Afeez Hanafi, Femi Makinde and Tobi Aworinde
A roasted-corn seller simply identified as Mama Favour, described the situation as very horrible and that she had yet to recover from the shock, despite the fact that it happened about two days ago (Thursday).
“I was at my stand roasting corn and hoping to finish all the fresh corn that I brought from the market on that Thursday morning,” she said as she turned her corn so that it doesn’t get burnt.
Mama favour told our correspondents that the incident had spiritual undertones.
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She said her son who was with her on Thursday had the premonition that there was going to be an evil occurrence about ten minutes before the tanker fire explosion.
She said, “My son came with me to the scene on Thursday and he told me that he was feeling strange. He said his body was shaking and that his head was ‘getting bigger”.
“I didn’t even pay attention to it until he said that he felt it was a bad omen. As he was telling me, my eyes were on my corn and the umbrella was obstructing me. Immediately he called out to me saying, ‘Mummy, see’, in an attempt to look up, the next thing I heard was the sound of the explosion. I lost my sanity immediately and we started running.
“I ran from this Otedola Bridge to the Lagos State Secretariat before we stopped. I forgot totally about my corn and even lost my phone in the process.”
An artisan, Mr. John Okoro, also corroborated Mama Favour’s experience.
He said, “This thing is not ordinary, anyone who is deceived should better wake up. Bad things are always happening at this same spot. How do you explain a situation where the tanker driver and the motor boy would escape without a scratch and several other people would die?”
Another roadside trader said she also had a premonition of the incident, a day before it happened.
“On that fateful day, I was feeling funny so I decided not to come out only for me to hear the news of what happened. I wasn’t surprised but of course I felt bad that people lost their lives. I called my sister’s attention to what I told her about some strange people that I saw on the bridge. I also told her that wasn’t the end of it.
Accidents not caused by gods’ anger — Elebuibon
One of the most prominent Ifa priests in the world, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, has advised Nigerians to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition while drivers should be in the right frame of mind before setting out to drive on the roads.
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He also called on the government to rehabilitate roads and restrict the movement of heavy duty trucks to the night in order to reduce frequent accidents and carnage on Nigerian roads.
The Ifa priest, who is a visiting lecturer at the San Francisco State University in California, United States, said the number of needless deaths recorded daily on Nigerian roads would drastically reduce if Nigerians began to obey traffic rules and do other necessary things while urging them to stop blaming the gods for their negligence.
He said, “It is true that there may be tragedies in various forms if we refused to make sacrifices to some deities. But I don’t think the accidents on Otedola Bridge in Lagos, happened because the gods were angry.
“The three statues erected there are not gods. They are sculptures made by artists and I think they were put there as decoration. We need to examine ourselves as government and as individuals.”
We’ll be more proactive – LASEMA
Speaking shortly after the close of emergency operation at the scene of the tanker explosion on Friday, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Adesina Tiamiyu, said the agency would work with other stakeholders to prevent a recurrence.
Tiamiyu said the government would henceforth enforce traffic rules pertaining to tankers and other articulated vehicles to the letter.
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He said, “The casualty figure remains nine; those who were wounded remain four. A lot of Nigerians have asked us why trailers, especially tankers, are allowed to drive in the daytime. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was here and this information was put before him. I am sure stakeholders will meet about it very soon and take the decision that is best for Lagosians”
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