LAGOS – IBADAN EXPRESSWAY FIRE EXPLOSION – THE MENACE BEHIND IT

The Otedola bridge Lagos Ibadan expressway fire that occurred on Friday the 29th day of June, 2018 gulfed the lives of many people. Many are still in the hospital battling for their lives.  It was so sad even as vehicles packed alongside the road whose owners entered offices or are nearby were also wrecked by the fire.

People frantically looked for their loved ones among the ruins while some are still waiting for their relatives to return home from their work or business places since Friday; all to no avail. From our source, it was established the tanker failed brake and exploded immediately thereby killing many people of which nine figure reported was a farce.   It really called for good roads in Nigeria and it goes a long way to show Nigerians and the world at large that the Ministries or government parastatals responsible for cars or vehicles worthiness are not doing their jobs. 

The problem of Nigeria is not President Muhammed Buhari.  I am not a fan of the President and I never voted for him because I believe he is too old to occupy that seat but the truth remains that civil servants are the core problems we have in Nigeria. The tanker that exploded on Friday should have been off the road long ago and this mishap would have been avoided if the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) or Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) did their normal routine checks without collecting bribe.  Eye witnesses attested the vehicle was in a very bad shape and it was still day light when it was conveying fuel to an unknown destination before the unfortunate incident occured.  Did the Federal Road Safety and Vehicle Inspection Office staff not intercept and stop it.  I bet they did, as they are everywhere.  Obviously, the driver tipped them and off he went to massacre people.  Bribery and corruption is the other of the day and it can never be taken away from the civil servants in Nigeria.

The truth of the matter is that Nigerian economy has been thriving and booming on corruption in the past.  It is an order of the day.  It is a norm.  It is a culture.  It has come to stay. The current regime of President Buhari is not favouring them, therefore he must vacate his position.   That is the main reason why many Nigerians especially the civil servants never see anything good in President Buhari’s government. Why?  PMB tightened up those loose ends and sealed off all loopholes where millions and trillions of naira are being siphoned daily.  If all of us should manage our small tables and offices without stealing government money and materials, Nigeria will be a better country.  No wonder a relative that lived in the United Kingdom told me that “even if they (United Kingdom) stands still for two hundred years without putting up any infrastructure, Nigeria will never catch up.  What an irony.  It is fact. Why will an old rickety worn out fuel tanker as witnessed by people still be on the road if proper vehicle road worthiness was done.  Of course, money (not power this time) have changed hands and business continued as usual. At the end of the day, it was to the detriment of innocent souls that lost their lives as they were going about their daily activities. Hear the testimonies of eye witnesses below that saw what happened on the road and judge yourself why such tanker is still on the road. It was embarrassing and appalling that a road safety official on duty that pleaded not to be identified saw the tanker before it exploded and never raised alarm. He has himself to blame for the rest of his lives.     

“Another road safety official, who asked not to be identified, added: “The blame for this accident should be put on the driver and the owner of the vehicle. “People don’t keep their vehicles in good condition.” Bolarinwa Dolarinwa Mufutau, a roadside mechanic, said he had just finished repairing a car when he saw the tanker rolling back on the road. “I could also hear the driver shouting ‘brake failure, brake failure’. I saw the motor boy (assistant) trying to put a wedge to stop the tanker from rolling back,” he told AFP. “But the truck ran over the wedge backwards and immediately there was a bang. I thought it was a bomb and there was an explosion and fire everywhere, so I started running away.” Fire erupted within seconds, forcing motorists to abandon their cars and flee, he added” - Vanguard

After the deed has been done, Mr. Bisi Kazeem, the FRSC Head of Public Education, stated that trainings and re-trainings should be conducted for members of NUPENG in other to help minimize accidents.  He should start the training and retraining from his office. He should train his subordinates on the importance and need to live up to expectations while on duty.  He should retrain them to know that taking and abating bribe can cause lives as what happened on Friday 29th June, 2018 and it may be the lives of their loved ones. Why should Mr. Bisi Kazeem call for urgent need for government and stakeholders’ meeting? Why is he calling on government to initiate policy in reducing excesses on the road? Did he just wake up from slumber? Who are the government?  The government is you and I. The meeting should start from us. PMB cannot be everywhere at the same time. The sooner we get to manage our corner of offices effectively and truthfully, the sooner all these problems will stop.  

I believe corruption will end when civil servants stop inflating bills used to travel for official assignments when putting in claims. Why will corruption stop when stationeries supplied to government ministries and parastatals today disappear the following day because there is a cohort to sell it out and share the money.  No wonder, one never gets free pens and papers to write in police stations.  You must pay because the IPO handling your case claims to borrow it from the next department. When you go to that same department, they also claim to borrow from God-knows where.  Why will corruption stop when prepaid meters are tampered and disconnected with daily. The Electricity officials are trained and re-trained to know when a meter is not working and charge the customer accordingly with huge fine for tampering with government property.  They will never, rather they ask for settlement to avoid task force taking over the matter. It is bribery and corruption. They aid in disconnecting the meter from reading while they collect huge sums from the masses to avoid recharging their light and so divert government resources to their personal purse. Why will corruption stop when a civil servant refuses to go to work for weeks and weeks because nothing is happening, there is no money or Ghana-must-go to go home with. And government still pays for those sit-down at home days, while resources are being wasted.  

Why will corruption stop when results of intelligent children that passed into federal universities, Colleges like Navy, Command and Airforce are sold to the children of the la crème de la crème that did not do well.  Who are the ones selling the results of the less privileged? I bet you know, the Civil servants. Why will corruption stop when there is never drugs in government hospitals. Of course, drugs are supplied to their pharmacies to be sold to patients at cheaper and subsidized rate.  The hospital officials sold them to big time pharmaceutical shops where you buy them at a higher rate. A story was told of one gynaecologist medical doctor under government payroll.  It happened that he sends his patients out of the hospital for scanning to a particular Clinic.  It was found out that he gets a share from each scanning he referred to that clinic. It was a good patriotic citizen that found out why patients troop outside to scan while there was scanning machine in the hospital. Is it not diverting government resources to personal purse.  Of course, the gynaecologist was called up to panel and questioned. There was enough evidence against him as folders of all his patients bore their scan reports from outside clinics with his appended signature. Is it now President Buhari’s regime?.  No, Nigeria problem is the civil servants. Nigerians lost prominent people in the ill-fated Dana Air Flight that crashed in Lagos.  Sources have it that Fire Service officials could not bring water to put off the fire. They claimed there was no fuel to move their tank while at every beginning of month, they send in their requirements for work.  No wonder like the police, you must fuel their car if they are going to arrest somebody you reported before they will move. The problem is the civil servants.   

Suffice it to say we claim we need dividends of democracy.  Dividends of democracy is not manna that will fall from heaven.  Where will government get money to provide good roads, good facilities and amenities for citizens when the so-called resources have been stolen. It is high time Nigerian citizens especially, I mean most especially civil servants stop blaming PMB and take on responsibility for their actions. I commiserate with the families that lost their loved ones and pray the good Lord give them the fortitude to bear the loss. It is well with them.