What Joe Blankson could not find in life he seems to easily get in death. The Rivers State government has offered a job to the wife of the late hero at sea and scholarships to his three children.
The 36-year-old Bakana Degema-born Joe Blankson from Rivers State who died saving the 14th drowning person last two weeks has also been scheduled for honour by the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN).
The story of how the public-spirited father of three died at sea during a boat accident as continued to evoke pity and attract sympathetic attention worldwide, Nigerian governments are yet to speak up.
Many think Blankson is the true copy of the Nigeria many look up to, against the selfishness and callousness that seem to rule humanity at the moment.
The promise to honour Blankson came at the service of songs on Thursday in Port Harcourt. NYCN made the promise at the Kings Chapel Church held in honour of Blankson. The boat mishap, in which only Blankson died, took place last month in Bakana, an Island in Rivers State.
Though Blankson was buried the same day he died due to customs over drowning, the church service availed acquaintances and sympathisers the opportunity to pay their last respect to the well-hailed and pro-life Blankson.
“We have lost a vibrant young Nigerian. We are delegated by the NYCN to be part of this and to give our last respect to one of us. We are here on the mandate of the Nigerian youths to sympathise and to console the family because what he did was a wonderful thing Nigerians never expected. He has become a hero.
“Even in our activism at the NYCN, we would look forward on how to honour him nationally. This is just the mourning moment,” NYCN president, Sokubo Sara-Igbe Sokubo, said after leading a delegation to the people-packed service.
Sokubo advised youths to follow Blankson’s trait of self-sacrifice in order to make Nigeria better.
“We encourage the young people that they should emulate the young man. We encourage every young person to love one another, both in politics, in business and in religion,” he said.
How it happened
Reports said: “On that fateful day, the boat, with 25 passengers onboard, reportedly left Abonnema Wharf for Bakana. There was downpour that lasted several hours, across the state. The rainfall, sources said, increased the water level with debris floating on the sea.
One of the survivors, who did not want his name mentioned in print said, the boat driver was on high speed at a bend in Iboroma, when the accident occurred.
It was also gathered that the waterways were very dirty to a level that any object could capsize a boat, if it finds its way into the propeller.
Spokesman of the State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident, saying Blankson died after rescuing 13 passengers.
The boat accident, which happened at about 2.45pm on Saturday, left six persons drowned, 19 others rescued. The corpse of one of the victims had been recovered, while others were still missing, as at the time of filing the report.
The reports have remained conflicting, as the police has not confirmed death toll, only confirming the incident. The boat owners association said only one person died and dared anyone who knew someone more who died to step forward.
Thousands more mourn Blankson
Thousands of Nigerians on Thursday, trooped into Kings Chapel to pay their final respect to Blankson who lost his life in a boat mishap last month. Blankson died after his strength failed him while trying to save the 14th person.
In attendance were those who knew him – family members, friends, neighbours and others – as well as those – within and beyond Port Harcourt – who didn’t know him prior to his death but heard of his heroic sacrifice.
“He (Joseph Blankson) is one of the heroes Nigerians will forever remember, particularly we the youths,” Sokubo said. “We sympathise with the family and we ask that the loss should not be lost. At every level, God should replace that loss a million fold to his family.”
For Prince Richard Egbelekro, president of Buguma Youth Council (BYC) who doubles as Kalabari Youths president: “We see him as more than a hero. I call him a role model to the youths, not just to the Kalabari people where he came from, not just to Rivers State youths, but to us the Nigerian people and the world at large.”
“He has always been a selfless person. Joe will always go overboard to put a smile on the faces of people around himself. He was an ideal man actually. Joe was a good man. (Calling him a) hero doesn’t cut it for me. I will call him ‘a selfless man’,” said a former classmate and legal practitioner, Eby Harry.
A life of public sympathy
BusinessDay gathered at the service of songs that the 36-year-old graduate, in his lifetime, was known for helping others, a habit that must woken at sea when he swam to safety but swam back to help 13 persons who had problems swimming out. It was in his 14 attempts, according to sources, that he lost out.
It was gathered that he wore no safety gears such as life jacket during the trip. Some said he had good knowledge of sea diving, having grown up in the riverine area.
The mother, a nurse, Elizabeth, said of Joe:
He was a very kind person and always ready to show kindness to others, even if it would cause him pains. He was not rich but usually driven by passion to show kindness whenever there was an opportunity to do so. If you call him a humanitarian, you will not be wrong.
He was a son I loved so much. He could not do without me and nothing could stop him from visiting me in a day. If he failed to see me in a day, he would be unhappy. Anytime I see him, it was as if I had seen my husband. He was a replica of my husband. He was like a husband to me. He was an obedient child, jovial and friendly to many people. He also never joked with church activities. I lost my husband last year. He was ill and died after eight weeks in the hospital.
