By Adesina Soyooye
Unknown to many, the angry tongues of fire which engulfed the Lagos home of the President, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero, happened about two weeks ago. But it became public only on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. He did not want to make it a public issue.
Ajaero, said the incident took place as soon as he arrived Geneva where he led Nigeria’s delegation to a congregation of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, members.
But he chose not to make it public because he did not want any wild speculations over the cause of the wild fire, described by many as mysterious. But to his discomfort, the incident was eventually leaked to the Media.
As brutal as the fire incident which took place in the afternoon was, it could have been worse but for God’s miraculous mercies. The lives of his wife and daughter were saved, and so was his bedroom where, obviously, he has very important personal documents – educational certificates and the lot.
It was a Sunday afternoon and Ajaero’s wife and daughter were at home, having just returned from Church. The fire outbreak took them by surprise. There was no power outage or anything which could have triggered the fire. But he said his wife and daughter heard an unusual noise upstairs which they attributed it to perhaps, birds perching on the roof. Even when the family dog began to bark erratically, they suspected nothing. But suddenly, smoke engulfed the house, accompanied by angry tongues of fire. Both took over the house, except his bedroom.
When Ajaero was told of the tragedy by phone calls, his concern was the safety of those in the house, not anything else. That his bedroom was, also, spared, was an icing on the cake.
While he is not addressing the speculations, he is grateful to God for spared lives. Asked if he thought the incident has anything to do with his job, his response was swift: “Every job has its own risks.”
