Asata River tragedy: Brother of drowned orphans abandons corpses

It would be nice if the state government could bury her (Chidera). We have nobody to run to because we are orphans." These were the words of Chukwuebuka Nweke, the elder brother of the two girls – Blessing and Chidera – who drowned at the Asata River in Enugu State.
Residents of Enugu metropolis are yet to recover from the tragedy that struck last Saturday, when the two girls who went to swim in the river with some destitute drowned in the dirty water.
Grieving Chukwuebuka, who noted that Chidera would have resumed school on Monday, said none of their relatives cared about their welfare.
"None of our relatives cares about us, we are just living on our own, and hoping that some day goodluck will smile on us.
"Chidera was a pupil of Nkpologwu Primary School, New Haven – just before PRODA. She was supposed to have entered Primary Six last Monday. But she is no more. I work as a cleaner and do other odd jobs to survive and save money so that I can also acquire education in future."
For Blessing, he said, "She was related to us, but all the same we called her our sister because she didn't know her parents and had been living with us all her life.
"The painful thing about the whole situation now is that we are orphans and we have no one to turn to. This is a big challenge for me."
The matter could be termed worse considering that the deceased, before death came calling, had merely survived the vicissitudes of life by hawking handkerchiefs and hand towels at the New Haven/Bisala Road junction, about 800 metres from the Enugu State Government House gate.
Saturday PUNCH findings showed that the two deceased girls, had lived with their elder brother, Chukwuebuka in a shanty in New Haven area of Enugu since the death of their parents about four years ago.
It just could not get any better for them as their brother, just 24 years old, could barely survive. He earns N7, 500 monthly working as a cleaner in an undisclosed shopping plaza, also in New Haven.
To compound their woes, our correspondent learnt that their relatives from Akpugo Village in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State hardly came to their rescue whenever feeding was a problem. Coincidentally, the current Chief of Staff to the Enugu State Government, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, hails from Akpugo in Nkanu East LGA.
A source said that Chukwuebuka resided in a one-room apartment at an undisclosed location in New Haven. They said the one-room apartment was in a building that had been abandoned for about 12 years now. They added that a relative to the property owner usually rent the rooms to students and artisans at a much subsidised rate of about N1, 000 monthly.
It was also gathered from hawkers at New Haven Junction that the deceased made about N1, 000 weekly hawking wares, "and with this they survived with their elder brother (Chukwuebuka) and a little brother of theirs," said a hawker, Chisom Edeh.
Edeh added, "Their relatives did not care for them, and that was why none of them came for Chidera's corpse at the mortuary in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (Parklane). Just today (Wednesday), we heard the local government authorities (Enugu North) had gone to dispose the body since it was apparent none of their relatives would come to claim it."
WhenSaturday PUNCHvisited ESUTH mortuary, the morgue attendants confirmed that the corpse had been removed by the local government authorities.
Investigations showed that the younger girl (Blessing), about eight years old, had jumped into the deepest part of the river and fearing that she could drown, the elder sister (Chidera) about 13 years, dived into the river to rescue her; but unfortunately both of them drowned.
Some of the destitute children, who confessed to have lured the girls to the river, explained toSaturday PUNCHthat when they noticed that they had been swallowed by the fast flowing river, they quickly alerted passersby who engaged four local divers to help rescue them.
The search, one of the destitute said, lasted for about an hour, between – 4.30 and 5.30pm that fateful Saturday. They, however, said that the four divers only succeeded in rescuing the lifeless body of the 13-year-old girl while the second had not been found as at last Wednesday night.
"The incident did not only generate a traffic jam on Bisala Road last Saturday, but the gridlock had continued to build up by the day as motorists, passersby and of course the destitute, had continued to gather to ascertain if the second body might be found at the banks of the river," said a local diver, Cornelius Ugwu.
Ugwu said he had been keeping vigil at the river should the body float. He also said that some of his counterparts came at intervals to join him, to ward off criminals who might be on the lookout for the body for ritual purposes.
He said, "News had got to us that some people who are not family members or relatives are hanging around the place all night, and fearing that they may be searching for a ritual meat, we voluntarily chose to keep guard, at least for now."
Beyond ritual purposes, a motorist, Mrs. Chinenye Uzor, said, "It is time the government wade into this matter, because the traffic is building. Whenever drivers get to that point, they slow down to catch a glimpse of what the underground river looks like, thereby slowing vehicular movement.
"Going through that road on ordinary days is even difficult because of school run activities, but with this development, it is now obviously hell on earth."
Aside Ugwu and Uzor's opinions, one thing that seemed to be baffling concerned residents was the fact that throughout the rescue operation, no security operative was seen at the scene, which, Uzor said, was "about one kilometre away from the Government House."
A highly placed government official who didn't want his name in print said, "It is so sad that even the police vehicles that reportedly passed by when there were attempts to rescue the girls never stopped.
"One thing that annoys me further is that the police point at New Haven junction/round-about is about 100 metres from the scene, the police officers there could not even come around. Yet all these police officers gallivant about in the new KIA cars that were given to them by Governor Sullivan Chime for security and emergency purposes. One of the cars was just about 100 metres from the scene of the incident, yet the police officers attached to that car couldn't come over.
"If there were no cars, the same policemen would be the ones crying foul that they couldn't save a situation because of absence of cars. Now that they have luxury cars to work with, they have even become lazier than they used to be."
When confronted, the police spokesperson in Enugu, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, simply said, "We are now aware of the matter and the department handling it is not through with its investigation. As soon as it is done, I'll reach you for our statement."
Chukwuebuka blamed his sisters' death on the destitute. "She (Chidera) was only 13 and had never tried swimming. I feel so sad that she had to die this way. She would have been alive if these little, tiny things who beg for alms on the road had not lured her and her friend to swim in the river."
Already, residents in the state have renewed the campaign that destitute should be sacked from the streets, or they could cause more harm. They attribute their rising figure in Enugu metropolis to the inefficiency of the government to sustain Acts of Legislation or fully implement its laws.
To them, the increasing presence of destitute and hawkers is fast making the city one of the dirtiest in the country.
However, the Commissioner in charge of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuegede, said that the government was not resting on its oars. "Government is determined to make Enugu a world class city by ensuring it is environmentally and physically cleaned, as well as adequately planned," Ugwuegede noted.