Mrs. Elizabeth Funmilayo, a single parent and mother of four in the Shasha area of Ibadan, Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State on Friday said she lost all her life savings and certificates of her children to the recent crisis in the community.
She said her aged mother was almost burnt in their house before she rescued her.
Funmilayo, who was crying profusely while speaking with SaharaReporters, said she had nothing left aside from her handbag and the clothes on her back.
Many lives were lost and houses were burnt in and around the Shasha market following the recent clash between Yoruba and Hausa communities there.
Funmilayo, therefore, appealed to kind-hearted Nigerians to come to the aid of the victims of the crisis, saying, “People are not really aware of the magnitude of destruction in Shasha.
“Please, help me. I don’t have anything in life again. All my hope is on my children, but all their certificates have been burnt. All my live savings have gone. My clothes, properties, and even the little money I had, have all gone.
“My aged mother was almost burnt with the house. I persuaded her before she followed me, thinking that the crisis would not lead to arson. We taught it was a joke but it later turned out to be massive destruction. I don’t know where to start from.”
Speaking on the genesis of the crisis, Funmilayo said, “I don’t know how the crisis started but I heard it was between a Yoruba woman and a boy from the Niger Republic. Those people have domineering tendencies anywhere they are. They have been controlling this market for a long. I think that was one of the reasons that led to the crisis. But now, can the leadership tussle rebuild our houses and shops for us? No,” she said.
She also faulted the lackadaisical attitude of the security agencies towards the crisis.
“Had it been that the police had done their part, the crisis wouldn’t have degenerated to that level? We need help,” she concluded.
