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Tag: Tragedy

  • Okorocha’s bridges are tragedy waiting to happen – COREN

    Okorocha’s bridges are tragedy waiting to happen – COREN

    …accuses governor of building bridges without professional design

    The President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN) Kashim Ali has accused Governor Rochas Okorocha led Imo State Government of constructing bridges without professional design across the state, insisting that such are tragedy waiting to happen.

    Ali who revealed this while addressing some senators on Tuesday, said several efforts by the association to call the state government to order had failed.

    “If there is any calamity anywhere today, the expectation is that even if a mud house collapses, the journalist will say ‘where are the engineers?’” Mr. Ali said.

    “For instance in Imo state, there is a tragedy about to happen. Their bridges are being built without design.

    “We went there, we said, let’s see the design so that we can ascertain the condition of these bridges. We made a plea, they refused to give us. We asked for the engineers or anybody involved in this project so that we can at least interview and know the integrity of the bridges. So, we had to make a pronouncement to the effect that there was a problem that such could cause but because we don’t have enforcement power, we cannot stop that project.”

    He sought the Senate’s help for amendment of the Act establishing COREN so as to empower the association to enforce its resolutions.

    He told the senators that the bill, which is already at the House of Representatives, will strengthen the engineering profession in Nigeria.

    “So, we are asking that the parliament should empower us so that we can have the power to do such thing. We also need the resources to also do that. So, those are the basic thrusts of the proposal that is in the House of Reps for an amendment to the COREN Act and we want to seek that eventually, if it comes to you, we want you to be aware of it, seek your colleagues’ support so that we can strengthen COREN and the practice of engineering in Nigeria.”

    In his response, the leader of the Senate delegation, Ibrahim Gobir, Sokoto-APC assured the engineers of a speedy consideration of the bill.

    “There is still more deliberations to be made on the bill. We will collect the bill from the House of Reps, go through it at our own level and look at the areas you are talking about. In the end we will do justice to it,” he said.

    Reacting, David Mark, Benue-PDP, expressed shock at the revelation that the Imo state government declined the services of engineers in the construction of bridges.

    “I’m a bit shocked at the revelation that somebody is building a bridge and he doesn’t want to get engineers involved. That’s the recklessness in this country. People just do things anyhow and because there are no consequences when things go wrong. They just do it with impunity. This is very unfortunate.

    “I wish that we have some level of authority to stop people going that direction. Unfortunately, I don’t think we have that authority to stamp our feet on the ground and stop them from this level of impunity.

    “The consequences when things go wrong is that they go to the background and the engineers are often called and before you know it, they are busy defending themselves on pages of papers and social media when indeed they have absolutely nothing to do with at all.”

  • 33 dead, several injured in Sallah tragedies

    33 dead, several injured in Sallah tragedies

    One Boko Haram attack, three auto accidents thirty-three deaths, several injuries.

    The foregoing was the situation in parts of Borno, Ogun and Edo states on Friday after Boko Haram terrorists attacked an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) camp at Banki on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, stabbing 11 to death, and a timber laden truck ploughed into a crowd of Muslims at Eid el Kabir prayers in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.

    Two children worshippers died on the spot.

    Enraged by the development, other worshippers swooped on the truck driver in order to lynch him, but they ended up clubbing to death one of the policemen from Ijebu-Igbo Police Divisional Headquarters who came to the driver’s aid.

    The deceased policeman’s colleagues gave his name as Joseph Adejuwon.

    Eyewitnesses said the truck was navigating a hilly road on the seedy Atikori area when it veered off the road and crashed into a packed vehicle before mowing down the two victims.

    Several other people were injured.

    An official of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who did not want to be identified by name, said two pedestrians were killed on the spot.

    He said: “The crash occurred with a truck killing two on the spot. I learnt that a mob (gathered) and became irate, even preventing security operatives access to the scene.”

    Speaking separately, the Public Relations Officer of the state’s traffic agency, TRACE, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, said the driver of the truck lost control following a break failure, and first crashed into a stationary Toyota car before running over the worshippers.

    He said: “This morning, just before the Eid prayer at the Atikori praying ground, Ijebu-Igbo, a Bedford truck with Registration Number AA523JGB laden with logs had a break failure, lost control and ran into a parked Toyota Thundra with Registration number APP995DD.

    “It damaged the Toyota before running over two children at the praying ground, killing them while several other Muslim faithful sustained various degree of injuries, including some security operatives.

