About 52 months after the one-year-old son of a popular award-winning Afrobeat singer, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’Banj, died by drowning in a swimming pool, the three-year-old son of another award-winning singer, David Adeleke, also known as Davido, died this week under similar circumstances.
Among the prominent Nigerians that mourned with the Adelekes is their family friend of many decades, who is also the traditional ruler of Oke-Ila Orangun, in Osun State, Oba Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin.
Oba Abolarin told Saturday Tribune how Davido’s late mother, Dr Mrs Veronica Adeleke, rescued his own son from drowning 25 years ago.
“It was David’s mummy, late Dr Mrs Veronica Adeleke, that rescued my own son inside the swimming pool some twenty five years ago. My son was a toddler. His toddler friend was seen pointing at the swimming pool and saying his friend (my son) was inside water. Davido’s mum, who was just coming in at that moment, heard the boy and plunged into the pool and pulled out my son. That was 25 years ago. the boy is now a medical doctor.
“I am sad. What Veronica did for my son years back, nobody, I mean nobody, could play the same role for Veronica’s grandson, Ifeanyi. I am sad,” Oba Abolarin said.
Following this toddler’s death and the circumstances surrounding it, Saturday Tribune explored the views and positions of some scholars and Nigerians on how similar future occurrences could be prevented.
A 2001 research article by C. Blum and J. Shield titled ‘Toddler drowning in domestic swimming pools’ and published in Injury Prevention Journal investigated the drowning deaths of toddlers aged one to four years as a result of unintentional submersion incidents in domestic swimming pools in Victoria, Australia, from January 1992 to December 1997.
The results of this study showed that there was a predominance of one year olds, and boys; and that forty-six per cent of the children drowned in the three summer months.
The study revealed that the majority of the pools were in-ground and most were located on the child’s home property. It also revealed that over half the pools lacked fencing of any kind, and among those that did have fences, only three appeared to have met Australian standards.
The major key points from the study were that young children, particularly boys, are at the great risk of drowning in swimming pools. It showed that where pools were fenced, children gained access through faulty or inadequate gates, and gates that were propped open by adults. It also showed that door locks and supervision are inadequate primary prevention measures.
The study recommended that pool gates can be fitted with double locking devices, and pool owners can be encouraged to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
It also recommended that continuing media campaigns are needed to reinforce safe behaviours; and governments can increase penalties for non-compliance with legislation.
A South Africa-based Nigerian and co-founder of Transhuman Coin, Dr Charles Awuzie, on his verified Facebook page, stated that, as a father, he could only imagine the pain of Davido and Chioma each time the images of their son drowning in a swimming pool replay in their minds.
“This should be the last time we will lose a child in such a horrific manner,” he said.
Awuzi, who is also a cyber-security expert, admonished parents and guardians, who have young children, to implement extra security and protection measures around their swimming pools, even if the extra measures would distort the beauty of their space.
He noted that when he installed a fence around his swimming pool — this level of security, which he admitted was inspired by D’Banj’s son’s drowning case — a friend told him that his pool no longer looked modern.
“Male children are extremely unpredictable, and protecting a child’s life is better than a world-class swimming pool,” he recalled telling his friend.
Awuzie brought the nanny perceptive into the matter. He emphasised that if one has too many nannies, they do not have a nanny.
“I speak from experience,” he added. “When we had multiple house helps, nothing gets done in the house and the nannies would slowly become gossip mates and neglect their responsibilities.”
He enjoined parents and guardians to employ one nanny with one specific job, which is to keep an eye 24/7 on the child. He also enjoined parents to install nanny Wi-fi camera in their houses.
He said that, by law, the child does not belong to the parents. He added that every child belongs to the state and if anything happens to the child under one’s care, the state would hold them responsible.
“In South Africa, if a child dies from negligence, the parents could end up in jail for negligence,” he said. “Nigeria has a long way to go.”
A public policy lawyer and author, Chioma Nwokedi Momah, on her LinkedIn page, confessed that the news of Davido’s son’s passing touched her deeply and she cried.
“Children love water, but in just a few minutes the unimaginable can happen,” she said. “I cried for David, and I cried for my beloved nephew who drowned some years ago in a pool. I also remembered a young cousin and other children who passed on in similar ways.”
Momah, who is also a parenting and literacy coach, said that in the United States alone about 350 children, less than five years, drown in pools. She added that, apart from pools, children can drown in large buckets or containers of water.
“So, even that big basin filled with water for washing is dangerous,” she said.
She emphasised that parents, guardians, and everybody should ensure that they do their part to make their homes and communities safer for children. She said one of the ways this can be achieved, to make the community safer, is by driving advocacy for safety regulations around pools.
“In my son’s school, for instance, when I saw their plans to install a pool, I educated them on the dangers and encouraged them to ensure it was gated and manned, and they complied,” she said. “Even when safety measures are in place, there must be continuous adult supervision, and even with lifeguards present, don’t let your guards down.”
Momah stressed that when children are young, they should learn to swim, as this reduces the risk of drowning — that running from water is not the solution.
The founder of Nextier Adisory and global advisor to Energy Growth Hub, Patrick O. Okigbo, in his LinkedIn piece, titled ‘How not to waste a tragedy: What good can come out of Davido’s son’s drowning?’, noted that the condolences Nigerians satiated the Adelekes with were profuse, but they (Nigerians) soon moved on as the next big news broke.
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“Unfortunately, in the intervening period, neither Nigerians nor their government did much to prevent such avoidable deaths,” he lamented. “Will Nigerians waste yet another tragedy? There is so much that citizens can do to make a difference.”
Okigbo, who is also a Senior Fellow of the Harvard University, lamented that drowning is the most common cause of death for children between one and four years, aside from birth defects. He added that it is also the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children between one and 14 years, behind motor vehicle accidents.
‘Nigeria will probably see similar numbers as it transitions from a low- to a middle-income country. So, who should solve this problem?” he asked.
He further lamented that as with other socio-economic challenges, one may correctly hang the responsibility around the government’s neck. He however stated that, given the government’s well-documented failures, citizen engagement may be a more critical factor for driving development outcomes in Nigeria, which may be the differentiating variable.
Okigbo used the United States as an example. He cited how the drowning death of a seven-year-old Virginia Graeme Baker led to improved safety protocols around swimming pools and spas, and how the child’s mother tirelessly lobbied the United States Congress until it passed the ‘Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act’.
“As a result, today, it’s unlawful to build a swimming pool in a residential area without a fence, self-closing doors, alarms, and other safety features,” he added.
Okigbo concluded by stressing that the loss of Davido’s son should provide the impetus for well-meaning Nigerians to collaborate with civil society partners to get lawmakers to pass such a safety law. He added that this step towards progress is realisable in no time.
“No other family should go through similar avoidable pains” he said. “May Davido and his family find the grace to carry on. May the rest of us not waste this tragedy.”
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