RECENTLY, as I was about meditating about my itinerary for the following day, something unusual struck my mind! It is indeed exactly six month since the most terrifying accident I have ever witnessed in my life happened on the soil of Akungba, a community which hosts the prestigious Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko. Unconsciously, tears flowed down my face like a river escaping a dam. It was indeed one mishap that has left immeasurable anguish, trauma and tension in the minds of everyone attached to the victims. It is already six months, but the agony is still very fresh. January 24 shall continue to remain registered in the minds of students of AAUA as a very terrible day, not just because of the gory accident but also because of the gas explosion which also led to the death of several students, with others sustaining grievous injuries. Students were preparating for the first semester examinations following a long coronavirus pandemic vacation when the avoidable mishap happened. It was on a Saturday. A Dangote trailer conveying loads of cement, after losing control of the brake, rammed into several shops beside the school main gate, killing several persons including students of the institution on the spot.
Taking a trip down the memory lane, it would be reminisced that even before the last mishap, the Akungba-Ikare road had serially witnessed many trailer-related accidents, specifically during the coronavirus holiday, a development which started the agitation for the establishment of barricades to control or if possible restrain heavy duty trucks from using the road. Despite all the outcries and agitations, the government and other concerned stakeholders in the community gave a cold shoulder. When the people realised all agitations were an exercise in futility, they resigned to fate, got over the havoc and as expected, normalcy had its way. Just as envisaged, when a recurrence of the heartbreaking mishap greeted the soil of Akungba, this time killing more persons and destroying invaluable properties, the clamour for the erection of barricade became louder than ever.
At the sight of the awful scene of the gory accident, everyone, including the hardhearted,burst into tears, especially when it was realised that three members of the same family were also victims and they all died on the spot. Anguish rent the air, as men of the state emergency office recovered the remains of the casualties. Horrifying was an understatement. People began to decry how the unfortunate accident would have been averted if the government and other stakeholders of the community had heeded the call for the erection of barricades on the vulnerable road. Emotions, outcries and lamentations rent the air as we yet again mourn the gallant comrades who were blown away like candlelight in the wind. It was indeed exasperating when the news filtered through that the owner of the trucks had chosen to compensate the families of the victims of the fatal mishap with a token of N500,000 each. It saddens my heart that such a ridiculous amount of money could be offered as compensation or taken to be equivalent to the value of the lives lost. It grossly showed a strong indication of the perceived unimportance attached to the lives of the dead victims. Did he and his company not come to terms with the fact that his trailer did not just kill the victims, but also murdered and shattered the hope of their immediate relations, as many of these guys were before their unfortunate death the glorious future of their respective families?
Then, it dawned on everyone that it is indeed pivotal for the purpose of forestalling recurrence of such disheartening occurrence that the student populace resist all heavy duty trucks using the road with our last blood. Fortunately, after several agitations and demonstrations, a temporary barricade was erected to completely restrict heavy duty trucks from using the accident-prone road. This development seemed to have instilled a sense of relief in the students and other residents of the community until few months after when we began to see yet again, the abominable trucks back on the road, and indeed in a more reckless manner. Many questions began to beg for answers as regards the gross ineffectiveness of the erected barricade in achieving the desired purpose of shutting down heavy duty trucks, a development. Many indicted some saboteurs within the community who collect tips from the truck drivers to enable them bypass the blockade. This unprecedented development has once again thrown the community into a precarious situation, and resurrected uneasy tension amidst students and other residents of Akungba.
Without further ado, I am calling on the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin RotimiAkeredolu (SAN) and other concerned stakeholders to check the excesses of heavy duty trucks on this road. We cannot afford to witness a recurrence of such gory accidents again in Akungba. Even if it seems impossible to totally block those vehicles from plying the road, the government can at least ensure that their movement is regulated and indeed, without mincing words, restricted to midnight. Even though this may not totally avert such accidents, it will grossly minimise the level of devastation. However, I wish to assert at this time that the authorities will be held responsible if a recurrence of such fatal accident should befall the community again.
- Olaleye is a student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State.
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