    “According to the Chairman of the Local Government, Hon. Adekoya, both the dead and the injured, including a Civil Defence officer, were taken to the general hospital in Ijebu Igbo while the deceased police officer died on arrival at Shilom, a private hospital.”

    The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the deceased policeman was an orderly to a Divisional Police Officer.

    Oyeyemi said the driver of the truck had been arrested.

    Boko Haram men stab 11 IDPs to death in Borno

    Members of the deadly Boko Haram sect sneaked into IDPs camp at Banki on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon on Thursday night, stabbing 11 people to death.

    The camp is home to more than 45,000 people.

    Reports yesterday said the terrorists, at about 11.30pm on Thursday, smashed the barricade protecting the camp and descended on helpless IDPs.

    Eleven people were killed while two others were wounded before soldiers guarding the camp were alerted to chase them.

    They went away with food items meant for the IDPs.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums resorted to the use of knives as against guns to avoid alerting soldiers.

    A victim however raised the alarm, attracting the attention of the soldiers who responded accordingly.

    Banki is 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

    19 die in auto crash in Edo, says FRSC

    Twenty hours to the celebration of the Eid-el-Kabir, 19 people, including five children, died in a separate auto accident at Ogoneki, off the Asaba-Benin Expressway in Edo State.

    The accident, which involved a trailer and a passenger bus, occurred at 4.30 pm, according to the state sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Samuel Odukoya.

    He said 24 persons were trapped in the accident.

    Sixteen of the victims died on Thursday while three others gave up the ghost in a hospital yesterday.

    Five others sustained various degrees of injury.

    “The trip was from Benin to Auchi and the cause of the accident was attributed to dangerous overtaking,” Odukoya said.

    “Three females, 11 males, a female child and four male children were killed in the accident, while five men were injured and have been taken to the hospital.”

    The third accident involved a Nissan Civilian bus conveying players and officials of Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club to Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

    The team was on its way to the city for the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match Day 36 fixture with Sunshine Stars of Akure billed for tomorrow.

    The club’s Chairman, Chuma Ubah, who described the incident as pathetic and excruciating, said the team was coming out of the trauma.

    He assured their fans that two of the seriously affected players of the team were responding to treatment while others and their fans had continued to support the team.

    Ubah, in a statement, said: “Sequel to the reports making the rounds this morning, we wish to confirm that FC Ifeanyi Ubah’s team bus conveying the players and officials was involved in an auto accident.

    “The accident occurred along Benin/Ore Expressway while we were on our way to Ijebu Ode to honour the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match Day 36 fixture with Sunshine Stars billed for Sunday, Sept. 3.

    “Six of our players sustained varying degrees of injuries and two that are unconscious hitherto have regained consciousness and are receiving treatment presently at the closest medical facility near the scene of the accident.

    “We wish to express our felicitations for your concern, support, show of emotions, deepest thoughts and prayers at this sad time,” he said.

    Ubah said the club would come up with decisions on the matter as related to their ability to honour the match as scheduled.

  • Tragedy as robbers attack banks, monarch’s palace in Ekiti, kill manager, 3 others

    …I thought Boko Haram had invaded my town – Oore of Otun, Oba Adedapo Oladele Popoola

    There was pandemonium on Thursday evening at in Otun Ekiti, the headquarters of Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, when dare devil armed robbers numbering more than 30 attacked two commercial banks and killed four people.

    A bank manager, a cashier, a bank security officer who was planning to wed in a week’s time and a palace night guard were among the victims of the robbery incident that took place around 6.00 pm.

    Sources revealed that the deceased security guard whose fiancé is heavily pregnant had barely resumed for duty when the robbers struck.

    The blood thirsty bandits also attacked the palace of the community’s monarch and a petrol station.

    They were said to have divided themselves into four subgangs to ensure that the attack was successful.

    The bandits reportedly made away with huge amount of money from the banks and the petrol station.

    Many residents of the community who received gunshot wounds are receiving treatment in hospitals. Speaking, the Oore of Otun who is also the paramount ruler of Moba land, Oba Adedapo Oladele Popoola said he thought Boko Haram militants had invaded the town when he heard loud bangs of explosives used by the robbers during the attack which lasted for about an hour.

