Ember months: To fear or not?

At the start of a new year, everyone is usually optimistic and hopeful that as they witnessed the beginning of the year, they will live to see the end of it. The first few months, there is still some excitement in the air, but as soon as the eighth month (August) ends, the optimism seems to always vanish into thin air.
August heralds the last quarter of the year and the following months are generally referred to as the “ember” months and they are September, October, November and December.
Overtime, records have revealed that these months always record the highest number of road accidents and many other fowl news, unlike in the months preceding them. What is the significance of these months? Why do people panic when nearing the “ember” months? Is there more to the names? Questions like these are oftentimes raised and then left unanswered as soon as the year ends and then resurface when we are approaching the next “ember” months.

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This ember-month-syndrome comes with so much anxiety that at the mention of “osu ba ba ba” (months that end ber, ber, ber) as the Yorubas would say, road users and commuters start panicking.

The reason people attribute evil mishaps to these months is not farfetched. Though many believe that this period is the most dangerous of the year due to unfortunate calamities such as road accidents, killings, robbery etc, that are prevalent. There is still no basis to this widely-held belief. What most fail to acknowledge is the activities that come with the “ember” months.

These months are known for major activities and festivities in Nigeria, this is the period Nigerians in Diaspora return home to celebrate with their families who they probably haven’t seen for over a year. Nevertheless, there are various safety measures that can be put in place during the “ember” months.

1. Ensure your vehicles are in great condition before embarking on any trip. All documents such as driver’s license, vehicle license and registration, identity cards, fire extinguishers, reflective caution signs, mini tool boxes and first aid kits are present, functional and valid.
2. Obey all road safety guidelines, speed limits. rules and regulations in order to stay safe. Adhere to all warnings or advices handed out by safety officials.
3. Avoid travelling with huge amounts of money. Also cultivate a sense of observation around the home and vehicle at all times.
4. Understand that commercial drivers are always in a hurry and barely consider other road users probably because they are in a haste to make enough money from their short trips, hence, stay focused when using the road to avoid collision.
5. Many people seem to suddenly wake up to the knowledge of the shortness of time for achieving their yearly set goals, so make plans now. Don’t be caught up in the frenzy, do not procrastinate anything you can do now.

Ignorance kills while knowledge liberates, tagging the last quarter of the year, the evil months is not farfetched, it should however be noted that these are all man-made conjectures.

Tragic occurrences are bound to happen during “ember” months due to an increase in human activities and ill/non- preparedness for same.

These months should not be feared or make you panic, do things at the appropriate time, then you won’t have anything to worry about.

Here is a release from the FRSC:

The public relations officer of the commission, Bisi Kazeem stated this:

“Ember months are here again and we want to disabuse peoples’ minds that the months are months of mystery and myths,” he said.

“The months are neither dangerous months nor about sucking of human blood as it is believed in some quarters, but rather, in most of the periods we witness more upsurge in vehicular traffic.”

He further explained that the common increase during yuletide compared to other months was as a result of over-zealousness of people in order to maximise profits.

“You will find that commercial drivers will want to carry more passengers in order to maximise profit and by so doing, they drive dangerously without consideration for other road users,” he said.

“So, having observed this development nationwide, what we did first was to embark on sporadic enlightenment and public education to curb this ugly development by all our formations.”

Kazeem said the Commission had also started rallies and enlightenment campaigns at motor parks, mosques, churches, companies and other relevant areas to enlighten them on road safety during the coming yuletide season.