NEWS: OBASANJO'S HOUSE ON FIRE

The Abeokuta mansion of Nigeria's former President, Chief Olusegun Matthew Obasanjo, today 27th December, 2012, went up in flames, reports say.

It was unclear at the time of this report whether Obasanjo was in the palatial estate when the fire started, or how much damage was done, but some reports say that his personal bedroom was damaged.

The fire reportedly started at about 4:30pm.

It gutted Obasanjo’s office within the building and it is not yet clear what caused it.

Report says members of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service and close friends of the ex-president battled to contain the fire from spreading to other parts of the sprawling estate.

An Ogun State Fire Service truck marked OG 122 AO9 came into the compound about an hour after the fire was detected and another joined it ten minutes later to help put out the fire.

The former President on Thursday described the fire at his hilltop residence in Abeokuta as 'minor'. "It was a minor fire that affected my PA’s (Personal Assistant’s) office. It may have been some electrical problem. I am in high spirit. We thank God", he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the telephone.

He said that men of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps and the Ogun State Fire Service had put out the fire.

He said: "I hope that we can all see that it was not the whole building that was burnt by fire. It is just the office of my secretary and we thank God for everything. Ile Obasanjo to jo e wa lo bu si," meaning – "The fire incident will only add beauty to Obasanjo’s house."
We commiserate with Comrade Obasanjo on the incidence. We only hope that he had made the Fire service more effective and well-prepared for this kind of incidence when he was in office and had the chance to. Atleast they would probably hae ensured that it didn' t take them up to one hour before they would arrive at the scene. Abi wetin you say?