Following the death of five members of the Yarin Bauchi Emirate last week in a rather avoidable accident on their way from Gombe state, the entire emirate and indeed the city of Bauchi has been in mourning mood as NAJIB SANI reports.
The Yarin Bauchi house is one of the historic and oldest houses in the town. It was said to have been built in 1902 which is 117 years ago.
Yari is a traditional title in the Bauchi Emirate which means an officer in charge of prison equivalent of the comptroller of prison in the traditional institution.
The title is as old as the emirate itself as according to history, the first thing kings did in the northern part of the country while establishing their kingdoms was to build palaces, mosques and prisons located in the same place.
The kings or emirs appoint imams to head mosques and ‘Yaris’ to take charge of prisons. Another duty carried out by Yaris in the emirate was rehabilitating spoilt children.
Last Sunday, however, the royal family and residents of the town were thrown into mourning as five family members including a man, his wife, two children and a younger sister were killed in a fatal car accident on their way to Bauchi from Gombe state.
Police gives update
According to Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Bauchi state Command, DSP Kamal Datti Abubakar, who issued a statement on the tragic accident, it happened on Sunday 31st March 2019 at about 2:30pm along Bauchi-Gombe road involving two vehicles, a commercial Sharon bus loaded with 13 passengers and a Toyota Camry loaded with six (6) passengers.
The statement said, “The accident occurred when the two vehicles were coming towards opposite directions and on reaching a point along the road, they had a head-on collision as a result of which all the 19 passengers from the two vehicles were injured”.
“The victims were then immediately moved from the scene by security agents with assistance of good samaritans to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital for treatment. Unfortunately, on reaching the hospital thirteen passengers were confirmed dead by the medical doctor while six (6) are still on admission,” he explained.
Family members testify
In an interview with Blueprint later, a family member Salihu Ahmad Yari, said among those that died were his elder brother, Jamal Ahmad Yari; his wife, Hajiya Amina; his younger sister, Hajiya Zahra’u and their two children Adnan and Affan.
According to him, Jamal was 42 years old while his wife, Amina was 22 just as his two children Adnan and Affan were 3 years and 1 year seven months old, respectively.
“His wife was also pregnant before she passed away because she recently waned Affan who was one year seven months old,” he stated.
He said the victims were on their way to Bauchi from Gombe state when the sad event occurred, adding that Jamal and the two children died instantly on the spot but his wife was still alive though in a state of coma as narrated to them by eye witnesses.
He revealed further that passersby informed the personnel of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on patrol close to the scene to come to the aid of the victims by rushing them to the hospital but, according to him, the officers allegedly told them that their hilux vans hadn’t enough fuel, noting that after fueling the vehicles, she died just before arriving at the hospital.
He, however, explained that the sixth person in the car by the name Nana who is a younger sister of late Jamal’s wife was the only one that survived and is currently receiving treatment at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi.
Salihu disclosed that the woman was in a critical condition as she had injuries on her legs, body and eyes fearing that she might not see again even after being discharged from hospital.
He described his late brother as someone who had respect for family members and a person with a forgiving heart.
Blueprint reports that until his demise, late Jamal worked with Bauchi State Commission for Youth and Women Rehabilitation and Development (BACYWORD).
Also responding, another family member, Abdulwahid Ahmad Yari, said it was a moment of pains and distress in the family as the accident that claimed the lives of five people in one family occurred just nine months after the death of their father, Alhaji Ahmad Yari.
“I received a call from an immigration officer who was at the scene of the accident. But my wife picked the call and passed the sad news to me. Initially I doubted the story thinking it was ‘April Fool’ as it happened a day to the month of April. But I later called him again to confirm the message. I was in serious distress when he confirmed it and I took other family members to the scene of the accident at Bishi village in Bauchi where we evacuated the corpses together with officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission,” he narrated.
He pointed out that what was more pathetic was the fact that the youngest child Affan was initially not among the travellers as his mother did not intend to go with him.
“It was after she entered the car that she instructed that he should be taken to her to travel together. If he had not followed them, he would have survived. We are consoled having believed that all human beings are mortal and the incident was a destiny,” he stated. He disclosed that their father’s younger brother, Abdullahi Yari, holds the traditional title.
Parents of the dead persons were, however, not in the mood to talk when pressed for reactions.
Blueprint reports that a mass funeral prayer for the deceased was held at Bauchi Emir’s palace last Sunday evening and was attended by the emir, Alhaji Rilwanu Suleiman Adam himself and thousands of sympathisers.
The death of the five people in the family on the same day has thrown the entire town into grief as all the dead persons are promising young people.
As at the time of filing in this report, people from all walks of life had been trooping into the family house of ‘Yarin Bauchi’ located along Bakaro road in the state capital to condole them and mourn the deceased.
