Ita Faaji School Collapse: Man shares experience

One of the survivors of the Ita Faaji school collapse on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, Sulyman Ayankoya, a 29-year-old shared his survival experience.

An occupant of 63 Massey Street, Ita Faaji, Lagos Island was in their apartment on the first floor together with his mother and two siblings when the house came down that morning.

Buried under the ruins for at least four hours, the young man hovered between life and death throughout that period, not knowing on which side he would end at the close of the day. Currently receiving medical treatment at General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, his fate could have been worse – he could have been six feet below the earth’s surface by now.

“It was as if I was rescued from the grip of a lion when I was eventually brought out,” Ayankoya said agonisingly as he narrated his ordeal to one of our correspondents from his hospital bed. “I lived on the first floor of the building with my mother and two siblings. We moved into the house two years ago.

“When I checked the window of our apartment that morning after hearing strange sounds, I discovered that the wall was crumbling.

“We decided to leave the apartment immediately but my elder brother, Bashir, who was visually impaired, slowed us down a bit.

“As I wanted to give him slippers to wear, the building suddenly came down, everywhere became dark. For four hours, my two legs were trapped in the rubble, I couldn’t move them. I was in serious pain and thought I would die.

“After a while, I heard sounds of people breaking concrete to rescue us. I looked by my side and saw a leg stuck in the rubble. When I observed it closely, it turned out to be that of my brother. My mother and my sister, Tope, sustained injuries while my brother died in the process.

“I saw death but God gave me a second chance at life. I never thought I would be alive to tell my story,” he said.