illiteracy ,

is that what the problem is?.

plane crash,

pipeline vandalisation,

thats Nigerian, tsunnami, earthquake, volcanoes etc.

1. asides the pipeline damaging from lifespan effects, i don't think it's a common thieves' job.
u do not puncture a pipeline when it's transporting gas; so on that note i'd want to believe someone actually knew when the pipes were not serving.

now the poor people should know better.
we've had case like this before now and i've come to notice a trait :
a) there's always a report of the pipeline vandalizing.
b) nobody does anything about the trespass.
c) there's always a fire outbreak thereafter.

now i don't want to believe i'm the only one to notice this, so there must be a whole lot of us out there.

2. if anyone can afford to buy a car and fuel it at 65 naira/litre, i don't think the person will be so intelligent to scoop fuel from a burst pipeline.

3. @walelead,
believe me, that vicinity alone have enough policemen to take care of the security around there. i'm yet to see a checkpoint in lagos that has less than 5 policemen and you don't need to bother asking me how many check points there are in that region.

like i'll always want to believe, "there's always a cause".

how long must all this kind of disasters occur b4 something is done?
wat an uneccessary waste of human lives

truly, poverty is not n excuse for indiscipline and vandalism
wat is wrong is wrong whether govt is good or bad!

everybody knows wat can happen when a petrol pipeline is tampered with, these pple knew but decided to take a chance.
what pains me is dat dis might still occur in d not so distant future.
wat a country

may the lost souls rest in peace

believe me, that vicinity alone have enough policemen to take care of the security around there. i'm yet to see a checkpoint in lagos that has less than 5 policemen and you don't need to bother asking me how many check points there are in that region.

like i'll always want to believe, "there's always a cause".

yes greedy and illeteracy is the main cause

I saw some of the clips on AIT before the fire

I saw a police man beating people with planks and these people were just going on like nothing was touching them!
On one corner, there's thug who grabbed a police man by the collar and threatened to punch his light out

i heard tat it was an handset tat caused the explosion, how true is this?

loverboy

yes greedy and illeteracy is the main cause

And who is responsible for such mass greed and illeteracy??

Why were Saudis/Iranians etc not scooping fuel? are they not human beings?

This is failure of a Nation!

700people just like that!!!

you mean people in saudi/iran are illeterate or greedier?

And who is responsible for such mass greed and illeteracy??

the government have obviously failed in terms of education but at the same time with the highest number of churches and mosques in the whole combined people are still greedy thuggish and generally criminal minded

is the government responsible for greed?

prior to december and the festive season there were no reports of fuel scarcity

the people of Adebisi Layout in Ibadan, Oyo State on Wednesday drew attention to oil theft in their neighbourhood. They say the alarm became necessary following the unwholesome activities of vandals in the area

The people claim police did not do anything. Would police have shot at people who did not want to leave the place where they were scooping fuel, and then the same people would say police caused the fire? Even now, the number of people here are not helping the rescue operation. People are just too many," the police boss said.

Guardian

common sense sometimes saves lives

How on earth could Nigeria still be going through fuel scarcity in a country that,s a world producer in petrolum. May God almighty help us! I really can.t blame this people--they must survive, even though it might cost them their life

LoverBwoy:


I saw a police man beating people with planks and these people were just going on like nothing was touching them!
On one corner, there's thug who grabbed a police man by the collar and threatened to punch his light out

look, these people were desperate! i'm not trying to make an excuse for them but i can assure you that a fire disaster was the last thing on their mind.
i still stand on the fact that if there was no scarcity, this wouldn't have happened.
even if there was a burst pipeline, people would not have rushed there like they did because really, of what benefit is it to them when there is fuel in the filling stations?
now look at what ajonuma is saying;

As at the last count, between 200 and 250 people have died in the disaster,” the NNPC spokesman, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, said in a television interview.

He described the victims as ”criminals” who vandalised pipelines to steal petrol and sell it.

Ajuonuma said the police had been directed to hunt out those who tampered with the oil pipeline that caused the deadly explosion.

“The police are after them. They will be smoked out and prosecuted. Our security agents are advised to protect oil pipelines and other national properties and installations from vandals and criminals who steal petrol to sell,” he said.

