A mysterious fire which started when there were no male members of a village has razed down most houses in Saifawa Unguwar Jajaye in Dawakin-Kudu local government area of Kano state. Pyramid Trust reports.

It is a popular saying among women in recent times that what a man can do a woman can do even better. Much as this saying remain an issue of debate, the women of Saifawa Unguwar Jajaye village in Dawakin Kudu local government area of Kano state have with their action proved the saying wrong. At a time when they were suppose to do something however small to curtail the spread of mysterious fire that started when every male member of the village was away to a nearby village for the Friday prayers, they fled their village paving way for the fire to ravage the village.

Malama Halima Bala the housewife in whose house the fire started said she had just gone into a neighbor's house when some children came calling her to come and see what was happening in her house. She said at first she could not respond because she assumed it was just a joke but when they insisted that she must come, she decided to go and see what the children were talking about.

When she came out from the neighborhood she disclosed, it was a blazing fire that was consuming her house.

Halima said she screamed and shouted fire, fire to the hearing of the other women in the village and from there she ran for her dear life. She added that all the other women followed suit-running helter skelter for their own dear lives also. Over 30 houses were razed down with domestic animals burnt to ashes and properties worth over 20 million destroyed.

Malama Halima apparently traumatized by the incident said on that fateful day she was having not a single matches in the house, in fact she had not made any fire that day because it was Gari soaked in water that they took before her husband left for the Friday prayer, and she entered the neighborhood to while away the time.

"This fire will remain a mystery in this village because nobody can say specifically this was the cause of the fire, one cannot even conjuncture, it is only God that knows the whole thing" Halima posited.

When Pyramid Trust visited the village it met the victims busy clearing the heap of ashes left by the inferno.

Malam Bala Ilu the man in whose house the fire started was also busy clearing his house looking worried and tired, he revealed that they were in Gano, for the Juma'at prayers when they beheld a thick smoke coming from the direction of their village.

"It was when we saw the thick smoke that we ran back home to see what was happening. Many people from Gano village followed us to the village to render their assistance and when we reached our homes it was just a catastrophe because more than thirty houses were already razed down by the fire"

He added "we were unable to bring down the fire even with the reinforcement we got from neighboring villages; in fact it took even the fire brigade long time before they were able to bring it under control. They had gone for more water on four occasions before they were able to stop the fire."

Malam Ilu said the inferno had made them lost everything that they have toiled for with their sweat and blood.

"As of now the two rooms I had possessed in my life with everything in the house was burnt down. Now I sleep at the open space every night and my wife spends the night together with the other women victims in neighboring houses."

Ilu who looks very old but apparently not because of age but perhaps due to excessive physical and psychological stress said he looks up to God for succor because everything is lost. Asked if he had intention of rebuilding his house very soon, he observed that he was looking for what to eat first.

"Who is talking of building another house now, we are thinking of what to eat because our entire foodstuffs were burnt down. Somebody that doesn't have even the food to eat, how would you expect such a person to talk of building a house? In God we repose our trust" he said.

Salisu Idi, another victim said the fire has left them with no food and no money to buy food. They sleep in the open place while their wives spend the night in neighboring houses.

"It is indeed a great calamity, twice we have suffered fire incidents in this village but it has not been as devastating as this one."

Idi further noted that what baffles them most is the source of the fire. "The source of this fire remains shrouded, none of us can tell you that this was what caused the fire. Allah alone knows from where it has emanated."

The ward head of Saifawa Unguwar Jajaye, Malam Idris Mu'azu who is presently bedridden because of illness said the fire was a calamity on his people; he prayed for relief from God and called on the state government to come to their aid.

He stated that the fire has gutted everything possessed by the victims and unless they are able to receive assistance from government, their condition might deteriorate and cause additional hardship.