    The monarch said: ” I was relaxing with my chiefs in front of the palace when we heard what first sounded like some fireworks but we dismissed it as some of the children’s antics as a result of the festive period. But later we heard heavier and more deafening noise that sounded like gunshots and explosives. That was when we realized it was no child’s play. Gunshots and explosives were all over the place and heard from all corners. I couldn’t situate the incident as we ruminated whether it was robbery, Boko Haram’s attack or some kind of war happening.

    “We later learnt that the robbers stationed their men at the four entrances of the town. The first place they were stationed was the roundabout at Erinmope Road, the second was outside Moba Local Government Secretariat, the third was in front of my palace and the fourth was in front of the Technical College outside the town on the way leading to Kwara State.” The monarch added: “The sporadic gunshots and explosives lasted for about an hour before the dust settled. And by that time four innocent people were lying dead.

    The manager and a cashier of a new generation bank, a security man at the second new generation bank and my night guard who had just resumed for night duty and wanted to close the gate were the victims. ” I reported the case to the governor and he immediately called me. The governor quickly mobilized security operatives who promptly acted on his instruction and came around past 7pm but the robbers had long left.”

    The state’s police command’s spokesman, Alberto Adeyemi confirmed the incident. He disclosed that investigation into the robbery had commenced, adding that the remains of the victims have been deposited at the General Hospital in Usi Ekiti.

  • Tragedy as 18 die in Jigawa road crash

    Tragedy as 18 die in Jigawa road crash

    No fewer than 18 persons died in an accident involving a tipper and a J5 bus on Gumel-Gugunju road in Gumel Local Government Area of Jigawa.

    The Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps in the state, Angus Ibezim, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Saturday.

    Mr. Ibezim said the driver of the tipper with Reg. No. XY 744 GRK abandoned the vehicle on the road after it broke down.

    He explained that the driver of the bus hit the truck from behind, which resulted in the mishap.

    He said 15 of the occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, died on the spot while three others sustained injuries.

    According to the sector commander, the other three passengers in the bus later died in hospital.

    He said the command had begun investigation to ascertain the main cause of the accident.

    “We are now trying to find out the main cause of the accident.

    “The first thing we suspect is that the driver of the tipper did not place any caution sign to indicate that the vehicle was faulty.

    “Secondly, we also suspect that the driver of the J5 bus was speeding or has bad or no headlights at all,” Mr. Ibezim said.

    He said the corps had already removed the broken down vehicle from the road to avoid a recurrence of the ugly incident.

    The sector commander added that the command had launched a manhunt to apprehend the driver of the tipper now at large, saying “the driver will surely be prosecuted”.

    Mr. Ibezim advised motorists to desist from speeding under whatever circumstances.

     

     

    NAN

  • Tragedy struck as bus plunges into canal in Lagos, killing three

    A bus belonging to G.U.O Transport Services Ltd conveying travellers from Enugu on Friday plunged into a river at the Owode-Mile 12 river along the Lagos-Ikorodu road.

    According to the spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, South West zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, three people were recovered dead.

    He said 48 people have been rescued.

    “Some people are said to have walked out immediately after the incident before the arrival of emergency agencies.

    “We have 48 rescued alive, three dead, while nine of the survivors are being attended to at Lagos State Emergency Trauma Centre at Toll Gate on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.”

    The affected bus, with registration number GDC386YE, has however been removed from the canal NEMA officials.

    A survivor of the accident, Mr. Kenneth Aaron, said that the bus, which was coming from Aba, Abia State, had the accident around 3:05 a.m.

    He said, “I entered the bus in Onitsha with four of my brothers. The bus passed through Ikorodu because of the ongoing construction on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

    “It seemed an accident happened in the area before which spilled diesel onto the road.

    “By the time our bus got to the spot, it skidded, hit the culvert and plunged into the river.”

    According to him, the 50-seater bus was full with passengers and had additional standing passengers (attachment) who were picked on the way.

    The General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, confirmed the death of three and many injured.

    He said, “We got the report of an accident around 4.30 a.m and our men responded and commenced recovery mission immediately.

    “The initial assessment is that the road demarcation here, the driver probably did not understand the road very well, came to the junction suddenly, applied the brake and lost control.

    “The first set of people we brought out had injuries and were treated by our paramedic team; two people died immediately.

    “Shortly before I came here, the body of the motor boy was found on the waterbed.”

  • Tragedy struck in Kebbi as man, wife, three children die in generator fire

     

    Tragedy stuck in Kebbi on Tuesday as a couple, Kehinde and Kehinde Sarafa were burnt to death with their kids in a fire that gutted their apartment.

