By Japhet Alakam & Prisca Sam-Duru
It was a bad new year gift for  the entire staff of the National Troupe of Nigeria and especially the ten male artist dancers working in the performance company of National Troupe of Nigeria, as an early morning inferno last Monday razed down the male camp of the artistic hostel located just a few metres away from the snack and drinks bars popularly known as (abe-igi) at the National Theatre Iganmu, Lagos.

The fire which was suspected to have been caused by a power surge according to eye witness accounts, started about 10.20 am from one of the rooms and quickly spread to other rooms before the arrival of the State and Federal Fire Services which curtailed the fire from spreading to the other blocks, particularly the two new blocks that are currently being renovated for the artists’ habitation.

Rescuers taking out properties of the artistes during the fire out break on Monday.

The five rooms and properties gutted by the fire which belonged to the ten dancers who are currently on their two weeks annual leave according to our source, were said to be worth millions of Naira. Among the items smithering in the fire burnt, when Vanguard visited included; printers, laptops, desktops, household items like cooking pots, blenders, fans, clothes, camera, traveling bags, certificates among other equipment.

When Vanguard Art visited the scene of the incident, smokes were still coming out from the building and scores of sympathizers were busy discussing about the incident.

Speaking on the incident, an eye witness Omolade Aiyekutu, a gardener at the hostel who was seen going round the burnt building disclosed that” I was outside the compound when I saw smoke coming from one of the rooms and I called other people to come and assist me but before we could open the room, the fire has spread to other rooms and totally razed the five rooms before the fire service came and stopped it from spreading to other buildings.”

The artistic Director of National Troupe of Nigeria, Mr. Martin Adaji and members of management team who visited the scene of the fire incident expressed surprise at the incident. ‘This has never happened before. I was informed of the incident and was told that efforts were made to put off the fire before it spread but the windy weather did not help matters. But we thank God that no life was lost. We will set up a committee to investigate the cause of the incident.”He said.

Adaji  however,commended the State, Federal and National theatre fire service for their quick intervention and prompt response to the rescue call by the theatre house. “The federal , State and National theatre Fire Services were very  effective and were able to put off the fire before it could spread to other buildings otherwise we would have been talking of a great tragedy.”

On the value of properties lost ,Adaji said “we can’t quantify what was lost because the artists are on break, so when they come back they will quantify the lost, and as a responsible management we would be able to assist them.”

In a related development, a member of the National troupe Janet Iluyomade was involved in a ghastly motor accident on her way to Ondo from Lagos to observe her leave. The dancer who hails from Ondo town reportedly was driving in her Toyota car around Ijesha Tedo area, near Ondo before the accident occurred. She is currently receiving treatment in Ondo town and will be brought to Lagos for further medical attention should the need arise.