Oyo State Government Allay the Fear of its Citizenry

On Thursday, April 19, 2018, solid piece of debris from an object such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates from the planetary orbit between Mars & Jupiter, which survived its way through the atmosphere to reach the surface of the Earth, hit villages nearby Ipapo in Itesiwaju LGA [Anberee Isale (Lat: N 08° 14' 25.7'’ & Long: E 003° 33' 47.0'’), Aba Leke (Lat: N 08° 19' 48.9'’ & Long: E 003° 33' 53.9'’), Anberee Oke and Owode] and Tede in Atisbo LGA (Aba Ajebandele, with coordinates; Lat: N 08° 21' 48.7'’ & Long: E 003° 34' 34.6'’). This was accompanied by series of reverberating and disturbing noise in the Earth’s subsurface, as observed by residents of the affected localities.

Fig. 1a. Meteoroid departing its orbit.

Fig. 1b. Meteoroid about to hit a planet’s surface.

Meteorite impacts have been recorded in Africa, the closest to Nigeria is that which happened in Ghana resulting in the only natural lake in Ghana. The lake (Lake Bosumtwi) is situated within the crater created by the meteorite impact, with a diameter of about 10.5 km.

Fig. 2. Distribution of known meteorite impact in Africa (Koeberl, 1994).

It is worthy to note that the meteorite impact that occurred in Oyo State didn’t occur in a built-up area, gas station etc. which could have resulted in catastrophic events claiming lives and properties. However, ground impacts were made in the localities and a tree was completely burnt down, as meteorites are hot bodies moving at high velocity.

Fig. 3a. The impact created on the Earth’s surface.

Fig. 3b. The burnt tree.

The trio of the Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Oyo State on Solid Minerals, Hon. Matthew Oyedokun; the Special Adviser on Community Relations, Alh. Abidemi Siyanbade and the Hon. Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Chief Isaac Ishola on a 2-day investigation visit to the localities, urged the residents to be calm, following the previous circulated news of an earth tremor occurring in the Oke-Ogun region of the State.

Fig. 4a. Samples of the meteorite that hit the Earth surface in Oyo State and a stem of the burnt tree.

Fig. 4b. A fresh surface of the meteorite sample.

Samples of the meteorite have been sent to the Department of Geology, University of Ibadan where the body of rock is to be analysed and its composition determined.

Oyo ti n daa, AJUMOSE gbogbo wa ni.