How Nigerian wey survive di earthquake for Turkey dey help oda survivors

Emmanuel Johnson, one of di survivor of di Turkey-Syria earthquake don join oda humanitarian service providers to help pipo wey dey affected by di natural disaster.

Emmanuel Johnson di Nigerian wey dey live for Turkey share im experience during di earthquake wey don claim di life of more dan 21,000 pipo for south of Turkey and north of Syria as at di time of dis report.

Emmanuel don dey live for Turkey for 11 years.

Johnson wey dey live for Gaziantep, one of di cities wey di earthquake affect for Turkey on Monday escape from im house wey dey affected by di earthquake wit im family. Dem also dey homeless for now.

Emmanuel say join di humanitarian group for im area. Im say even though dem dey affected, as a missionary, part of im calling na to share love and love mean to dey sefless.

Im say as a pastor, im and im church get some cash to buy important basic needs wey pipo go need. E say plenty pipo wey survive di earthquake dey lack plus suffer from hunger.

“I bin no get plan wia to go to. I bin just sabi say e get someone wey bin dey in need, im wife dey pregnant and she get one pikin wey just one year old and I bin go to give dem napkins, baby food plus oda tins. But I bin get plenty tins inside car, even di taxi driver bin dey ask me wia you wan share all dis tins, me sef tell am say I no know.

“As I dey go di guy house, I see tents, pipo dey dia, dem sidon for floor. I shock no be small. I bin no dey expect am,” im tok.

Na so dem go di make shift camp wia pipo dey live inside tents.

“Immediately we open di door dem see food, dem just rush us. Dem happy well well.”

Johnson say im bin no sure weda all di tins wey bin full im car, pipo go want am, but dem clear im doubt as im return to im place empty.

Johnson experience of di earthquake

Im say na around 4:17am, im dey awake den, na im e feel di vibration.

Earthquakes na common tin for Turkey and for Emmanuel im bin tink say di vibration na business as usual.

Im say: “Dis na normal tin for Turkey, you know, na normal tin. E dey happun once in three months or five months you go feel di vibration of di earthquake. Na normal tin and pipo don already use to am. But dis time we bin tink say na di same tin wey dey normally happun.

“But den, within five seconds di building begin shake, tins begin fall, di walls begin crack. E bin dey very terrible. So within ten seconds di buildings don fall. I just dey hear screams. Pipo dey scream and den all of a sudden I enta my wife bedroom, I pick one of our child, my wife pick di second child., we run downstairs.

Inside middle of di night, without any beta cloth or shoes, Emmanuel and im wife carry dia children run outside enta inside di heavy snow.

“Na middle of night, around 4:17. We bin just dress in out nightwear like t-shirt and boxers. We bin no get time to wear any tin else,” im tok.

“I bin gatz go back upstairs to pick shoes. I just make myself forget say di building dey shake becos di children no bin wear anytin. Dem bin dey inside snow barefooted. I gatz quickly go upstairs pick dia shoes. Den I remember our documents, passports, resident permits, work permits, I still go back again.

Johnson and im family, like most of oda pipo wey di earthquake affect, never still get wia to stay becos most of di buildings don collapse and di ones wey still dey stand dey damaged so pipo no fit live inside.

'Di disaster of di century'

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan don call di quake "di disaster of di century".

A major international relief effort dey come togeda to help. On Thursday, di World Bank pledge $1.78bn in aid to Turkey including immediate finance for rebuilding basic infrastructure and to support those wey dey affected by di earthquakes.

But di efforts of 100,000 or more rescue personnel on ground dey face roadblock by logistical challenge dem including vehicle shortages and roads wey don destroy.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warn say di full extent of di catastrophe still dey "unfold before our eyes", especially for Syria wia a long-running civil war don destroy di kontri.

Meanwhile, di World Health Organisation (WHO) also warn say a second humanitarian disaster fit strike unless survivors fit get access to shelter, food, water and medicine "very fast".

Officials tok on Friday say 18,342 pipo don die for Turkey and di death toll na at least 3,377 for Syria. Di number pass di more dan 17,000 wey die wen a similar quake hit northwest Turkey for 1999.

Di tremor rank among di most deadly natural disasters of di century - surpassing odas such as di 2011 earthquake and tsunami for Japan.