[color=#000099]http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200612285333454

i can't believe someone will open his mouth to say this, are they going to be prosecuted there in the hospital abi is the court running away that they can't wait for them to get well, if at all they do?
this whole thing just stinks

As for me, anybody who still blames the government for these occurrences is a joker. he or she should know better by now that it would have done more good to spend that same time and strength to say something else, like praying for the country.
I believe some people here have their parents or relations working in Government positions, be it a public school teacher or a local govt chairman. why don't they blame these their relatives rather than waiting for Obasanjo or Tinubu to do watch night over the pipelines,

People who died made their choices themselves. they dint ask the government to make the choice for them. If a man is starving, and frustrated and thinks there is no way out of his situation due to political or economical situation of the country, he has his own choices, he either sits in his house for death to come or goes outside to embrace it. what ever his choices are at this time depends on his level of frustrations and common sense, which is not so common.

If those who died can speak, they will tell you that they new the risk they where taking and just tot it would not happen when it was their turn.(especially if they have seen people do it successfully) its the same thing as girls who go into prostitution or guys who swallow drugs to sell abroad. just that the casualties are different from the perpetrators of the act.

i am sure those who got the pipe burst ed are very far from the area now as they have done the deal they want and because they know the consequences of burst pipes, they have gone very far.

They are going to burst another one tomorrow and do their thing a short time and fly again, leaving ignorant (but not innocent because they made d choice) people to roast. (people who burst pipes don't roast with the flames, believe me. they know what they are doing. otherwise they would have stopped by now).
I am quite sure if you give them a second chance, they will repeat it, otherwise just wait a while and God forbid there is another burst or vandalism, it will surely happen again, and we all come here and cry the Govt foul!

it keeps happening and we keep blaming,

The day we start to blame ourselves, i will know we are getting close to redemption.

As far as you dad or mum has not done anything about it, you have no right to Judge the Govt because our parents, collectively, are the Govt.

My opinion though!!

@oje,
why was there shortage in petrol supply all of a sudden ?
i think u have an idea of who should answer that question; the victims ?

@getleone

gentleone:

look, these people were desperate!

desperate to make a living or to die ?

gentleone:

i'm not trying to make an excuse for them but i can assure you that a fire disaster was the last thing on their mind.

sister, succeeding every pipeline damage and scooping of petrol in nigeria is a fire disaster. this is not the first and i hardly think it's going to be the last.

pray god saves nigerian

some peeps are just ridiculous

why venture into things that will always backfire

ofcourse this peeps knew what its gon' result to, 'cos its not the first of its kind

but they felt like. . .  "nothing they happen"    and many innocent lives were wasted

come to think of it, if our govt. are senseless and not doing their rights

should we too be acting ignorantly

@oje, i concur to your  factual and sensible statements

Thank you Walelead!!

I thought i was alone on it,

@ otokx
would you rayther scoop fuel and probably not scoop again for the rest of your life (b'cos u'll be burnt to ashes) or you would have urself sleep indoors, only to go abt ur bizness sum oda times?

wormedup

this is not the first and i hardly think it's going to be the last.

so why is that?  is Nigeria only country with petrol pipeline?

But we do know:

Nigeria is only crudeoil producing country that import petrol.

Nigeria is the poorest of all the crudeoil producing  countries.

Nigeria has highest number of illetrate among these crudeoil producing countries.

Nigeria is the only country among these crudeoil producing countriey with external reserve of $40billion in foreign banks.

In a failed state; different symptoms abound!  Look at the Big Picture.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/gallery/December_2006/cartoon_dec28.gif

@babasin,
no nigeria is not the only country.
but like u already mentioned, nigeria is the only crude oil producing country importing the same thing. that should apparently mean something is seriously wrong.
then again, if the economy remains the way it is (which is likely - i do hope for a change but there are no signs yet), some bum will still burst pipelines and some greedy/illiterate people (as some would like to believe) will still tell themselves "nothing dey happen" and go scooping petrol.
what happens next is pretty obvious, fire disaster.

May the souls of the departed rest in the sweet bosom of the lord, Amen!

blame blame blame,where is the respect for the dead? who are we to judge and blame others while we expose ourselves to different types of risks everyday and for just been lucky we are able to get back home safely.do you still jump the plane knowing the risk of a crash? subway risking a terror attack? car with its numerous accidents? etc etc. well it will never happen to me,thats the same thing this 260 people had in mind,untill the flame engulfed them.people burst and steal fuel everyday somewhere in nigeria cos of the demand.life is full of risk and might caught up with u on your unlucky day.my people we must pity for the dead and not blame them.call them stupid and illiterate,but most of us no wise pass all of them.

