For the family of Adetoye, last Saturday morning was a tragic day for them and both couple identified as Kamilu Adetoye and his wife, Rofiat Adetoye would have stayed at home in the Agidingbi area of Lagos if they knew that death was waiting for them.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the couple fell into an open drainage channel barely few metres away from their residence on Idowu Ademiluyi Street, Adiyan, Ogun State during a rainy evening.
But the wife, Rofiyat was rescued by bystanders while flood swept away her husband who was in his 50s.
The dead body of the husband was found in Agbado, a neighbouring community the following morning which does not tally with the hopes of his wife and five children that their breadwinner would have found helpers.
According to PUNCH report, friends wore solemn faces as a sympathiser who just learnt about the tragedy cried uncontrollably when the residence of Adetoye was visited.
Rofiat, wife of the deceased said the death of her husband, who was a mechanic at First Gate, in Agidingbi, was avoidable if the drainage channel was covered.
She said, “I sell drinks around his shop. It was raining while we were returning home in the evening and we boarded a bus from Ishaga to Agbado. We couldn’t get a bus from Agbado to our house and we decided to trek because it was getting late.
“We were almost at the junction leading to our house when we fell inside the drainage channel. We didn’t know because everywhere was covered with water. I can’t explain what stopped me as people quickly came to my rescue. They helped to search for my husband too but they couldn’t find him.
“I called his phone but it wasn’t reachable. I couldn’t sleep all through the night. They brought his corpse home the next morning. If the drainage was covered, my husband wouldn’t die untimely. I don’t know how to take care of five children without him. He has a mother. He was a good man.”
Kamilu’s elder brother, Saka Adetoye, said he was at home awaiting the couple’s arrival when Rofiat’s call jolted him.
He also lamented the circumstances surrounding his sibling’s death and urged the government to cover the drainage.
Saka stated, “We were already indoors when the rain started. It was raining for the third time that day. His wife called and told me he had been swept away by flood. I rushed to the spot and people joined us to search for him to no avail.
“We returned home in the hope that we would find him the next day. The following morning, we continued the search. Unfortunately, we found his corpse inside the drainage in Agbado. It was some planks mounted inside the drainage channel that stopped him. We brought him home and buried him.
“I wonder if we have a government in this country. Why would they allow a company to construct a drainage channel without slabs to cover it? If it is covered, something like this won’t happen. “
One of the deceased’s children, 23-year-old Azeezat Adedoyin, 23, said she would sorely miss her father.
The Mass Communication student at Gateway Polytechnic, Ogun State, reflected on the good memories she shared with Kamilu, lamenting that death took him away when their bond was just getting strong.
She said, “We spoke on the phone a lot whenever I was in school. I will miss those good memories. He was prayerful. He made a lot of promises to me that he couldn’t fulfill. Even though he was not earning much, he provided for our needs and took good care of us.”
A neighbour, Jegede James, described the late Kamilu as a peaceful, kind and friendly fellow who loved people around him. “He was like a brother. He loved his family more than anything. I will miss him a lot. We chatted every day and he was with me a day before the incident happened.”