    The unfortunate incident happened in Koko town in the Koko Local Government area of Kebbi State.

    The couple’s three children, Abdullahi (male, four years old); Alimat (female, three years old) and Moriam (female, one year old), were also reportedly burnt beyond recognition.

    According to a report by The Punch, Kehinde, aka Lasisi, had been living with his family in Sokoto State, where he worked as a digital photo printer.

    He was said to have moved to Koko, Kebbi State, after securing appointment with a top-flight company.

    However, after about four months of shuttling from Sokoto where his family was, and Kebbi, the place of his new job, he decided to relocate his wife and children to his two-bedroomed flat in Koko.

    The 38-year-old reportedly turned on his generator on Monday and went to sleep with his family.

    However, around 1.30am on Tuesday when the electricity distribution company restored power, there was said to have been an explosion in the meter, which resulted in the fire.

    Lasisi’s elder brother, Tajudeen Abdulsalam, said residents couldn’t save the victims due to the intensity of the inferno.

    He said, “He was formerly based in Sokoto before he got a job in Koko. On Sunday, he went to pick his family members in Sokoto to live with him. He had been living alone in Koko until then. They had just spent one day together in the house when the incident happened.

    “He was probably trying to make them comfortable by turning on the generator in the evening. I think he had not been using the generator before then, and because of that, he did not detect that the generator and regular electricity wires were not appropriately separated.

    “By the time power was restored, he was asleep, but the generator was still running. So, there might have been a jam between the generator and the regular power, which resulted in the fire. By the time they woke up, the flames had blocked their exit route.

    They cried for help, but people could not gain access to the place.

    “Their neighbours tried to force the door open and even removed the windows, but it was all in vain, until the time they stopped calling for help.”

    He described the late Lasisi as “simple, kind, generous and obedient.”

    Abdulsalam said the victims were buried in the town in accordance with Islamic rites, adding that the family could not identify the corpses because they were burnt beyond recognition.

    The policemen from the Koko division visited the scene after the case was reported to them.

    Lasisi’s twin brother, Taiwo, said he spoke with him a few hours to the incident without any foreboding.

    “I spoke with him around 7.30pm that evening. He told me that they still had some of their property in Sokoto. Even my wife spoke with his wife, Kehinde, around 8.30pm the same evening. It was around 2.30am that one of their neighbours called me to say there was a fire incident and they all died. Only their apartment was affected. We are in shock because nobody expected it,” he said.

    Kehinde worked with Spectrum Digital Lab in Sokoto from September 2015 to sometime in September 2016, when he relocated to Koko.

    A former co-worker and family friend, Bayode Oluwaseyi, described him as a diligent man who went through a lot of difficulty before having a breakthrough.

    “He had been in the industry from the analogue to the digital era, and he contributed a lot to the photo printing world. After all the problems he went through before the breakthrough in September, it was unfortunate this tragedy befell him and his family members,” he said.

  • The tragedy of blame transference syndrome – Omonokhua

    By Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

    The word “blame” is as old as the creation of humanity. The story of the fall of Adam and Eve in the third chapter of Genesis captures blame as a syndrome of the human person. The serpent (Genesis 3:1) tempted Eve but did not force her to eat the forbidden fruit. It was her free choice. She also gave to her husband who freely accepted the offer.

    Their eyes opened and they realized that they were naked (Genesis 3: 6-7). Then followed the blame transference syndrome (BTS) when God called the man: “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

    And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:8-13).

     

    Why did God not ask the Serpent any question? The interpretation could be that it was the human person (Adam and Eve) that God gave the command and the gift of dialogue. God did not raise the dignity of the serpent to the level of Imago Dei (Image of God).

    When the Serpent came around, Eve had the capacity to say, away from me Satan or get behind me Satan akin to Jesus. Today, the many cunny and crafty sycophants that surround some leaders at various levels to distract them from their God given mission of leading the people to grace and happiness are the modern day Serpents.

    These leaders become competently incompetent because they listen to their “Serpents” just as Eve listened to the serpent of her time. Consequently, these leaders put the blame of their incompetence elsewhere.

    The tragedy of “blame transference syndrome” runs across some of the drama of William Shakespeare. For instance, “Who is to blame for the tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice”? It is easy to blame Iago for his lies and conspiracy while Desdemona could be blamed because the way and manner she complains could have been exploited by Iago.