Hmmm. To say the truth I trully feel sorry for the bereaved because those people may know, may not, or not might of warned over disasters like such but money is something once you set your eye on it even if you are goddamned holy you will stil have a second thought about it. But to say the truth if it about those who died stealing, I don't feel nada for them (may God forgive me). Thanks to God for putting them out of their misery or else we would still bunch of them over their still stealing.

Honestly when I saw the news on online Punch newspaper it was really horrible that II nearly throw up right in front of the PC.

PHCN Chief:

It is surprising that a man of his caliber would do such;

For him to have warned people about the dangers of stealing fuel from a broken oil pipe line and later going back to join iis , i don't know what to say about that. Should i say sick or what?

God

Really i think those who went to the pipelines to scoop fuel should be blamed.Several times this vandalization of pipelines have occured and people have died.Then why cant people learn from experience ?.It is reallly sad.It was not a residential area so not much innnocent lives were claimed.I knew some people who died there personally and i can assure you there were warned.

Some blame those who scoop fuels and call them vandals, Ignorance.The scoopers re not the vandals,the vandals come at the dead of the nite with lorries and take fuel in tons.
The scoopers wake up and see fuel like manna from heaven and they go for it.
Some claim there was fuel for those that queued, Ignorance.I happen to reside in the environs where d blast took place on the 25th of December I spent 3hrs at Mobil Gas station where Mr.Biggs is located,a fight broke out and selling was stopped and i went back home on my my car stopped.I had to push d car myself all alone until I called home,the fuel in my generator was emptied the fuel brought to me before d car started.
I spent my last fuel in d car trying to buy fuel and ended up emptyin my generator tank and to transport d fuel to where the car stopped cost my cousin =N=500 to give me a 4litre fuel.
When i got home no Power supply and since my generator tank is empty there was no alternative.
I was fuel(less) on Christmas day.No car,no power supply and no information.Until d next day of d explosion and it affected the Power supply again and I remained Power supply(less) till Thursday(Yesterday).
If the fuel manna was in my street I may have been tempted to get little. Dont blame d dead cos none of them was selling right there but scooping for personal use and maybe to sell the surplus.
Do you know what it takes for a nursing mother to scoop fuel?POVERTY.
MAY THIER SOULS REST IN PEACE AND I KNOW THEY WILL SEE HEAVEN COS THEY'VE SEEN AND EXPERIENCED HELL.

In d midst of lack we dont see Danger.

@opal4real, your story is pitiful , Dont worry my broda, e go better.

Its a pity how low we have all sunk in this country.
There's no justification for going to scoop fuel from burst pipeline. As some people have said its sheer greed and the lazy attitude of our populace that will make such a venture an attractive one.
I dont think Iwill ever engage in such no matter how safe it seems. Its just like someone saying that I'll do 419 because Im hungry.

From the accounts of the incident that I have read I dont think that anyone that died in the incident was 'innocent'. so they are all to blame. There were even reports of them throwing stones at the first set of policemen that came to control the situation. This proves the saying that it is the fly that refuses to heed reason that follows the dead body to the grave.

Its those of us that are not there that can afford to say that.
If we were there we will be singing another song.
I had light for Xmas. And could cook

opal4real:

Some blame those who scoop fuels and call them vandals, Ignorance.The scoopers re not the vandals,the vandals come at the dead of the night with lorries and take fuel in tons.
The scoopers wake up and see fuel like manna from heaven and they go for it.

Do you know what it takes for a nursing mother to scoop fuel?POVERTY.

In d midst of lack we don't see Danger.

good talk opal.

frankiriri:

Its a pity how low we have all sunk in this country.
There's no justification for going to scoop fuel from burst pipeline. As some people have said its sheer greed and the lazy attitude of our populace that will make such a venture an attractive one.
I don't think Iwill ever engage in such no matter how safe it seems. Its just like someone saying that I'll do 419 because I'm hungry.

From the accounts of the incident that I have read I don't think that anyone that died in the incident was 'innocent'. so they are all to blame. There were even reports of them throwing stones at the first set of policemen that came to control the situation. This proves the saying that it is the fly that refuses to heed reason that follows the dead body to the grave.

@ frank, you never know what you can do until you are in that position.

All we do is blame the government - blame government for people's ignorance to judge that scooping fuel from a pipeline is dangerous? - even if we are the worst governed country in this world - we should still have common sense to know what is good from what is right/safe/bad. This is not the first time this incident will occur - yet people go there, break the pipes and scoop fuel - and yet we blame government for people's foolishness and ignorance.