated with tear gas.
At that point, I had lost contact with my colleagues, we were running for safety and trying to stay alive.
I got into one of the offices and felt it would be safe but the smell infiltrated into the place.
There were so many people there, screaming for help.
I saw a hefty guy tear his cloth and tried to cover his nose with it but it did little or nothing.
I saw children cry and wail.
For a moment, I forgot I was also in the same situation and felt pity for those poor children who didn’t deserve any of what they were getting.
My ceasing breathe jolted me back to reality.
I remembered I had a bottle of water that was shared at the program.
I opened it and kept pouring it into my handkerchief and tried to breathe on it.
I couldn’t bear the pains of those children so I offered them some water too.
Soon, I ran out of water and was soon running out of breathe.
I noticed my eyes shutting , my vision became vague, my heart kept racing, breathing became a struggle, the noises and screams sounded distant.
I struggled to say a prayer of repentance.
That wasn’t how I wanted to die but if that was what God wanted, at least I should make peace with him😃.
Just then, I started hearing “Mama Promise, Mama Promise…”
The voices were distant, I felt I had probably passed on to the other side.
Suddenly, I felt someone grab me and I managed to open my eyes and I saw our papa who had run away and some of those my colleagues that were arrested alongside myself.
They said they had been looking for me.
Our papa said he couldn’t leave us there, so he had to come back to get us.
Fortunately, he found an escape route at the back with a half broken fence.
Through that fence, we were able to make our way out.
I kept crying and shouting, “there are still little children inside”.
I was weak and frail.
I lost one leg of my slippers in the process.
I got back to my hostel room exhausted and gobsmacked.
I was still in shock to narrate to my roommates all I had to go through that morning.
I slumped on my bed and slept the whole day.
I woke up in the evening and managed to narrate my ordeal.
The days, weeks and months that passed were the most traumatizing for me.
Each time I flash back at the incident, I shiver.
That was the scariest time of my life.
Never have I had such a near death experience.
It was so surreal.
God saved me, death lost that day.
It’s been 9 years already but as I write this story, I still shiver.
Have you ever had a near death experience?
I’d like to hear your story too.
Yours Truly, Kachi
