The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) commiserates with the families of victims of Thursday’s petrol tanker explosion along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
This was contained in a press release issued by the Centre and signed by its Acting Media and Publications Officer, Ikenna Aghagbobi.
CACOL, recalling recent incidents that have resulted in loss of many lives across the country, the CACOL Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, expressed regret that life for the average Nigerian has become nasty, brutish and short.
According to him: “Living in Nigeria has become characterized by increased suffering, excruciating pains thereby resulting in a nation filled with people whose lives have become so cheap due to insecurity and official neglect.
“It is sad that many states across the country at the moment have one thing or the other to grieve about; from the falling container that killed several people at the Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos, to the Plateau Massacre, the Police-butchers clash at Ibadan, and now this tanker explosion. This sudden increase in incidents which claim the lives of scores of our citizens stem from the worsening insecurity situation that stares us as a country in the face.
“The petrol tanker explosion on the Otedola Bridge would have been effectively managed if the relevant government agencies had put in place adequate safety measures. For instance, why must the government continue to encourage delivery of petrol-a highly combustible hydro-carbon- by roads when there are fuel depots scattered across the country that could pump fuel from one location to the next?
“But as usual we always wait till things get too bad before we think of solutions. This is obvious because the country seems to be at best on autopilot while problems emanating from the cesspool of the past keep rearing their ugly heads thereby becoming more complex as they expand in scope and scale”.
“One wonders why a country like Nigeria which experiences only few natural disasters seems to have become an expansive graveyard. Deaths caused by totally avoidable situations like insurgency, banditry, political thuggery and official negligence just to mention a few, have become so common”.
“The Federal government must not fail in its obligations to keep the country safe, especially in states with records of violence and tragic occurrences. The Government must not lose its capacity to enforce its own laws while the citizenry must be willing to play their role so that Nigeria can become a better country.”
Aghagbobi Ikenna
Ag. Media Officer, CACOL
08141121208
cacolc@yahoo.com,cacol@thehumanitycentre.com
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