Standup9ja: Why Zuma Rock caught fire – Expert
This week, one of the most trending news was of one of
Nigeria’s famous landmarks - Zuma Rock -‘catching fire.’
All sorts of reasons have been given for the ‘strange’ incident,
with the most popular being voodoo. In a bid to provide verifiable explanation
for the incidence, Standup9ja spoke to an expert who gave a scientific
perspective on the matter.
Geologist and lecturer at the Nasarawa State University,
Keffi, Dr. Kistso Ngargbu, said if it wasn’t grasses on the rock that caught
fire but rather the rock itself that was on fire, then it would be a volcanic
phenomenon.
Dormant volcanoes, Ngargbu said, exist on the plateau, then
at the border between Nigeria and Cameroun on Mount Cameroun and a few within
the interior like Zuma and Wase rocks.
What provoked some of the concerns was that the fire came
after some rainfall, which in people’s view was odd.
But even though the incident took place after rainfall,
Ngargbu, a member of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) said,
“If it is after rainfall and a particular boulder or broken pieces of the rock
got saturated with water, that’s the contact between heat and the main rock
body.
“In the event that it had to slide because water now serves
as a lubricating surface, friction is created. We should remember that our
forefathers used to make fire from rocks glided against each other. That is
what could have happened. Rain water got to the surface, lubricated the boulder
and then generated a sliding probably based on a sloppy surface, and in the
event of sliding down the fire came up.
While stating that it’s not surprising the incidence has
provoked talk about voodoo, he said, “As a scientist, I should offer a
scientific possibility.”
On the possibility of a reoccurrence, he said, “Yes. Dormant
volcanoes repeat themselves over cycles of several hundreds of years. If it is
attributable to rock slide, then with rain and fragmented pieces getting
lubricated where they make contact with the main rock body, we’ll continue to
see such fireworks from the rock.”
Such incidences usually don’t happen without threats to
habitats around. Ngargbu, leader of the Medical Geologists Specialist Group in
Nigeria, said “Volcanic ash and dust are often rich in mercury. Mercury is
carcinogenic (causes cancer). Volcanic dust can cause cancer of the lungs, bronchial
or respiratory tract diseases and eye infection.
Zuma rock is located in Niger State, but is often associated
with Abuja, due to its proximity to the Federal Capital.
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