Following the road accident that claimed the lives of four students of the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Oyo, last Sunday, parents under the aegis of Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) have called on the relevant government authorities to quickly fix the road and forestall such occurrence in the future.
On Sunday, 30 October, 2016, four students of the school, namely; John Olubukola (SS 3), Giwa Taibat (SS 3), Ladipo Mojisola (SS 1) and Ibirogba Maryam (JSS 3), who were returning to the school after their mid-term break, were on a mini bus from Owode Garage in Oyo en route Sabo Market, when they were crushed to death by a garri-loaded lorry as a result of the gully created on the road.
According to the school’s principal, Mrs Tolulope Olasusi, the four students were among the 10 passengers on the bus.
The old students of the school and other stakeholders again paid condolence visits to the families of the four students in their various homes in Ibadan.
According to the principal, “It was the first time the four students would come to school by public transport. Their parents used to bring them in their private cars, but when they saw their mates at the park, they felt they could as well move with them. You can imagine what will be going on in their minds now,” she said.
On Saturday, the PTA, led by its chairman, Alhaji Isiaq Bello, told newsmen that the emergency meeting was called to mourn the deceased and commiserate with their parents and the school management.
While speaking, Alhaji Bello “called on the Federal Government, the Oyo State government, the Chairman of Atiba Local Government Area, as well as the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, in whose kingdom the accident happened, to rise to the occasion and fix the bad road which is an escape route to motorists whenever there is gridlock on the Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway.”
They also pleaded that the Sabo Market located on the road, where traders display their wares close to the road, be relocated.
Bello, who was visibly angry and emotional, said “We appealed to relevant stakeholders to help us relocate the market because we cannot allow our daughters to be made sacrificial lambs. This accident was an avoidable one. It would not have happened if not for the bad road, the carelessness of the drivers loading on the road, as well as the nonchalant attitude of the policemen manning the area.”
Parents who spoke during the emergency meeting included Amos Ishola, Ajayi Olusegun, Oyelowo Abdul Najeem, Mrs Olajide Idowu, Siji Lawal, Ibrahim Ajao, and one of the teachers in the school, O.A. Afolabi. They all condemned the incident.
Meanwhile, the caretaker committee chairman of Atiba Local Government, Honourable Okeniyi Gbolagade, has commiserated with the management of the institution and families of the deceased.
The caretaker chairman, who announced the movement of the Sabo motor park to a new place, described the incident as tragic.