How many lives is too much? One? Two? Hundred? If some random “racist White person” had ended the life of a Black Nigerian, we would likely be up in arms highlighting the low value placed on a black life. However, back home, we suffer worse from persons with the same skin colour whose words and actions demonstrate what Michael Jackson articulated as “they don’t really care about us”. This flagrant unimportance is the reason many Nigerians lost dependence on their lives while Nigeria marked its 63rd Independence Day.
For the uninitiated, Ologbo is a border community linking Delta and Edo states in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. With Edo State serving as a transport link between the south, east, west, and north, the road that traverses Ologbo is a busy connection. However, despite its importance, the road, like much of the stretch that cuts across the two states has been in bad shape for a long time, with its condition worsened by the lengthy rainy season. In recent times, it is not uncommon for road users to spend over two hours just trying to pass through that road segment. This government-facilitated road congestion set the stage for a disastrous event on Sunday, 1 October 2023, as a collapsed petrol tanker exploded and roasted at least 50 persons (some say over 100).
A sensible question to ask at this point would be: “Why did this tragic event happen?” Firstly, the terrible road conditions make that area a death trap. Exactly one year ago, I witnessed a similar event with a diesel-laden tanker fallen on its side. Unfortunately, we have a culture of constructing substandard roads, not providing drainages for roads, not maintaining roads, allowing vehicles to ply on newly constructed roads before the asphalt fully cures, and allowing non-compliant, overweighted, unfit trucks to hasten destruction of subpar roads. And rather than fix the roads, state governments would argue that they are federal roads, while federal officials would ignore the roads, yet rebuff (allegedly) attempts when interested state governments seek to fix such roads. From time to time, meaningless “palliatives” would be done on the roads rather than executing a proper job. From this narrative, several government officials and contractors have blood on their hands—the blood of Nigerians unjustly killed at Ologbo.
Up next is the lack of emergency response planning. After the tanker fell, news would have gotten to the Nigerian Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps. If at that point, we had units stopping traffic in both directions from approaching the fallen tanker considering the innate explosive risk, maybe the death toll would have been less. Such emergency response upon activation could have also prevented members of the Ologbo community from breaching the tanker’s hull, thereby reducing the risk of an explosion occurring. Further indictment of our emergency services is seen in the charred bodies and burned vehicles remaining on the road and in the adjoining swampy areas more than three days after the incident. Some persons that I know passed through that road in the days after and had their eyes traumatised by the dead bodies still in position as if the road were an open grave.
A third issue is the proclivity of Nigerians, perhaps driven by gruelling poverty, to steal petrol and diesel from fallen tankers. There have been several cases of explosions resulting from this brazen theft (here, here, here, & here), yet people still continue to risk their lives and the lives of innocent road travellers by scooping fuel from tankers. In the similar event earlier mentioned, the community thieves were lucky that no explosion occurred, however, many others have not enjoyed the benevolence of retaining their lives. Despite this, there seems to be a belief that “my case is different”, so, even after hearing of past incidents, we still head out with buckets, kegs, and bowls to steal from the nearest demobilised tanker. Sadly, this means that after we mourn the dead at Ologbo, another community could repeat the same theft if given an opportunity. Nonetheless, we can still place the primary responsibility on the government by arguing that if the roads were good, and proper emergency response plans were in place, no pauperised nor greedy thief would have the opportunity to scoop fuel from a fallen tanker.
Lastly, the Nigerian culture of moving on directly supports repeated occurrences of Ologbo-like mass killings. Although most Nigerians have no faith in the judicial system, imagine if a bereaved relative were to bring a wrongful death suit against the government, holding it responsible for the unlawful termination of a Nigerian life. Imagine if Nigerians rose against the government to demand that death traps on the roads should be fixed. Imagine if Nigerians rose to demand that all trucks should meet some specified minimum standard to be allowed to ply on Nigerian roads. Imagine if Nigerians were to demand action against the public officials who allowed these many Nigerians to lose their lives so wickedly.
Alas, these imaginations may never see the light because as a people, we readily choose to let things go and move on. But just imagine for a moment that you were the one travelling with your family within a hundred meters of an exploding tanker and a fireball hits your vehicle right after demobilisation by a blast wave, and the last thing you remember is squealing in pain as your skin is denatured and smoke fills your lungs, just before the lights go out, forcing you to stand before Him.
We pay our respects to the dead and pray for comfort for the grieving families. May Ologbo not happen again.
Image Credit: withinnigeria.com
Jilomes 