CAREFREE DRIVING OF TOP GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONARIES’ CONVOY

The incessant road accidents caused by the carefree/reckless driving of top government functionaries’ is really disheartening and nothing to write home about.  Honestly, nobody is happy about it.  There were many occasions when government convoys had killed innocent Nigerians on the road with their excessive speedy drives.

We are writing this sad story as a result of Saturday February 1^st 2014 accident where the Ondo State, Deputy Governor convoy ran into the car of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Akure Journalist and the Chairman of the NTA Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Alex Akinwale, his pregnant wife, Kehinde Akinwale, their two children and a househelp and killed all of them at the spot.

ALEX AKINWALE (Deseased NTA Akure Journalist)

Wrecked Akinwale's Vehicle at Akure

A traditional ruler, the Osunmakinde of Ife Tuntun, Osun state, Oba Obawure Taofeek Olaposi, who was also involved in the accident, survived but was seriously injured and his on admission in Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Akure.

There had been many other car crashes incidents with top government functionaries’ convoys from time immemorial.  We could still remember a case precisely December 23, 2000 when a car in the then Minister of Works, Chief Dapo Sarumi’s convoy crashed into a just wedded couple’s car (Mr & Mrs Victor Umoren) and killed the two of them, instantly.  The lady was carrying two months old pregnancy.  The couple was coming from a three day retreat at the Eko Beach Resort along Lagos-Epe Expressway to plan for the future.

Another recent scenario was just last year, 2013, which involved an accident of the convoy of Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada.  It was reported that a vehicle in the Governor’s convoy rammed into the bus conveying some members of the University of Benin branch of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to attend the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Kano, forcing it to somersault three times.  Other passengers in the bus sustained varying degrees of injury while Professor Festus Iyayi, former President of the ASUU lost his life. 

It is not only government convoy that is involved in the reckless driving; the Police Force is another entity that should be held responsible too.  There were many occasions that the Police armored vehicles conveying money to Banks had killed human beings on the road and they go away with it.  I could remember a year when I was in Yaba College of Technology as I was coming out of my school, a Police armored car almost knocked me down.  It was by God’s grace that I escaped a car crash that day; it was as if they even tried to scare me off the road because the driver of the vehicle seemed to shift his steering towards me with fun and they were not remorseful about it.

I think it will be very kind enough if our government could address this inhuman attitude most especially as it involved them before it become a crisis.  It is causing lost of lives and everybody kept quiet about it.  People’s precious lives are being wasted.  Can you imagine how a whole family was wasted as in the case of February 1^st 2014?  a just new year,  and the rest of the people mentioned above.  The lives of the families of these people can never be the same again.  They will always have a wounded hearts each time they remember the death of their beloved.  These people could have been among able Nigerians contributing their own quota to the development of our nation.

I am sure it is not like that in the so called developed countries.  Please let us make a change and don’t let us be enemies of ourselves. 
...a word is enough for the wise

#ShakirahSays#