10/09/2025
๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐, ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐
By Sebiotimo Abdullateef,
Fire is a thief and a cruel snatcher of all good things. On Sunday, it came to me uninvited, cloaked in smoke, and within minutes stripped me of shelter, clothing, and memories. In its wake, I was left hopeless, helpless, forced to begin again, like a newborn. Yet, even in what it took, it left me with a deeper sense of gratitude for life.
For some days, I had left my residence to stay with someone in the school hostel. I needed to cut down on constant movement to and from school and focus, as tests and exams drew near after a semester already filled with endless engagements.
That Sunday, while preparing for my B*H test scheduled for Monday, I had studied through the night until daybreak. By 10 a.m., I left class, rushed to bathe, and hurried to attend a send-forth for graduating health students from Niger State. I barely stayed fifteen minutes, for I needed to return home for laundry and pick up medications for someone who needed them.
Exhausted from the sleepless night, I decided to steal a short nap before laundry. Barely thirty minutes into rest, my slumber was pierced by a desperate shout of, โTSA, come out! The house is on fire! Come out!โ
I opened my eyes but could see no flame in sight. My room looked calm. Little do I know that the roof above me was already aflame. Stepping outside, I saw the smoke rising, and only then realized that the neighboring apartment, separated from ours by a single fence, was on fire too. Later, I would learn that it started from an electrical fault from the neighbouring apartment stemming from five uninterrupted days of power supply.
In panic, I dashed back in with my heart in my mouth. The only things I could save were my credentials and my roommateโs laptop, which was placed on a table near the door. Going inside on the second attempt, the smoke was too thick to see or breathe. I had to stop as life is worth more than anything left inside.
The fire raged with cruelty, devouring everything in the three rooms. One room, whose occupant was away for a dinner and award night I was also meant to attend if not for my test, remained locked and all that was inside were gone. We all lost everything as it took three fire trucks before the flames finally surrendered.
There are no words strong enough to capture the trauma of standing helplessly, watching your entire world burn into ashes. Yet, in all of this, my heart whispers gratitude. I was asleep when it began. I could have been trapped inside and would be long gone by now. But God in his infinite mercy spared me, and that is enough.
The Yorรนbรกs do say when a kingโs house burns, it is only a form of decoration. We lost all we had as students, but our lives remain, and for that, we give thanks to God.
To everyone who has shown us love and support since this incident, words will never be enough. Many of you raised help on our behalf even before we asked. Your kindness, messages, encouragements and gifts are the strength we now lean on. From the depths of our hearts, we say a very big thank you to you all!
