THE death of Mrs Olufunke Olakunri, the daughter of Afenifere chieftain, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, came as a shock to many Nigerians at a time the polity is troubled. There are different sides to the views of many, with the likelihood of being blown out of proportion due to politics and unethical sensitisation. However, we need ask ourselves some candid questions. How many people faced such sudden deaths without any protest some of our leaders? How many are in the hands of these kidnappers and all we hear is “nothing of such exists.” The late Mrs. Olakunrin’s death became a glaring case of the killing of innocent victims by bigots who parade themselves as herdsmen. If anyone thinks the herdsmen’s attacks are mainly within the northern part of the country, such a person should have a rethink. On April 8, 2011, I was on my way to work along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway towards Owode-Ijako when I ran into a herd of cattle around 4:45am. It was a Friday. My car could not start and the only option was a cab or a bike as I lived off the major road. It was actually an outskirt of the town, a new site secluded from the main road.
Getting a mechanic to work on the car almost immediately could be tedious except the day breaks. The option left for me was to take a bike to Sango, which happens to be the central bus station to anywhere in Lagos from Ogun State. We were almost at Owode-Ijako when the bike man shuddered. He could not manoeuvre his way on sighting a huge animal that left its herds to attack us on the main road. Before I could ask what the matter was, the cow had attacked my side. The bike man instantly swerved to save his life. However, the expressway had no streetlight or any form of illumination from the filling stations that could have rescued the situation. The only available illumination were flashlights of motorbikes and headlamps of oncoming vehicles. Without the oncoming vehicles flashing their headlamps, the flashlight of motorbikes would not be able to illuminate a long distance except the narrow traffic lane its light could trail.
It was a terrifying state. I laid helpless on the expressway facing the ground while the animal stood by me to finish the havoc. It was like a bull sniffing to kill! As fate would have it, one of the herdsmen stopped the cow with a stroke of his stick. The type they use to direct the cattle movement, whispering some unknown dialect to the cow. I could not stand up, but I heard him mutter some words in his language to the animal. In a short while, some people came to the scene to rescue me. They feared the beast might return for yet another attack. I could not move my left leg, even though I tried lifting my body from the ground to no avail. I could hear some people by the roadside encouraging me to stand to my feet but, unknown to them I was a lot heavier on the ground than standing erect. As soon as I managed to rise up, I fell back on the spot again. That was when I realized my left Tibia was broken. A fracture that necessitated the implant of screws and plate at the EKO Hospital, along Bank Anthony way, Ikeja, Lagos State. I had to undergo two surgeries, first in April 2011, after the attack, and secondly in December 2012, for the removal of screws and plate, leaving me devastated with infected blood transfusion.
As a sales coordinator back then, my job functions before the accident were mainly administrative. Hence, it was difficult for me to perform the account management function (field marketing) assigned to me a year after the second surgical operation at the detriment of my recuperating fractured tibia. However, the customer relationship function was in a remote location at the Trade Fair and Alaba International Markets, where I had to walk round on a visit to the travel agents on a weekly basis. Consequently, the incessant pains on my knees and ankles, coupled with the ill health suffered through the infected blood transfusion, led to my untimely resignation in May 2015. I had to resign voluntarily to save my life and further my writing career. I could have become handicapped after the deadly encounter with the herdsmen. I still feel pains after walking some distance on both my knee and ankle, which makes it a lot difficult moving round schools where my approved literary texts are mainly distributed. This is the dilemma confronting many professionals who have had similar experiences in the country. For every professional that is unfortunate in life, there is always an additional mouth to feed, additional bills to pay, etc. However, with the advent of incapacitation, they cannot perform activities within their professional domain. Needless to say, for every professional that fails to perform up to expectations and eventually fails in his profession, there is reduced services, which means reduced taxes for the state, declined rate of growth and development for the community, the society, and the nation at large.
Many people have been massacred on a daily basis in their homes and farmlands. Many are not alive to tell their stories and many have been totally handicapped from continuing their career pursuits in life! Dreams are shattered; growth and developments hindered, while the common things that ordinarily gives life meaning become laborious! The victims may be nurture a feeling of non-importance, and experience sociocultural intolerance on the part of those that matter. The nation is on the verge of collapse if this situation continues unabated! There are professional footballers in the country whose careers were almost jeopardised when they had encounters with herds of cattle on the highways.
- Adigwe writes in via edwardadigwe@mail.com
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