Sad news indeed! Very sad to see the sacrificial efforts to enrich the library with tons of current and relevant reference materials by Baba Agbalagba Prof. Falola, and Prof Sati, the regular courier of those heavy luggage of books, f4om Austin to Jos. And ccasionally, Prof Falola had personally carried those books down to Jos by himself. Beyond that, it is sad to learn that the library's collection from the time it was Jos Campus of the University of Ibadan to date, all went up in flame, just like that! Natural questions a curious mind might ask are, where were the security officers who could have alerted appropriate authority? From the picture, there was nothing that showed that there were efforts to put out the fire at all. That to me is criminal! One expects at least a fire prevention unit with firemen and fire engines on standby on campus. So where were the firemen? Caught off guard? Ordinarily every public building should have fire extinguishers, it is characteristic of our folks here to take such things for granted, although NUC insists as a part of its accreditation requirements.
I quite agree with friends on book donations, although I do not have the details of how this tragedy came about, I see a more complex situation: there is need to first establish the cause of the inferno, was it electrical fault or outright arson? If it was arson, book donation can only be considered after the culprits have been brought to book and future occurence guaranteed. There should also be a new or temporary building provided as Library. I hope the University will learn from this gross act of negligence.
Ademola Dasylva
I bring sad newsThe library of the University of Jos was burned to the ground yesterday, with all the holdings for the Faculties of Arts, Social and Management Sciences, Education, and the Department of Geology and Mining. Two photos attached. Not a single book was recovered. The fire incident is being investigated at this time.The important thing for you and I is to give our support for the university to rebuild.This is a major disaster.
Toyin FalolaDepartment of HistoryThe University of Texas at Austin104 Inner Campus DriveAustin, TX 78712-0220USA512 475 7224512 475 7222 (fax)
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