Averting Further Carnage On Our Roads

Road accidents occur almost weekly in the country without any sign of cessation. This is, indeed, very unfortunate. Those who drive on our roads should be very careful so as to avert loss of more lives. Lives lost to road accident cannot be· regained. We should therefore drive with care. A  New Year accident on Aboekuta-Ibadan Road claimed sixteen persons. The accident which occurred around Omi-Adio area of Ibadan on January 9, 2011 involved two commercial buses that had a head on collision as a result of poor visibility.

The head of the Federal Road Safety Corps team Mr L. A. Lawai described the accident as very horrible. He said that it could have been avoided if people had not engaged in bush burning, thereby creating the smoke that reduced visibility. He appealed to people to desist from bush burning, especially when it is close to the highway. Also speaking, a Police Inspector, Mr Sesan Kayode said they received a distress call from some commercial car drivers informing them that some persons were trapped in vehicles which went up in flames after the accident.

The sixteen people that died cannot come back to life and that is a great loss to the country and their various families. We should, therefore, drive with care, especially when visibility is poor. The accident could have been avoided if the drivers were not driving on  high speed.

Similarly, another five people lost their lives in an accident that occurred on the Kano-Katsina Expressway on January 9, 2011. According to reports, a Toyota Hiace bus belonging to an Islamic organization collided with a Peugeot J5. Those injured were taken to the General Hopital in Katsina while the bodies of the dead ones were deposited at the mortuary of the hospital. Again, this was an unfortunate event. The accident was attributed to reckless driving and over speeding. It is very painful that we should start the new year with tragic road accidents.

Our drivers should always note that lives lost in this way are gone forever. They should endeavour to obey all the traffic rules whenever they are on the road. The country cannot afford to be losing its citizens in this way.

Also, no fewer than twenty-five people died in an accident which happened at Onyeama coal Mine Hill on the Enugu-Onitsha Express Road. Apart from those who died, several others were injured. According to reports, a trailer driver lost control while descending the Onyeama Hill and ran into eight other vehicles that were ascending the Hill from Enugu. The injured passengers were taken to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. Commenting on the accident, the Federal Road Safety Corps Sector Commander, Mr Hyginus Fonsuk said his men recovered five bodies at the scene of the accident the following morning, adding that the actual figure of casualties would be ascertained. In fact, we cannot be slaughtering our country men and women who are on their way to transact one business or the other due to the carelessness of drivers.

Drivers must take extra care whenever they are driving so that precious lives are not lost.

Above all, the authorities should ensure that drivers have the necessary training and experience before they are allowed to drive on the road.

Dr Mann Tolofari is a Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria, Abuja.

Mann Tolofari