By Umar Salam.
The Vice Chancellor of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Muhammad Abdullazeez, has reacted to the collapse of a bridge in the school which claimed the lives of three students on Monday, following a downpour.
According to the VC, the management constructed a metal bridge designed for about 10 to 15 people at a time, but received reports that after the heavy downpour on Monday, some students who found the scene suitable for selfies had jumped on it to take photographs which attracted some other students to do the same, leading to the collapse of the bridge.
The Vice Chancellor made the disclosure when he received the Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, who paid him a condolence visit yesterday.
He said: “The management felt that it was necessary to construct a metal bridge for between 10 and 15 people at a time. It was not meant for static loads but for dynamic loads, that means, you don’t stand on it, you just pass.
“The reports we received from some of the students were that when the rain had stopped and the students were about crossing, they found the scene excellent for them to take selfies.
“So they started from two and before you could realise it, there were more than 30 students on the bridge standing, and that bridge was not meant for people to stand.
“Some of the students could not pass and had to also stand, and the bridge suddenly collapsed and that was how we lost three students. As of today, we don’t have any student missing.
“Based on our records, no student is missing for now. Three students –two from Kogi State and one from Benue State – were confirmed dead. Two females and a male and they were all from the department of business education and management studies.”
Governor Mohammed promised to fix the collapsed bridge while commiserating with the families of the deceased.