There are many issues in contention since the past few days, all worthy of serious discuss. The most recent being the Abule Ado gas explosion which led to the loss of lives and properties worth millions of naira. Another is the Coronavirus pandemic which is gradually spreading round the world, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership combustion, the fall in price of crude oil, leading to a jeopardized budget and last but not the least is the dethronement and banishment of the outspoken Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. All these have made the year 2020 which is still in its first quarter, a bit worrisome. Meanwhile,the year still has about nine more months to go…
As at last count, about 20 people are believed to have died in the Abule Ado explosion, 437 people displaced, 170 houses damaged, 43 vehicle destroyed, seven schools, three churches and an hotel were also affected. Among the dead were the administrator of Bethlehem Girls College and some workers who perished in the cause of trying to save the young wards in their care. A young couple that was just setting out on life’s marital journey and another family of Father, mother, child and maid were also said to have perished in the tragic occurrence. The Lagos State government has set up a panel to probe the incident while a huge amount of money has been set aside to provide palliatives for victims and survivors of the incident. Also a relief camp has been set up in Igando area of the State for the displaced.
From preliminary information, a truck laden with core stone on the way to a building site allegedly developed mechanical problem and became immobile on one of the pipelines in the area. The truck was said to have exerted pressure on the pipeline leading to the explosion. This is however contrary to what the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has to say. According to its Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Dr Kennie Obateru, its pipeline was not affected, rather the truck had hit some gas cylinders in a gas plant close to its pipeline, leading to the explosion and the consequential death and destruction. Whichever of the narratives is true, what is clear is that there was an explosion that wreaked havoc and brought in its wake the death of many.
The incident has also brought home our lackadaisical attitude to issues of safety in our society. Obviously, there are no caution signs that pipelines are in the area, even if there was, our people chose to ignore such. That is why we have always been victims of these avoidable disasters. Many are dead, several injured, and properties worth millions have all been destroyed. The government has wadded into the matter to offer palliatives, as usual. There is no one to punish for this avoidable incident. So we await the time when another avoidable disaster would occur. It is the inability to punish perpetrators of such avoidable incidents that has led to our always having repeat occurrences. It could also be argued that it is this same inability to mete out appropriate punishments for those who have been derelict in their responsibilities that we continue to have medical ailments being misdiagnosed and patients mismanaged in our hospital. All these because people are not doing what they are supposed to do.
It starts from the driver of the truck who knew his vehicle was not road worthy and still drove it. It also says a lot about our regulatory system. The truck, I am sure did not have a certificate of roadworthiness and if it did, must have been procured without necessarily going through any rigorous test before the certificate was issued. Without preempting the report expected from the panel of inquiry set up, I want to wager that the nothing will come out of that report.
No one would be punished. The report would be done, but rarely would recommendation from it be looked into. It would gather dust in one bureaucrat’s office, like some that had been done on similar tragedies in the country. We will wait until another incident occurs and we would begin to run around again. These tragedies are avoidable, if only we put more premium on the lives of the average Nigerian. But here, we are all in the hands of the Almighty.
Prior to this, the country had been battling with Covid-19 which has continued to spread at frenetic pace across the countries of the world, Nigeria not being an exception. Lagos State has always been pro-active in such emergencies. One recalls the effort put in place to tackle the Ebola virus. The State has not disappointed again with measures put in place to tackle the present problem. On Wednesday, Lagos Governor, Jide Sanwoolu had visited the Murtala Mohammed International Airport to see the facilities in place to screen incoming passengers into the country. In spite of this, Covid-19 has continued to rise in the number of infected people. The latest now being a driver from Ekiti that had contacted the disease from an American who had arrived the country on March 3 from the United States. The American arrived the country with his female care giver (I don’t understand the meaning of that) is dead while the driver is still under observation. The status of the caregiver is unknown. Most worrisome is the fact that the American, his caregiver an Ekiti indigene and the driver had stayed in Ibadan for two weeks before proceeding to Ekiti.
Obviously, the victims would have interacted with people in Ibadan. So what has happened? As at Thursday, the Oyo State government is yet to address its citizens and has not begun any investigation on the matter in spite of having been alerted by the Ekiti State government. That is the difference between a proactive state like Lagos and a State that is laid back. It is also in Ibadan that the government organized a political rally on Wednesday which attracted a large crowd of people at a time when its Lagos counterpart is discouraging large gathering of people. Schools are being closed, churches are shutting down, but crowd gathering is encouraged in Oyo State. That is gross irresponsibility at a period of social distancing due to the pandemic.
At this time, one expects the State government to go public about efforts that have been made to curtail and investigate the possible arrival of the virus in the State. The citizens want their fears allayed that all the contacts of the American, his caregiver and driver have been located. These are perilous period and proactive measures are required.