Convoys: One death too many

Adebambo Olumuyiwa

The family of Adebambo Olumuyiwa, one of the two victims of the accident allegedly caused by a convoy in Lagos last week, has called on the authorities to apprehend those responsible, writes ARUKAINO UMUKORO

Described as nice, easygoing, brilliant and hardworking by his close friend and family members, 34-year-old Adebambo Olumuyiwa, who studied business administration at the University of Ado Ekiti and graduated with a Second Class Upper degree, never saw death coming on Wednesday, November 13.

Around 11am on that day, Olumuyiwa was waiting, with his friend, Olusola Adetifa, to board a bus at the U-turn Bus Stop, Abule Egba, Lagos. They were supposed to be on their way to Ikeja. Instead, he was rudely transported to the great beyond after a tipper-truck rammed into pedestrians at the bus stop.

Olumuyiwa and another victim, 63-year-old Mrs. Victoria Adeoye, were killed, while at least nine others were reportedly injured in the crash which eyewitnesses said was allegedly caused by a convoy belonging to the wife of  Kwara State Governor, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed. They claimed the convoy drove recklessly into the expressway from a side road without stopping to check for oncoming vehicles.

Adetifa, who was just beside the victim when the accident occurred, said both of them had been discussing about how convoys have caused many accidents before the incident happened.

“On that Wednesday morning, we were waiting at the U-turn Bus Stop, before Abule Egba junction, to board a bus to Ikeja. While waiting, we saw the convoy waiting to enter the expressway, blaring siren, and we were discussing about it when I heard a loud noise, Gboom! By the time I looked at one side, I saw the tipper had already killed a woman and also knocked my friend down to the other side,” Adetifa told SUNDAY PUNCH.

Although he stated that it was the truck that killed his friend, who was buried on Friday, he emphasised that the convoy was responsible for the accident.

“Motorists are always afraid of them (convoys). The convoy should have waited before entering the road; it 

entered the expressway without considering other road users. I think the (driver of the) tipper was afraid of the convoy on seeing it and was trying to avoid it, or maybe the brakes failed. But if the convoy had waited until the road was free before entering, the accident  wouldn’t have happened. It was because of the convoy that my friend died,” Adetifa said, adding that he did not know how he managed to escape without any injury.

Ahmed has since denied that her convoy caused any accident in Lagos, adding that the convoy narrowly escaped from the accident rather than causing it. A statement from the former Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Media and Communication, Dr. Muideen  Akorede, had corroborated her claims. “I have been reliably briefed by several people in the convoy, including the wife of the governor. The facts indicate that Mrs. Ahmed’s convoy narrowly escaped from the accident rather than causing it. The reported accident, tragic as it is, therefore had nothing to do with Mrs. Ahmed or her convoy. However, any loss of life is tragic and sad no matter the cause,” the statement read.

This has, however, drawn the anger of Olumuyiwa’s family. “I was expecting the authorities to intervene and apprehend the perpetrators. Up till now, nobody has contacted us,” the deceased’s  brother, Mr. Adebambo Gbenga, who came to Lagos from his base in Abuja, told SUNDAY PUNCH in an emotion-laden voice.

“I read that the convoy turned after the incident, parked, watched the scene and left. Probably if the people in the convoy had done something immediately, his life could have been saved,” said the victim’s younger sister, Folusho Olawoyi.

For the victim’s brother-in-law, Mr. Olayemi Olawoyi, it was painful that nothing could bring ‘Muyiwa’ back to life. “It is not that we are demanding for compensation. We are not rich but we are comfortable. But it is so painful that we have reckless leaders who don’t care. When you cause an accident, you should be able to take responsibility for it and at least tender an apology. But denying  everything that happened is very painful.

‘‘Do these people think they are governing animals? Muyiwa was a very hardworking person. He should have been married years back but because he wanted the best for his family, that was why he took his time to struggle. He had been working with a non-governmental organisation for the past five years,” he said.

Adetifa also added that, “Even if they give Muyiwa’s family billions of naira, it won’t bring him back.”

Gbenga, however, said justice must prevail. “These people should show up and accept the fact that they were the cause of the accident that killed my brother. It won’t help soothe the pain, but at least we can use this as an example that they can’t just waste people’s lives like that and get away with it,” Gbenga said.

An online portal reported a story recently in which an Oyo State-based lawyer narrated his ordeal while driving on a road plied at the same time by a convoy. Besides, a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Festus Iyayi was killed recently in an accident involving a bus he was travelling in to Kano and a vehicle in the convoy of Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada (retd.).

In order to check the occurence, the  Federal Road Safety Corps had started  an extra professional training for drivers of convoys. The Lagos State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Chidi Nkwonta said the training was designed to monitor  competence level of the drivers.

“It is a special class of license for convoy drivers to show that they are specialists, because there are many driving situations they have to deal with. So their level of proficiency is supposed to be better than that of the ordinary driver. Convoys are not supposed to move above 90 on a highway and 100 on an expressway,” he told our correspondent on the telephone.

According to Nkwonta, the training, which started in 2012 and was approved by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, was stopped that same year because most of the drivers claimed that there were too busy

“Most of them have not made  themselves available for training. They gave excuses that they were busy. FRSC made overtures to them through the NGF. The governors also saw the need to train their drivers because they have also had near misses. They asked the FRSC to organise it. Another thing that affected the training was the split in the NGF, so we decided to deal with individual states. Only about seven states have taken the training,” he said.

Besides the lack of more training, Nkwonta noted that ‘executive recklessness, which dwelt on arrogance, and impunity, were other reasons for convoy-related accidents. He further said convoy drivers were   not above the law.

He said, “They (convoy drivers) see themselves as being bigger than any other motorists when they are on the highway because they are close to power. But, they are not above the law. They are expected to obey all traffic rules, including consideration for other road users. They do not have monopoly on the use of road.’’

He also urged motorists who encountered any unpleasant experience from convoys to get their number plates,  know their destinations and report to the FRSC for assistance.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command,  Ngozi Braide, did not pick the calls made to her phone. She also did not reply the text message sent to her phone.