He has also finally been shamed into staying at home, probably more for fear about the looks he would be receiving at the New York meeting:

Hes finally getting it, the world looks upon him and Danjuma and Atiku and the likes with amazement...are these mem members of the same race as we, Homo Sapiens? Or do they belong to some earlier species? Australopithecus? That would explain the disparity of the brain size to body mass ratio.

I got news for you, Obasanjo, and read me loud and clear:

SORRY IS NOT ENOUGH!

We want you out! We want your cronies out, W
The Lagos Tragedy
Obasanjo Penitent, Cancels US Trip

Donates N200m to victims
Senate ready to approve supplementary budget
AD Govs: It's clear case of negligence
From Edivwri in Abuja and Bennett Oghifo and Wale Olaleye in Lagos

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In a voice heavy with emotion, President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said "sorry" to the nation over his "shut up" comment in Lagos Monday and cancelled his scheduled trip to United States of America.

While addressing a crowd including victims of the Sunday explosions at the gate of Ikeja Army Cantonment, Obasanjo, in response to promptings that he should enter the barrack to ascertain the level of devastation by himself, reportedly said: "Shut up, I took the opportunity of being here to see what could be done. I don't need to be here, after all, the governor of the state is here. The General Officer Commanding two division and the Brigade Commander as well as the police commissioner are all here. These set of people between them will do what need to be done. I don't really need to be here."

Apparently swayed by spate of public criticisms that greeted the statement, Obasanjo yesterday said he spoke without information on the enormity of the disaster.

He expressed the regret while swearing in members of Lagos Explosion Disaster Relief Fund Committee (LEDRFC) where the Federal Government donated N200 million with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) also contributing N100 million.

Said he: "Whatever other remarks I made at that time was occasioned by apparent belief that no life was lost... With such magnitude of loss of lives and properties, a heart of stone would melt."

In the Sunday explosions in Lagos, over 700 have been confirmed dead so far with property worth billions of naira destroyed.

Obasanjo explained further that his eventual realisation of the degree of human and material losses informed his subsequent national broadcast from Katsina Monday night where he not only expressed shock but also named LEDRFC as well as declaring Tuesday national mourning day.

While inaugurating the ten-member committee in the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja, Obasanjo looked pensive and pained by the tragic Lagos incident.

The president announced the cancellation of his proposed trip to USA to attend the World Economic Forum. The trip was scheduled for tomorrow.

The President's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Tunji Oseni, explained to newsmen later that Obasanjo's cancellation of the US trip was on his own volition because of the deep grief "he is experiencing and not because of any pressure from any quarters."

The House of Representative, Tuesday, passed a resolution forbidding Obasanjo from travelling to the United States of America to stay back and mourn the Sunday tragedy.

Obasanjo argued in his speech at the inauguration that his setting up of LEDRFC and donating to it was a clear manifestation of the pain and concern of the Federal Government, stressing that, "This fund represents a parameter of our compassion and an index to our credentials as a nation which has its heart in the right place."

Obasanjo also directed Vice President Atiku Abubakar to visit the victims in Lagos today.

The president urged all Nigerians to contribute to the fund and enjoined the committee to "reach out into the hearts and pockets of Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike."

While condoling the bereaved, Obasanjo assured them that "We share your pains, but we assure that you are not alone." He called on Muslims and Christians to offer special prayers next Friday and Sunday respectively for the comfort of those bereaved.

To prevent a recurrence in future, Obasanjo also directed all military formations in the country to review their policy of storing arms and ammuntion and explosives.

In the five-points terms of reference, Obasanjo charged the committee to identify the genuine victims of the explosion and give relief to them from the proceeds of the fund.

He also tasked the committee to watch out for persons who may make fraudulent and false claims, "thereby denying genuine victims of the relief they do badly need; "the committee is also to establish the nature of loss suffered, receive and administer relief materials, as well as identify other sources of relief."

Members of the committee which are drawn from various sectors of the society include: Chief Ufot Ekaette (Secretary to Federal Government) as Chairman, Minister of State for Defence (Army), Alhaji Batagarawa, Commis-sioner for Special Duties, Lagos State, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance and Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs Oluremi Olowu.

Others include: Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman/Editor-in-Chief THISDAY Newspapers, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, representative of the Red Cross and the civil society.

Mr Akinpelu, the D.G. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Chief Odeyemi representing NACCIMA are also members of the committee, while the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will act as secretary and to provide secretarial service and submit reports within the next three months.

Meanwhile, Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, has stated the willingness of the Senate to approve supplementary budget to enable Obasanjo carry out emergency steps to assuage the effects of Sunday's bomb blasts at the Ikeja Military Cantonment.