    Othello could have saved himself if he was in control of his unguided emotions of anger and his blind love for Desdemona. Othello throughout the play was not able to handle ugly situations hence he is a “good example of the ‘tragic hero’ as defined by Aristotle; he is a good man of great and simple virtues but with the fatal floor of believing that men are what they seem” (Shakespeare, the Complete Works, Edited by G.B Harrison, Harcourt, Brace and Company; New York, Page 1057).

    Another reason for the tragedy of Othello in Venice was that he surrounded himself with sycophants who made him blind and deaf to wise counsel. Consequently, he lacked the capacity to take responsibility for what was happening around him. He kept blaming innocent people until his sycophants kept him in prison and perpetual banishment. “He was ultimately slain by the kinsfolk of Desdemona” (Shakespeare, the Complete Works, Page 1056)

     

    Another example in Shakespearean drama is, “Who is to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”? Here one could easily say that they caused their own tragedy by disobeying their parents. Paris who was too eager to Marry Juliet could also be blamed (Act III scene 1) but after the testimony of friar Laurence and the ugly site of the Capulet tomb, Prince Escalus took responsibility and blamed himself for the tragedy of the children.

    The acceptance of blame brought peace and reconciliation to the families of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet who had been enemies for many generations. The inherited hate of the parents of Romeo and Juliet that was an obstacle to their proposed marriage is to blame for their tragedy. If we are aware of who we are, we would come to a realization that even “The gods are not to blame” (Ola Rotimi) for our failures. We are gifted with freedom and dignity.

     

    The concession speech of the Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama published by various media on December 9, 2016 exposes the syndrome of blame transference. He says: “I will urge my party members to stop the “blamestorming” that has started so that we brainstorm on how to get ourselves out of the mess we have put ourselves in.”

    “Another important lesson I have learnt from this defeat is that the success or failure of leaders depends on the kind of people they surround themselves with.” “A lot of the people who have called me to comfort me have maintained that I have been let down by my ministers and the people I trusted so much.

    I wish to take the blame for everything that happened to me. It is said that a man may fail many times but he is not a failure until he blames others for his failures.” He added, “I have brought this upon myself and I will carry it alone.” (http://www.manassehazure.com/2016/12)

     

    According to Don Shula, “The superior man blames himself. The inferior man blames others (https://www.brainyquote.com). The superior person does not accept any responsibility just because he wants to occupy an office.

    He is a person of vision whose mission is to transform a system, institution or organisation. Before accepting a responsibility, he or she must be prepared for any eventuality that would demand his intelligence, diligence and wisdom in ensuring that he engages the right people who are competent.

    His appointments of people in various positions of responsibility would follow the rules of professionalism. A leader who compensates his well-wishers and supporters with appointments of professionals and technocrats is likely to end up like Othello the Moor of Venice.

     

    A good leader knows how to make water flow in the desert by respecting professional boundaries. A good leader has a very clear strategy and action plan. He takes cognizance of the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the institution. In the past, professionals and technicians were proud of their jobs.

    Today, everybody wants to be a politician for easy access to wealth without sweat to satisfy the desire of the eyes, desire of flesh and pride of possessions (1 John 2:16). Greed and corruption are products of the fall of human nature hence only the values and principles of Jesus Christ can adequately heal the tragedy of blame transference syndrome that is afflicting many leaders today.

    Jesus faced more terrible temptations than Adam and Eve (Matthew 4). The devil used human appetite as temptation in the Garden of Eden and the temptation of Jesus. Satan wanted Jesus to turn stones to bread (Matthew 4:3) just as he asked Eve to eat the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:4).

    Satan appealed to the human quest for power and today some people want power by all means even if it means killing the people they wish to govern. Eve yielded to the delusion that she would be like God (Genesis 3:4).

    On the contrary, Jesus did not yield to the allurement of power and prosperity. “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:8-10).

    This is why only Jesus can save those who are worshipping the devil today to possess the glamour of the world. Otherwise, these people like Eve would continue to inflict untold hardship on innocent people as long as they want to be drowned in whatever is delightful to the eyes (Genesis 3:6), Competent leaders know when to tell their “Serpents” and “Satan”, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

    Jesus took the blame of humanity upon himself. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is why the antidote to the tragedy of blame transference syndrome is the imitation of Jesus Christ.

    Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria and a Consultor in the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (CRRM), Vatican City (omonokhuac@gmail.com)