From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Alhaji Muhammad Bello was visibly grieved and could not hold back the tears when news of the death of his beloved daughter and granddaughter reached him.
Bello, who is the Ward Head of Kobi Makama lost his daughter Aisha Ibrahim Kobi and granddaughter, Nana Khadija Suleiman Kobi during the distribution of annual monetary Zakkat of N10,000 per individual by AYM Shafa Foundation.
Speaking to journalists in his house at Kobi, the 77-year-old man spoke of his grief amidst tears.
He explained that on that fateful morning of Sunday, March 24, his daughter, Aisha, 42, who had been separated from her husband, informed that she was going to collect Zakaat from AYM Shafa and would be accompanied by her daughter, Inham, a primary three pupil of who was nine years old.
The old man recalled the two left the house in the Kobi area in Bauchi Metropolis with no premonition that would receive the saddest news of his life hours later. He never knew that he was seeing his beloved daughter and her granddaughter one knew they would be seeing them for the last time.
Sadly, the mother and her daughter were among those who were trampled to death as a result of a stampede during distribution.
The old man said he received the devastating news of the painful death of his daughter and granddaughter while at home.
“Aisha and her daughter came to greet me in the morning and informed me of their plan to go for the zakat distribution and I was okay with it,” the retired soldier told journalists at his residence on Monday.
“Later that day I was at home because I don’t usually go out except to pray when the news that my daughter Aisha and her daughter died in a stampede.
“The news was a painful one but I have left it in the hand of God. He is the one that gave them to me and he is the one that has taken them. That’s all.
“My advice is that whenever people want to do justice by helping others, they should collaborate with the government and those in authority of what he planned to do to get the needed support to avoid stampedes and deaths,” he said.
A few minutes after speaking with journalists, a team from the AYM Shafa Foundation came to condole with Bello and gave him N250,000 cash, two bags of rice, one bag of maize and one bag of corn and prayed with the family.
The old man burst into tears as the prayer was going on.
Meanwhile, Professor Ahmed Mohammed, Chairman of Zakat Distribution, explained that many had thronged the venue of the distribution uninvited.
“We had security but with the high number of the people they couldn’t control them,” he said.
He said in the struggle to be the first that ensued, there was a stampede and unfortunately, some were unconscious and later confirmed dead in the hospital”
Mohammed disclosed that the Foundation went round to condole the victim of the deceased
“It was about N40 million that was supposed to be distributed yesterday we had gone about two hours when the stampede occurred
“We suspended the distribution to stop further escalation. We have gone around the houses of the victims who died to see their families and in the wisdom of the Chairman of the foundation, gave the sum of N250,000, two bags of rice, one bag of maize and one bag of millet.
“It is not to pay them for the death but allow them to do something for their visitors that came to sympathize with them”
Professor Ahmed said following the incident, the Foundation has initiated several changes that will prevent further occurrence of stampedes in the future since it is a yearly event.