- We need to do something to arrest mishaps caused by them
At least two major explosions involving articulated vehicles occurred on the Lagos and Ogun states’ axis between June 17 and June 22. About seven persons died in both mishaps which also led to the destruction of several properties. The first incident involved a 13.5 tons gas tanker in motion on the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Lagos that was leaking its content which was ignited by exposed fire from the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant on the premises of Ogun State Property Investment Corporation (OPIC) Plaza on the road. Five lives were lost in this incident and at least 24 vehicles burnt. This was aside the severe damage to the structure itself. Thirteen burns casualties were attended to by the pre-hospital care unit of the response team, and transported to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and Gbagada General Hospital for further treatment.
The Ogun State incident occurred barely five days later, precisely on June 22, when another tanker exploded at Ogere on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This left two persons dead, and six tankers, five trucks and two cars destroyed. Against the backdrop of the report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident was the fifth of such tragedies involving fuel tankers in the Lagos and Ogun states’ axis since the beginning of the year, these incidents were not mere accidents but the result of several laxities in our road transportation sector.
The frequency of such mishaps should worry us because anyone, just anyone, including our siren-blaring personalities, could have been caught in such explosions. Unfortunately, we tend to see victims of such mishaps as mere statistics, hence our lackadaisical approach to finding a lasting solution to the menace. We do little or nothing significant until the next accident occurs.
Accidents by their very nature will always happen. But, from experts’ reports, these incidents, and indeed several others that we have witnessed, were clearly avoidable. One negligence led to another, and then, disaster. Because nothing shocks us again, we merely bemoan the plight of the victims, sigh at the scenes, record the incident, sometimes live to show to the world, but learn little or no lesson until the next tragedy strikes.
Take the case of the leaking gas truck in Lagos. The owners of the vehicle knew that the content was combustible and should therefore have left no room for leakage. Those who loaded it with gas probably shrugged at the leakage; perhaps the vehicle had also passed through security and road traffic officials who either collected money and looked the other way, or were completely missing in action, thus giving such moving coffin a free rein on the road. The same applies to the fuel tanker in Ogere. We see many such fuel tankers on daily, leaking combustible contents on our highways. It is unfair for people to carry such a thing in rickety vehicles. This is not only abnormal, it also reflects the valuelessness of human lives in the country.
Driving is one of the most enervating activities. Yet, many of the articulated vehicle drivers on our roads have poor eyesight. Some of them do not even have driver’s licence. In some cases, the owners know that they need to engage like three drivers for long journey routes, yet they manage one or two in order to cut costs. Sometimes, many of the drivers are drunk before getting behind the wheels. That is why they misbehave, driving like some uncrowned ‘kings of the road’, with little or no consideration for other road users.
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We need to research the laws for possible prosecution of these irresponsible people causing problems for others. The rules are there quite alright; the problem is that they are hardly enforced. So, regulation should be firmer. And there should be no influence peddling or name dropping when offenders are apprehended. It is only when laws are enforced without regard for the social status of offenders, and only roadworthy vehicles are allowed to ply our roads that we can minimise avoidable mishaps.
It’s high time we started making people pay for their actions. We shoot ourselves in the foot when we shrug off some of these abnormalities. Imagine the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway that is being fixed with huge tax-payers’ money being constantly damaged by people who would never do things right.
Most important, to reduce the menace of these articulated vehicles on our highways, we need to drastically reduce their numbers on the roads. This means we must develop alternative means of transportation like railway, and the sea ports in other parts of the country, to reduce the pressure on the ports in Lagos. The present Federal Government appears to have seen the wisdom in going this way. We can only encourage it not to relent.
