The explosion site in Akure. Meteor or bomb?

By Thomas-Wilson Ikubese

This morning, I played host to Professor Adekunle Adepelumi, of the department of Geology, Earthquake and Space Weather Laboratory, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, at Ikubese Castle Akure. Prof said he’d been monitoring this space object for a while, with all indications pointing at its imminent landing somewhere in Akure.

So, when he heard the news that a strange  earth-shaking explosion occurred in Akure yesterday, he jumped into his car with his geological equipment at the trunk, picked up members of his research group and headed straight to Akure. 

According to Prof Adepelumi, after a detailed analysis of the impact site, they found a circular impact crater with 21m diameter and 7.8m depth which suggests a natural phenomenon. 

Water was found oozing out from the edges of the crater. 

A preliminary in-situ vibration, noise, seismicity, water analysis, radioactivity studies, rock and soil investigation were carried out.

Their findings suggest that the impact of the blast covered 1km radius of the surroundings of the crater. No evidence of fire or burning of anything was found within the vicinity. No evidence of radioactivity radiation was found within the crater and immediate vicinity.

The field evidence points to a conclusion that A METEORIC FROM AN ASTEROID BELT THAT TRAVELLED AT A GREAT SPEED FROM SPACE IMPACTED THE LOCATION AT AN ANGLE OF 43 degrees and created an ejecta at South-Western part.

No evidence of buried vehicle, buried ordinance or improvised explosive device (IED) was found. 

However, crack openings that vary in thickness from 3mm to 4metres occured on the wall of most of the buildings, but not at the base.

Also, foreign rocks and strange metallic objects were found within the crater. 

Most of the destructions occured at the top and on roof/ceilings of the affected buildings.

I then proceeded to discuss with Engr Ishola Obembe, a civil engineer who resides a few metres away from my residence here in Oba Ile. 

Engr Obembe said he was up at 12.45am in a private discussion with his wife, when the wife observed a trajectory that passed above their house with so much speed.

She called his attention to it and he went outside, where he sighted the huge flying object. A few seconds later, he heard a deafening explosive sound that shook his building and that of several others, as though it was going to collapse.

The eye-witness account of Engr Obembe, is in keeping with the findings of Prof Adepelumi and his team.

An object from the skies, travelling at a high velocity hit the ground in Akure, causing a loud noise and the destruction of surrounding buildings.

Do I believe this narrative? 

I think I do, until evidently proven otherwise. 

I was at the site yesterday and the narrative of Prof Adepelumi is in keeping with my observations.

I urge the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) to liaise with Prof Adepelumi as to coming out with a final comprehensive report.

I urge our security agencies not to always jump into conclusion whenever an incident occurs. It is better to say “we are working on some leads” while investigation is ongoing, rather than hastily come up with an explanation which will later be taken to the cleaners by eye-popping evidences! 

Even in developed countries, security agencies have not been able to make definitive statements on some incidents that happened many years ago, because their investigations are yet inconclusive.

No security agency anywhere in the world has the answer to every incident at the speed of light!

So, rather than seek to please politicians, our security chiefs should stick to the ethics of their profession. 

I’m particularly grateful that this incident occurred at a time when schools, churches and public gatherings have been temporarily outlawed because of the ravaging Covid-19 virus. Were it not so, the number of casualties from this incident would have been heart-breaking, as the site of the incident is bounded by a boarding school to the left and a heavily  populated church which would have been holding its Friday vigil at that time, to the right.

This explosion has further thrown up the need by our political leaders to invest heavily in science and technology. 

A situation where graduates of geology turn bankers, while our microbiologists who should be working in the laboratory to discover  vaccines for Covid-19 are now fashion designers, because the government is not investing in research, should be a thing of the past, if someday we hope to be counted in the committee of proud nations. 

God bless Nigeria. 

-Dr Thomas-Wilson Ikubese, Convener, YesWeFit Movement

30th March, 2020