Clutching on tightly to her two-year-old sibling, Labake Oladele, nine, ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. Two huge stones had just landed inches away from where she and other kids were playing that afternoon. The thunderous bang abruptly punctured their ‘party’, sending the little children scampering in different directions for satefy. For Labake and dozens of kids in Sokan, a small community tucked away in the slopes of Odeda town in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State, the chilling experience is not a completely new one these days. Killer stones flying towards the village in droves from a nearby quarry – Krisjam Investment Limited – at different times of the day have become one sad phenomenon they have grown to know. Even the old within the community have no answer to the disturbing situation. Everybody takes to their heels once the stones come raining down.
It has been two solid years of fear and anxiety for the people of Sokan. Since the arrival of the quarry in the area in 2012, life has suddenly taken a different turn for many households and individuals within the community. Constant blasting of heavy stones from the mining facility and the vibration that comes along with it, now contribute in making the people’s lives hellish. Wherever you turn to in this village, cracked walls, shattered roofs and frustrated faces are all you see – a huge testimony to the threat the people now face. The massive deposit of rock-stones – nature’s gift to the community – is now the locals’ biggest nightmare. Residents told Saturday PUNCH how their once serene and happy existence has been extinguished by fear and uncertainty.
“We don’t have peace of mind anymore,” Sunday Ogundimu, a 70-year-old farmer in Sokan told our correspondent. “This is the second year that we are facing this problem. The roof of my house has been partially destroyed as a result of stones blasted from the quarry crashing on it.
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