Career:
Blankson was a graduate just like all his siblings from a nurse-mother, but he had to hustle to manage his home because of lack of job. His wife is said to be a graduate who is making about N1,000 per day making and selling zobo, a local beverage. Until his death, he was a contractor with some oil and gas companies in Trans-Amadi area of Port Harcourt, where he supplied diesel, a newspaper report stated.
The family’s economic capacity
The mother of the hero told Punch about the wife: She is also a graduate but unemployed. She studied Microbiology in one of the private universities in the country. She sells zobo drink. I think she completed her studies with a good grade. I am bereaved in many ways. On Thursday (July 26), when I asked my son about the profit his wife usually made from zobo drink, he told me that sometimes she made about N1,000 a day. She would use the money to cook soup. Sometimes, they came to my place to take foodstuff.
I have five children and Joe was my second son. I am worried about the future of my grandchildren. Their father showed them so much love while he was alive. I will be very grateful if help can come their way. I will be so happy if government can award them scholarship. I retired as a nurse and I rely on pension.
All my children are graduates but they have no jobs. They graduated four to five years ago. One of my children studied Law and another one read Petroleum Engineering
Government reaction:
Rivers State government has come into the matter. The deputy governor, Ipallibo Harry Banigo, first visited the widow and saw things for herself. Next, the woman was taken to Governor Nyesom Wike. After the visit, the woman told BusinessDay that the governor promised her a job and scholarship for her children.
The state government also promised to revive the training centre for boat drivers and begin strict implementation of safety rules, especially manifest to know who actually was at sea.
Also, the chairman of Degema Local Government Council, Tony Philmoore, has vowed to make water transport safer and pleasurable in the area. He said this during a meeting with stakeholders including marine transport owners and drivers associations operating in the area at Abonnema Wharf.
The council boss promised to organise quarterly health, safety, security and environment (HSES) training for marine drivers in Degema Local Government Area. He also promised to provide personal protective equipment for both drivers and passengers plying the waterways, especially those on the Bakana, Oguruawo, Bille, Tombia and Cawthorne Channel routes, for the safety and wellbeing of the passengers, as well as the drivers.
He warned against flouting safety rules and the use of alcohol and hard drugs by boat drivers and promised to establish a health, security and safety task force to regulate and prosecute erring drivers.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Degema Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Farah Dagogo, has condoled with the families of those who lost loved ones in the ill-fated boat mishap in Bakana community.
Boat operators: Clear the debris
Boat drivers say they are happy with the new measures on sea transportation coming in the state, they have been accused of violations. The thanked the chairman for the meeting and hearing from them. They debunked the report that nine persons were missing in the unfortunate incident adding that the corpse of the only person who died whose body had since been recovered. They challenged anyone, who says otherwise, to present proof of missing passengers on the ill-fated boat, as all families that had loved ones on the boat, had since been reunited with them, except the unfortunate one that drowned.
On his part, chairman of the Boat Drivers Union, Okorite Isaac, appealed to the relevant authorities to clean debris and refuse from the river, as they constitute safety hazards and endanger lives of travellers
Speaking, chairman of Abonnema Wharf Community, Taribo Benson, advised boat drivers against overloading their boats for pecuniary reasons. He enjoined them to always use manifest to properly document passengers to avoid future controversies as is being experienced.
Senator reacts: calls for stiffer regulations
Governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Magnus Ngei Abe, has called for stiffer regulations for the marine transport sector in the state in order to check incessant cases of boat mishap on the waterways.
Abe spoke against the backdrop of a recent boat accident along the Bakana waterways, which resulted in several fatalities.
He said the state government ought to do more by ensuring that those responsible for movement of passenger-boats on waterways in the state live up to their responsibilities.
Abe, who is also the senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, said: “We need to find out exactly why these things continue to occur and people are not being held accountable. What are the rules and regulations that guide our waterways? Who are those responsible for enforcement of the rules? Why do we continue to throw precious lives away without taking action?”
What are we doing to ensure that whoever is responsible is held accountable and punished to ensure that it does not happen again to other people?
“More importantly, we need to realise that when we do not have regulations, or where we have regulations and we fail to enforce them, where people are charged with responsibility and they fail to discharge that responsibility and in the process lives are lost, those responsible for that thing that they did not do are responsible for those lives that are lost.
“As we stand here today, people have died on our waterways. If these passengers had life jackets, if they obeyed the regulations that govern our waterways, all these people that are dead will today be alive”.
“We must go beyond issuing statements”
“We must take practical steps to punish those that are responsible and to ensure that this does not happen again, so that tomorrow, we do not need to pay this kind of visit to another mother that is grieving”.
The Senator further said, “From what I gathered, several other lives were lost. There are several homes today where there is no joy. Strong action must be taken to forestall a repeat of this tragedy.”
Responding on behalf of the family, Nimi Bobmanuel expressed happiness over Abe’s visit and thanked him for his compassionate words.
