WHEN FUEL TANKERS BECOME BOMBS
Regulators must do more to stem the scourge
As of the weekend, the death toll from the tanker explosion in Essa community, Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State, had risen to about 60. The tragic incident occurred last Tuesday when a petrol tanker overturned and spilled its contents. In what has become a familiar tragedy, desperate residents reportedly attempted to scoop up the fuel, triggering a massive explosion. While we commiserate with the families of the deceased, the tragedy has provoked the usual outrage as well as promises from relevant authorities. But we have been on this road several times before.
That the number of fatalities arising from petrol tanker explosions on our roads is getting increasingly high should indeed raise serious concerns. That people would be so desperate to rush to scoop fuel after such accidents should also compel a public enlightenment campaign, especially for rural people. In 2020, which witnessed the highest number of these accidents, there were 1,531 petrol tanker crashes resulting in 535 deaths and injuries to 1,142 people, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). That is apart from the billions of Naira that is lost to such fire incidents, and the survivors who bear scars for the rest of their lives. In four separate incidents within a spate of one week in 2015, no fewer than 100 people were killed with property worth hundreds of millions of Naira destroyed. About 85 people also died in Onitsha, Anambra State, when a petrol laden tanker lost control and rammed into a public motor park. Several buildings, vehicles and property worth millions of Naira were consumed by the fire. Scores of others were left with different degrees of burns.
In the wake of recent calamities, there were conversations about the nightmare that fuel tanker drivers have become in the country, but nothing has been done to tackle the menace, despite suggestions by relevant stakeholders. In many countries, as we have repeatedly highlighted, petroleum products are transported through pipelines, and not by putting thousands of vehicles on bad roads every day as we do. Perhaps because of the high number of fatalities from this latest explosion, the conversation has resumed but if past experiences are any guide, nothing will likely happen in what has become a vicious cycle of avoidable tragedies.
To identify and address the factors responsible for these incessant petroleum tanker crashes and explosions, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) last year launched a stakeholders’ initiative. Institutions involved include the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and other key players. Issues identified as causes of these accidents included “drivers’ mental alertness and attitude,” and that some trucks load fuel in excess of safe limits.
Following a similar explosion in Jigawa State of an overturned fuel tanker which killed about 150 people, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the nation must “reflect on the importance of safety measures and public awareness to prevent such incidents in the future,” while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, urged the federal government to explore the option of transporting fuel via rail across the country, adding that it has become pertinent to train drivers involved in the transportation of flammable products, and a “review the protocol for the transportation of petroleum products and other inflammable products” . But Nigerians are still waiting for concrete measures which will help to put an end to these avoidable tanker explosions that continue to take the lives of our people.
