It appears that Nigeria's wretched adherence to safety standards and protocols is finally making its neatest pickings yet out of the carcass of children.
On 18th December 2024, at a Christmas funfair organized by Wings Foundation in conjunction with Agidigbo FM in Ibadan, 35 children were crushed death in a stampede, with about six others injured.
It is an unimaginable tragedy days before Christmas, which would ensure that the families concerned would be mourning in what should be a season of joyful celebration.
This year alone, Nigeria has recorded a chilling catalogue of unnatural disasters. There was the mass roasting of more than one hundred fuel thieves in Jigawa State.There was the unfortunate deaths of scores when a religious procession turned deadly in Aba, Abia State. In a move that demonstrated the appalling disregard some Nigerians have for their lives, days after the Jigawa fuel tanker explosion, some fuel thieves were caught in action in Akamkpa, Cross Rivers State, scooping fuel from a fallen tanker. Earlier this year, some students of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, were trampled to death when a stampede ensued during the sharing of rice handed out by the state government.
In a country riven by poverty and corruption, the overpowering temptation is for anything to go. But what is the use of risky folly which promises huge rewards if it proves fatal? What use will be the struggle for a good life if life is suddenly and painfully ended?
Why do many Nigerians sidestep safety measures ordained by common sense, plunge headlong into risk, all the while banking on supernatural forces to rescue them?
It speaks to the very low quality of life in Nigeria that many Nigerians have zero regard for their lives as well as for the lives of others. Those who take unnecessary risks like scooping fuel from fallen tankers or crossing the expressway when pedestrian bridges are begging to be used show the terribly little respect they have for their lives.
The same goes for those who throw themselves in the line of fire of poorly paid and unprofessional security agents during protests. Apart from those who show that their lives mean nothing to them by the way they live, there are also others who endanger others. Predictably, many of those who have little regards for their lives end up putting others at risk.
These people who are killers by any other name include those who peddle fake drugs and other adulterated products including food. They also include those who willfully disregard safety protocols in public, say on the roads, meant to keep themselves and others safe.
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This needless painful death of innocent children at a funfair meant to give them a taste of what Christmas will bring, tragically shines a harsh light on how easily life can be snuffed out in Nigeria. It must also provoke a flood of questions: what measures did the organizers take to ensure the safety of children they had corralled to the venue?
What measures did the authorities take to protect children who could not protect themselves?
It is not enough to arrest the organizers after tragedy. It amounts to locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. Nigeria must become more proactive in issues of security and safety.
