There have been many tragedies this year and sadly,
three new families have been added to the statistic as death snatched away not one
but three brothers along with their cousin and a friend.
Above are the pictures of these young teens
between the ages of fourteen and nineteen. When they left Lagos for their
hometown of Anam last Friday, 21st December 2012, no one ever
imagined they would not make it back.
On Sunday, 23rd December, they went
together as a group to swim at the popular Omambala River in Anam. At the
river, they decided to play a game of catch and threw a floating object into
the water; whoever got to it first was declared a winner. While five of them
played this game (three brothers, their female cousin and a male friend), the
rest of the group (among them was their friend’s brother) stood on the
sidelines and watched. According to eye witness accounts, they didn’t realize the
kids were drowning until it was too late. By the time their bodies were pulled
out of the water, they were all dead and this happened in, what the witness
calls, split seconds.
Anam is a riverine community and for a long
time, superstitious beliefs have surrounded their Omambala River as people believe
there are supernatural forces at play in the water. With these deaths, many
share the opinion that it was no ordinary accident.
However, for the Okonkwo family who lost three
boys (brothers), and the other families, it is a period of intense grief and
confusion. The mother of the Okonkwo boys is devastated as she has to contend
with the new reality that she lost three of her five children in one day along with
their young cousin. Even sadder is that this is the boys’ second trip to their
country home, the first being about five years ago when they went to bury their
father.
Their female cousin (whose name we are yet to
obtain) is one of two kids while their friend is also one of two kids. All
round, the 23rd of December 2012 will be one never to be forgotten
by these families. What a tragedy!
12 comments:
This story was given to me by a cousin to the Okonkwo boys and when I first heard it, I was shocked. No matter how many tragic stories we hear, one cannot help but wonder the how and why some of these things happen. I guess the biggest lesson in all of these is to live life beautifully - as if every day is the last because really, it could very well be. May the souls of these young kids rest in peace and I pray God grants them the grace and strength to bear the irreparable loss.
This was a very tragic and avoidable death and brings to the fore the responsibility of all parents to ensure that they teach their children how to swim. The art of swimming is clearly a dying skill in Nigeria, which requires our collective effort to resuscitate.
Horrible horrible sad thibg to happen and just before xmas too. Na wa o. But if these kids could not swim so well, why did they enter a big river. What a horrible way to end the year.
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