YET ANOTHER GAS EXPLOSION  

Regulators should be alive to their responsibility

Monday’s gas explosion in Lagos that left three women and a man with serious injuries has once again drawn attention to the issue of gas handling. The explosion was said to have started from a gas shop following a leakage from one of the cylinders. According to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), rescuers were able to contain the ensuing inferno from spreading to adjoining shops and nearby buildings. While we commend the Lagos authorities for the prompt manner the accident was handled and commiserate with the injured, we urge the relevant authorities to conduct regular drills on safety measures regarding gas handling. That is the only way we will not continue to harvest tragic but avoidable deaths.   

In a recent tragedy in Omuaran, Kwara State, a woman was killed while trying to prepare breakfast for her family. Husband of the deceased was said to have also been trapped before he was rescued and taken to hospital by the Kwara State Fire Service, whose Director, Falade John Olumuyiwa, “charged the general public, particularly women to go and learn the correct practice of using cooking gas cylinders.” What is particularly worrisome is that many of the deaths arising from gas handling are preventable. For instance, when in 2015 a cylinder exploded at the Plateau State Water Board treatment plant leaving eight people dead, it was discovered that the fatalities were recorded because residents around the area inhaled the poisonous gas which enveloped the entire neighbourhood. There are also cases of illegal gas refilling plants domiciled in highly inflammable areas. So, both ignorance and greed play a big role in many of the tragic occurrences in a milieu where regulation is weak.   

In recent times, fatal explosions had been reported in Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Jigawa States, killing dozens of people. In an incident that is typical of the carelessness often associated with many homes, a female domestic help in Epe, Lagos, turned on the gas and left to chat outside. By the time she returned to light up the gas, the kitchen was suffused with chemical. The resultant fire and explosion consumed her and many neighbours. While the list seems endless, most appalling is that these deaths have become mere statistics in Nigeria such that many would have viewed the latest incident in Lagos as ‘insignificant’, especially since no life was lost. Yet, what that signifies is nothing more than the absence of responsibility.   

It is therefore clear that much more must be done to ensure that those who handle gas always abide by safety procedures. Besides, the relevant authorities need to organise sensitisation programmes for all gas retail outlets on how to operate their business with minimal risk to themselves and the public. What is particularly concerning about the incessant domestic gas explosions because of negligence is that they occur amid intense campaigns on the need for Nigerians to drop kerosene for gas as a cheaper and cleaner means of cooking.   

   That gas has progressively become the source of death and bodily injuries for users and innocent bystanders is what should worry critical stakeholders. It is therefore important to educate households on the need to gradually replace their metal gas cylinders with fibre cylinders, said to be highly fire-resistant. The promise to phase out and replace the gas cylinders in circulation with more advanced ones should be hastened. It will also help if distributing and marketing firms own the cylinders as against individuals. Some households have been using the same cylinder for upwards of three decades. That practice is dangerous.