Anyim who visited the site of the blasts expressed shock at the magnitude of devastation and said there was nothing the Senate could have done other than provide money to stem the situation if it knew of the problem earlier.

He said there was no request before the Senate, adding that "we are not the executive, we make laws and appropriate fund for the executive to work, but then if the work is not done, what do we do."

He said "we never imagined the magnitude of the explosion until we saw it," adding that everything would be done to comfort the survivors.

He explained that it was possible that those who survived had internal injuries due to the explosions, saying "it is not possible to be that close and not sustain injuries, definitely something would have gone wrong with them".

He promised to provide relief and medical attention to the survivors. "It should be a matter of urgency that attention should be focused on other ammunition depots across the country", he noted.

He stated that whatever punitive action to be taken would depend on the outcome of the investigations being conducted by government.

He said it would be wrong to draw conclusions yet until the report was out, adding "we understand that the ammunition dump has been like that since the 1960s".

The Senate President was accompanied by Senators Mohammed Liman, Moji Akinfenwa, Modu Sheriff, Stella Omu, Wahab Dosunmu and Tokunbo Afikuyomi.

Addressing newsmen on behalf of the group, Afikuyomi described the incident as a "horendous thing," saying that it was the greatest disaster since the civil war.

"It is a disaster of monumental proportion. We cannot even begin to describe it and when you see the bodies, you must begin to understand the anger of the people,'' he said.

He urged the Federal Government to respect the motion moved on Tuesday in the senate that all ammunitions be relocated from civilian communities and built-up areas. He said that arms and ammunitions should not be stored in residential areas.

Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi, who was also at the site confirmed that there had not been any foreign assistance yet, adding that Nigeria was handling the situation on her own. He, however, added that foreign help would not be turned down. The military, he said, could handle the undetonated bombs.

He said the ammunition depot at the Naval base in Ojo was safe and that "there is no cause for alarm, people are talking out of ignorance, it will not happen".

He observed that the incidence could not be attributed to sabotage yet, since a Board of Inquiry had been constituted to investigate the blasts. "There is no trace of sabotage", he said.

Also yesterday, governors of three of the other five states controlled by Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the South-west described the incident as a clear case of neglect.

They include Governors Lam Adesina (Oyo), Adebayo Adefarati of (Ondo) and Bisi Akande (Osun). The governors took this position during their condolence visit on the governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu just as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Audu Ogbeh who led a delegation of party members said they were dumb founded at the incident.

The AD governors whose visit preceded that of the PDP delegation agreed that the Sunday incident was a national disaster, considering the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos.

Speaking first, Adefarati who donated five million naira on behalf of the Ondo people for relief of the victims, said what happened was a disaster.

"Nigeria is passing through many disasters. What is happening? What happened on Sunday is a clear case of neglect. We can't continue like this- wasting lives every now and then. This is a country that has to sit down and think," he said.

Speaking next, Adesina who described the Sunday incident as black day in the history of the South-west noted that the event was tragic in the sense that it was a circumstance that could have been avoided, hoping that "at the end of the day we'll know what happened".

Adesina said the Sunday incident was a signal for the Yoruba to be alert: "Yoruba must be alert. We have to be watchful, we have to be all eyes".

Akande who gave a concise speech said he had refused to read newspapers because of the horrible pictures of corpses of children were sending wrong emotional signals to him. He however noted that "they called it mistake, but those who are looking into it should be quick to discover if it was mistake because it could be sabotage".

Responding, Tinubu thanked the AD governors whom he referred to as his brothers. He said they had really shown love and affection towards the state.

In his statement, Ogbeh said: "We are here brought down by tragedy. It's been difficult for most of us to say something about this tragedy. Many of us were dumb founded."

Continuing, Ogbeh lamented that "We don't know what to say because this kind of thing should not have happened at all. We've heard stories of woes, sadness. We wish to say as a party that there is no politics in this because we are directly affected." He also canvassed that a national honour for the rescuers who voluntarily evacuated the corpses of explosion victims.

"This is because they are people who have shown love to this country", he added, announcing the donation of the sum of N2 million on behalf of the party for the victims. "We leave the rest to God's hands".

Also speaking, the Internal Affairs Minister, Chief Sunday Afolabi said that what happened was indeed a sorrowful event, but thanked God and Tinubu for responding quickly to the occasion. "When it happened, no one knew it was devastating, in fact that lives were lost. What we saw is really sorrowful. It's only God who can console you and people of Lagos", he said.
e want Danjuma and you and a few others in Geneva, to respond against charges of genocide. Do you understand? No, we have not forgotten, we will never forget.