Photo: GENERATOR KILLS FAMILY OF FIVE IN IKORODU!

A family of 5 including a man, his wife and 3 children has been killed by inhalation of Generator Exhaust in Ipoyewa community area of Ikorodu, Lagos. The lifeless bodies of the family were found by neighbors on Friday, September 12 in their home. It was gathered that they suffocated to death after inhaling fumes from a generator they had kept in their room, as they feared it could be stolen. Residents said that the man had bought the generator just two days before the tragic incident while none of the family members came out till late Friday morning, a neighbor had to peep through their window and saw motionless bodies; he immediately alerted the rest of the neighborhood. The door to their room was eventually broken for access only to discover the horror. However, residents of the community have continued to blame the deaths on lack of power in the area. They claimed not to have had light in 3 years and that every house had a generator, disclosing that they have informed the government several times about the issue without getting a positive response.

As much as we are tempted to blame the government for what has happened, a family of five has died out of ignorance and there is nothing their friends and family can do to bring back the dead. It will forever remain a tragedy, never to be forgotten in that community. It was like using their savings to purchase their own deaths. Wouldn’t it have been better for them to live in darkness and be alive till hope eventually restores power back to their home, or just chain the generator far away from their reach? There is no way an animal or even a plant will survive an environment that lacks oxygen, let alone subjecting 5 people in a room to inhale CarbonIVoxide. Air pollution is one of the leading factors affecting our mortality rate as a people in this generation. Fumes from cars, generators, industrial engines, burning of refuse and other things will not give a balance to our ecosystem. It is rather unfortunate they had to die like this but I hope that others can learn from this experience as this is not the first time that people are dying from the smoke of a generator. A word is enough for the wise. God bless you all.