‘They’re my only source of livelihood’ – Herder cries after mysterious lightning struck cows in Ogun

It was a black Saturday for Abdullahi Idris, a father of six and herder who lost about 32 cows to lightning strikes recently in Osara, a village in Obantoko area of Abeokuta, in the Odeda Local Government area of Ogun State.

It all started with the dark cloud, and then moved to the continuous whistle of the wind. To everyone, it was a normal rainfall, especially since it’s a wet season.

Sadly, it became a tragedy as 32 big cows worth over N32 million were stuck dead by thunderstorms at about 12 p.m.

The June 22 incident remains fresh in the memory of the community, as they are still gripped in shock over the occurrence that had never occurred.

Idris, the owner of the cows, described the incident as strange, lamenting that his only source of livelihood had been lost.

His words, “This has never happened before in all of my existence until now. Yes, I do hear about it on the radio but never witnessed it until now.

“There are only 4 small cows amidst them, the rest are about 1-1.5million naira each, multiplying this by 30 something cows, it is not small money.”

The herder begged the state government to come to his rescue, saying the cows were all he hoped on and the only property he had.

“I am begging the government because this doesn’t belong to just me. I have 8 siblings and 6 children. These cows are all we hoped for, our property, nothing else. All my children are still school-goers and this is what I use in sending them to school,” Idris added in an emotion – laden voice.

The god of thunder and lightning (Sango) was angry?

While there are mixed speculations over the incidents, the

Oba Isegun General of Ewekoro Local Government, Oba Ololade Sunday, has opined that the incident was an indication that Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning was angry.

DAILY POST reports that Sango is primarily associated with thunder, lightning, and fire.

His symbol is the double-headed axe, representing his swift and balanced judgment.

Oba Sunday said there was no reason to be alarmed because it was only involving animals and not humans.

However, he advised everyone to be cautious, saying the occurrence suggested that there was something suspicious going on in the neighborhood.

“The traditions have been existing before our forefathers, and it’s real.

“The meaning is that the god of thunder, we call him Sango…there is something around that area that is fishy that annoys the god of thunder.

“If it strikes a human being with those cows, there would be a calamity. The worshippers of the god of thunder would be the one to do the burial with the sacrifice, if not you would see numbers of people in that vicinity dying.

“But since it’s an animal there’s not much case to answer, there is no cause for alarm, everyone should just be careful,” he warned.

It’s a natural occurrence – Ogun Official

The Director, Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation, in Odeda Local Government, Sanitarian Kehinde Adeyemi, insisted that the incident was a natural occurrence.

Adeyemi noted that as far as they were concerned, nothing extraordinary would be attached as, thunder strike could occur any time.

She said, “As far as public health is concerned, we don’t attach any extraordinary thing to what happened here.

“Thunder strikes can occur any time. It is a natural occurrence or disaster that can happen at any time.”

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She revealed that in contrast to the 32 cows reported, only 28 carcasses were found, and they would be buried, assuring members of the public that every effort was being made to stop the spread of communicable diseases.

“Immediately the case was heard, we swung into action immediately. We are here to contain the spread of communicable diseases as a result of the death of the cows.

“According to our calculations, we can only count 28, we only saw 28 and they are going to be buried here.

“We pray that in no time everything will be put under control,” she stated.

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She noted that the officers on ground had already carried out decontamination, disinfection and all other public health duties regarding environmental health.

“Before the burial of the carcass, the officer had poured in the lime and the tractor would put the carcass inside the pit we dug, after that we would introduce other chemicals before we cover it and after that, the general decontamination process would be done to prevent any disease,” the Director concluded.

No issues between herders and community members – CDA Chairman

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Community Development Association, CDA, Osikoya Ademola, has maintained that there was no grudge or issues between the herders and community members that might have sparked resentment or contributed to the tragedy.

Ademola admitted that although they had complained about the flies and other offensive odour coming out from the grazing field, they have always been on good terms.

He said, “I’m surprised because it’s unfortunate and I have never seen this kind of disaster in this environment since I started governing the CDAs.

“Although we have been complaining to them that the environment is now evolving, we asked them to evacuate this place and go extra mile because most people that live close complain about flies and others.

“That has been the major thing we complain about, but we don’t have anything against them or issues that would have caused a grudge or anything leading to this”.

He lamented that following the incident, the environment had not been conducive and called on the state government to intervene.

Ogun Speaker calls for State Government intervention

Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Oludaisi Elemide, described the incident as unfortunate and significant, insisting that it was a natural occurrence and the cows were in the path of the lightning.

Elemide commiserated with the owner of the cow, and urged the state government to look into the incident, in order to lessen the financial burden on the owner.

He said, “It’s rather unfortunate, 32 big cows were affected and they all died on the spot. I think they were grazing and it coincided that they were in the path of the lightning.

“It’s not a Fulani settlement or a Yoruba settlement. It’s in a bush and I feel it’s a natural occurrence.

“Since we believe it’s a natural occurrence, the state government via the relevant agencies should come to their aid.

“We are not saying they should pay for all the cows but something must be done by the state.”

He maintained that all hands must be on deck, urging relevant authorities to do all they can to prevent the outbreak of cholera or epidemic in the area.

The speaker, however, implored members of the public to remain calm, saying, “There is no conflict between Yorubas and herders in that area. Even the Fulani’s involved are not the foreigners, they were born here, built houses and even inter-married, so there is no conflict between the indigenes”.

Chairman of Odeda local government, Folashade Adeyemo, while thanking God that no life was lost in the process, assured members of the communities that immediate actions will be taken to ensure evacuation of the carcass.

‘They’re my only source of livelihood’ – Herder cries after mysterious lightning struck cows in Ogun