Tragedy struck Majia town, Jigawa State, Nigeria, when almost 50 members of a family were lost in a devastating explosion of an overturned fuel tanker. The explosion occurred on Tuesday night claiming at least 153 lives and leaving over 100 people injured, many of them in critical condition according to the reports coming in from hospitals. In this regard, two teenaged boys, 16-year-old Nuradeen Rabiu and 17-year-old Dini Babalo, had even made a fervent effort to alert people away from the approaching tanker before the explosion ensued.
The tanker, which was carrying petrol,
Lost control while driving through an unlit main road, so this is the scene of tragedy. News of free fuel quickly spread and many young men and teenagers began running to grab containers to collect spilled petrol. The number of people just overwhelmed the place, making it increasingly chaotic and even dangerous; thus, it ended up as a horrific explosion.
One such family is that of Mustapha Majiya,
He is a 50-year-old farmer whose members perished in the incident. “I just bought them books and new uniforms for the term,” he shook his head. This has been termed one of Nigeria’s deadliest tanker accidents in recent history – a disturbing development of this trend of occurrences in the country.
Nigeria being an oil-producing country,
Moves its petroleum products mostly on the road. So it raises a great question on safety measures and infrastructure. According to experts, strategic planning and better transport systems like freight rail are essential to avoid the recurrence of such disasters in the future. According to Kola Ashiru-Balogun who’s also a developer of cities, “government would have to invest in safer transports.”.
The government officials admit that the accident did indeed occur and that they will open an inquiry into it, but safety professionals claim that, above all, there is a lack of political will to back current regulations. “Many accidents are caused by impassable roads, ill-trained drivers, and uninspected vehicles,” claims Timothy Iwuagwu, president of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria.
Following the tragedy,
Nigerian officials have called on more public awareness about dangers attached to tanker accidents. These have asked the National Orientation Agency to heighten its campaign on enlightenment of citizens on safety measures.
Needless to say, skyrocketing fuel prices,
Have brought massive economic hardships on the most desperate people who were ready to take all risks due to the fact that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had scrapped the subsidies. The situation has been worsened by the devaluation of naira against the US dollar and high inflation at 32% and above, putting around 104 million Nigerians in the poverty lines.
As the nation mourns, Mr. Majiya says, “The government has promised to help the community and the survivors. We await them.” The country united in grief hears increasing calls for stronger protections against preventable disasters because of which the government needs to push on to put the safety of the citizens first.
