Savannah Regional New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman, Sulemana Iddrisu, popularly known as Professor Kalamonia, has reacted to the burning of his 15-bedroom house at Gumani in the Northern Region, saying having his life is more valuable than anything.
“Nothing was retrieved from the house but to me, if there’s life, there’s hope because my old Lady (Mother) was rescued from her room and she is worth more than any property. So, I thank Allah”, Alhaji Sulemana Iddrisu indicated.
Mr Sulemana, who said this in an interview with Myjoyonline said he received a call from home that, his house had been burnt into ashes.
“The only thing I said was, I thank Almighty Allah for giving me that gift (House) because my mother was on admission and discharged on Saturday then, the fire occurred on Sunday. If it’s not the doing of Allah, who else could be”, he queried.
The house was gutted by fire around 4:35 pm on Sunday 11th February 2024 with several properties destroyed.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service in the Sagnarigu Municipality led by Station Officer Dauda Basit, said despite their prompt arrival at the scene, it was too late to save anything useful.
He, however, said the additional pumps from the fire station made it possible for them to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby houses and properties.
He said he suspects an electrical fault as the immediate cause but added that “the whole thing is still under investigation because the fire started from one room and spread to the rest.”
Personal valuables like land documents, certificates, motorcycles, flat-screen television sets, fridges, clothes, and foodstuff among others were burnt.
An eyewitness, Sulemana Sheriff, who was in his room when the fire started, spoke to Myjoyonline.
He said his little boy who was playing outside the house first spotted smoke coming out from the top of the roof of his mother’s room and drew their attention.
“I came out to go to town and saw the children sitting inside a tricycle and I ordered them out and left. But I returned shortly and was in my room watching television. And in less than 30 minutes, my wife rushed to tell me that our son said he saw smoke coming from her room.”
“So, I rushed outside and first removed the fuse from the meter but the moment we picked out our old lady (mother) to safety, the fire quickly started spreading to every part of the house, Sulemana Sheriff indicated.
Meanwhile, sympathisers from all walks of life, including politicians from the two major political parties and religious groups in Savannah and Northern Regions turned out in their numbers to console the NPP Regional Chairman and his family.
