Lagos Building Collapse: ‘How N50 Saved Me from Death’

For Saka Ismaila, he will never stop being nice in his life, as his kindness saved him from possible death.

Ismaila is one of the artisans that worked at the four-storey building that collapsed on 8, Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos on Monday.

He said while others on the site are working, he went to give a food vendor, who forgot her N50 with him when the building collapsed.

The artisan said though he was broke, he would not just want to spend someone else’s money, adding that he was returning to the site when the incident occurred.

No fewer than five corpses were recovered from the collapsed building while 25 others were rescued.

However, Imaila said: “I will never stop doing good in my life. I went to give the Amala seller her money and as I was rushing back to the site, it collapsed. The woman sold food for me but forgot to collect her money, so I ran after her to give it to her.

“Although, i don’t have enough money on me, i don’t like to cheat people. It is against my belief. If not for that, I might have died too.”

While lamenting the death of others, he described the incident as sorrowful.

General Manager of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the rescue officials worked through the night, adding that his men had to relocate from the Great Nigeria House fire disaster scene to the scene of the collapsed building to save lives.