ROAD SAFETY ARTICLE
I admire Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo for several reasons. First, he is the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Secondly, he is a Pastor and also a lawyer. Although I have never met him in person, I believe that he is not just God fearing but he is also a simple and humble Nigerian. These qualities I must confess I admire and pray for even as I look forward to meeting him someday and hope he accepts to be my mentor. Although he is the Vice President and a Pastor, he understands the need to seek God’s face through prayer and also to take appropriate action to solve national challenges or any other individual challenges. Like him, I believe we must learn to pray to avert road traffic crashes buy beyond that I also believe in taking preventive measures to curb road traffic crashes involving children and young adults who are the most vulnerable to injury. To borrow from Mr Vice President, we need to pray to curb deaths involving every one especially our future leaders but we must also act through  effective preventive measures.
 Before I dwell on the detailed preventive actions which should involve those of us in the privileged business of saving lives of children described in the Holy Bible as God’s heritage, permit me to state that in all of my career years in the Federal Road Safety Corps, the years between 2009 and 2012 when I had the honor to work in Lagos as Sector Commander, Lagos state was the most interesting and challenging yet tragic for me. Lagos provided me the opportunity to express myself creatively through awareness programmes made possible by a retinue of Non -Governmental Organizations and the media which led to the midwifing of twelve weekly radio and television programmes . The print was not left out as weekly columns were run on more than three national dailies.
 Despite these rare privileges, I will never forget one particular tragedy that occurred while I was in Lagos.Â
Although there were several other tragedies in Lagos under my watch, this particular tragedy is quite touchy and that is why I have chosen to bring it up hoping that we all will wake up and take drastic interventions to stop the maiming, the killings and the trauma. I am talking about the tragedy of Wednesday May 11,2011 on when a road traffic crash occurred at Eko-Akete in Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State, after a school-bus in which some school pupils were being driven reportedly lost control and skidded off its route and crashed with a jeep. Four children died; two out of these four children were of the same parent.
 About six vehicles were involved in that crashed caused by speed Those that died were not belted.Â
The two children of the same family who died were the only two the family had. This was the reaction of the father; ‘’ my wife and I stopped child bearing not because we wanted to but because of my wife’s condition. She had the two through Caesarean Section and the doctor warned us not to conceive anymore because of her health. We have been nurturing these children for the past fourteen years and just in a day, the two killed died in an auto crash’’.Â
Like I said earlier, after the tragedy and even before, there were other tragedies that claimed more lives but my focus is on this particular tragedy. I will try to capture some of them as space allows in my attempt to refresh our minds and awake us collectively to preventive actions that should help stop the deaths or better still reduce incidences and deaths. Let me skip Lagos and cite examples from other parts of the country.
 In March 2010, several persons (students and teachers) from Aricent Nursery and Primary School, Olupitan New Site, Ore in Ondo State, perished in a ghastly road crash on the Ondo-Ore highway. The incident shocked the state and  devastated families .
 Do you still remember the Kano incident involving an 18-seater bus was conveying students and some staff of Government Secondary School, Misau in Bauchi State to Kano on a school excursion when the accident occurred on the Bauchi-Kano highway at Tsaida village in Gaya local government area of Kano State at about 11a.m.Â
The bus collided with an oncoming DAF truck. Reckless driving and speed were identified as probable causes. Among the 22 dead students were 12 boys and 10 girls. There were others who sustained injuries.
I heard and read of the Ikota Primary school in Lagos crash .Four children who were crossing the road after vehicles had been stopped were killed by a truck which rammed into a vehicle. I read that the presence of a footbridge could have saved the children even though in the same Lagos, there are good numbers of footbridges rarely used. Secondly,  responsible driving by the truck driver could have averted this tragedy. There was also the crash at Ogolonto on the way to Ikorodu,in Lagos State where a BRT bus crushed a 15year student that was crossing the road .Report says there is also no foot bridge here. Pockets of other crashes were recorded although not as massive as these other ones cited and probably not reported.
 I do not know if you read or heard of the February 1, 2018 tragedy in Kuje in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory where three pupils aged five, four and two also from the same family lost their lives through a fire disaster on the School bus of Je’nisi Little Drops International Academy, Trademoore Estate Lugbe. Reports claimed that the three pupils were from the same family. Preliminary investigation revealed that the driver was fixing a mechanical fault on the Engine of the bus with the children inside it. This later degenerated into electrical sparks and fire with some children trapped inside the bus. Some pupil were rescued but three (3) were not so lucky as they lost their lives in the Inferno. Also the bus was said to be operating without a fire extinguisher as at the time of the accident.
