At least 35 children have died and six others were seriously injured in a crowd crush at a school fair in Nigeria’s third largest city, Ibadan. Police said eight people had been arrested “for their various involvements” in the incident. Among those detained was the main sponsor of the event on Wednesday at Islamic high school, Basorun which was organised by the Wings Foundation and Agidigbo FM radio. Video footage that appeared to be from the scene showed a large crowd of mostly children looking on as others were carried away from an open field. According to local radio, as many as 5,000 young people had been expected at the event, whose programme stated children “will win exciting prizes like scholarships and other bountiful gifts”. There have been several deadly crowd crushes in Nigeria this year. Two students died and 23 were hurt in March as thousands of people gathered for bags of rice being handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University in Central Nigeria. Four women were killed later the same month outside the office of a wealthy businessman in the Northern city of Bauchi, where they were waiting to collect a cash gift of 5,000 naira to help pay for food during Ramadan. Witnesses said members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the money, causing a crush.  In a related scene, 10 persons were confirmed dead in a stampede at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama Abuja on Saturday, 21st December, 2024 during the distribution of food items. This is so sad!!! 

In this type of situation, who do we blame? Do we blame the organisers for trying to put smiles on the faces of children and vulnerable persons during this yuletide season or do we blame the economic situation in the country that was caused by the sudden withdrawal of fuel subsidy by Tinubu led administration? This is quite unfortunate. In the reaction by the President's spokesman, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President “while expressing sadness over the tragic incident, emphasized that it was imperative to determine whether negligence or deliberate actions contributed to the incident, ensuring a transparent and accountable process.” If I am allowed to comment on what the presidential spokesman has said, I will say the incident was either negligence or deliberate or even the combination of the two because going by the economic situation in the country your guess will be as good as mine.  I have lived for more than three scores of my life in Nigeria and I can tell that the current economic fortune in the country is a clear departure from what Nigeria used to be. Shortly before this event, people have been complaining bitterly that the poor can no longer breathe but the government has been insensitive to the yearnings of the downtrodden.  In as much as I blame the people who went for free food or gifts for being greedy, because it was unwise for them to have gone to such places with all the members of their families.  It was reported that a woman who came with about 4 children lost two of them.  Why going there with such a crowd because going there with such a number will increase the population.  There was no way you would organise a giveaway program of such a magnitude that you would not have the kind of crowd that caused this type of unfortunate stampede. People should learn to be contented with the little God has provided for them instead of being greedy and selfish.

All these economic woes started with the previous administration which left behind a dozen of problems for Nigerians to swallow. As they were leaving, a congo of garri had hit 400 naira while rice and beans were hovering between 1000 and 1500 naira. The people could still manage to hold up. Then came the present administration, with the I-too-know policies that finally nailed the coffin built by the out-gone government, who also was the biggest beneficiary of the political sagacity. Fiam! Garri today is 1200 naira per congo in Ibadan. Rice is 3500 naira. Beans, now between 4500 and 5000 per congo is completely out of reach of the common man. Ororo (vegetable oil) is now costlier than oxygen. Accommodation in Nigeria has now skyrocketed, meat and fish are now only imagined in meals, all thanks to the high inflationary rates occasioned by the arbitrary fuel subsidy removal. The result of this is that even citizens who have a source of income can hardly afford the basic things of life today as hunger has become a common phenomenon in Nigeria. Do we blame the poorest of the poor who now looked up to the philanthropists for their survival? This unpopular policy of subsidy removal by the current administration has brought nothing but hunger and untold hardship on the people. Little wonder any time there is some announcement on radio for freebies, especially food, it will be hard to contain the crowd.  The growing hardship is not peculiar to Ibadan alone. From Calabar to Kano and from Lagos to Maiduguri and to Abuja the story is the same.

Recently, when the people of Nigeria came out to demand for food through the “End Hunger Protest”, what was the outcome? The government practically muted their voices and called their bluffs and raised the hunger gear to another level. Elsewhere, no government would sit back and watch life snuffed out of its citizens due to lack. In those nations that care, governments provide free foods and clothing for the poorest of the poor. The less privileged could easily walk into designated places and pick up food and other essential items for free. In some cases, meal tickets are dished out to the hungry. This is because such caring nations realize that what makes life is not those bogus policies that will rather strangulate than bring succour to the people. They understand that governance is about ensuring the basic needs of the people are met while empathy is the hallmark of leadership. It is for the insensitivity of those in the Nigerian government that individuals and NGOs like that of Olori Naomi Silekunola, the Catholic Church out of empathy, would want to step in to fill in the gap where those in power have failed. A nation of lawless rulers from top to bottom has no justification to point accusing fingers to organisers of events meant to bring succour to the poor. Leaders who violate the same laws that they swear to protect have no moral grounds to pass judgements. Since so many young Nigerians became casualties of the careless recruitment process of the Nigerian Immigration Service that resulted in a stampede years back, who has even been prosecuted on account of that despite the series of probes into the sad event?

Directly or indirectly these unfortunate incidents in Nigeria are connected to the leader since the policies shape the fortune of the country. The same things the government is calling for its probe are the same things the administration is guilty of. The first is negligence. When Nigerians ask for food, you turned them down and left them to their fate, despite voting massively for you. That is negligence of duty. Also, by pushing for policies with ‘long term effects’ with little or no consideration for those quick fixes that will help the people meet their immediate yearnings, the government’s deliberate actions have further impoverished Nigerians and turned them to beggars in their fatherland. While I agree with the call for probe, because it is imperative to determine whether negligence or deliberate actions contributed to the incident, government must also endeavour to remove the log in its eyes first. The Nigerian children who are regarded as the future generation of Nigeria should not be allowed to waste away because of our present negligence and deliberate actions.

God Bless Nigeria!!!