A cabinet member died last week. At the presidency, it was gloomy faces and heavy hearts as the death of Labour Minister of State, James Ocholi, was mourned by his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari and colleagues at the Federal Executive Council meeting.
Ocholi was killed in a car crash on his way home from Kaduna. His wife and son also lost their lives in the ghastly accident last Sunday along the Abuja-Kaduna road.
Besides Ocholi, Major General Yusha’u Abubakar who headed Training and Operations in the Nigerian Army was also killed in another car crash along Maiduguri-Damaturu two days after Ocholi.
It was difficult for the President to mourn and still smile. Well, amidst the mourning, he still hosted South African President, Jacob Zuma, who I will come back to after a few paragraphs.
During a valedictory meeting held in honour of Ocholi, as the ministers awaited the arrival of the President, they stood in groups talking about the unfortunate incident, some visibly shaken. You could feel the aura that tried to capture what was going on in their mind- “ I can’t believe it happened to someone so close, it could have been me”.
Then the words began to pour out. The President was obviously really close with the deceased as he recounted their antecedents, some of the ministers were chosen (by the now confirmed senior prefect, the SGF) to eulogise their late colleague on behalf of the council. Soft-sniffing sounds, escaped from different parts of the chambers, signalling efforts to suppress tears.
However, the most interesting part of the day was the presentation of the interim report of the accident by the Federal Road Safety Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi. It stirred some issues that we the living also need to consider.
In its report to FEC last Wednesday, the FRSC alleged that the driver drove at a very high but undetermined speed when he had a burst tyre. There was no record in the driver’s national database of the driver of the minister with the name Taiwo James Elegbede, simply put, he had no valid licence.
There is also the issue of a communication link between the backup vehicle and the minister’s car, as according to the FRSC boss, investigations revealed that the driver of the backup vehicle in the minister’s convoy noticed that the crashed vehicle’s rear left tyre was under-inflated and attempted to alert the driver.
He, however, could not achieve his mission because radio communication equipment was absent in the convoy.
The crashed vehicle, in addition, was well-fitted with seat belts both at the front and rear seats. According to the FRSC report, the ejection of the minister and his son, who occupied the rear seat, confirmed the fact that their rear seatbelts were not in use and on the contrary, the driver and the orderly survived because the front seat belts were in use. Now the question is how do you sit through such a high speech without raising an alarm and ordering the driver (or your driver) to stop? How do you engage a driver without taking a peek at his driver’s licence? (he could be straight out of a driving class with no real road experience).
It is standard practice that cars in a convoy are supposed to be fitted with communication gadgets for a free flow of information between the cars, but this was not the case. The FRSC recommended “the certification and re-certification of convoy drivers at intervals of 2years of issuance of convoy driver’s licence, adherence to traffic rules, repairs of bad spots on highways and also urged the President to lead the campaign on compliance with speed limits, starting with installation of speed limiting devices in commercial vehicles (typical Naija style to wait until something happens before jumping out to fix things).
This is a call for all our ‘big men’ who are chauffeured in a convoy to take time out and check the little details that should be in place in your car or convoy cars. You may want to check out your tyres. Be alert enough to shout at that driver who is pushing everyone off the road (the annoying way some Nigerian convoys drive) in a mad speed as the next destination he may succeed in delivering you to may just be where we don’t you to go just yet. You may also want to send your drivers on periodic training to ensure they are up to date with convoy standards.
On the part of the government, it is time to take the rehabilitation of our roads more seriously. Potholes on some of our highways are sometimes as deep as buckets while some of the expressways have no road furniture like sign posts of speed limits and speed breakers too. Lives of ordinary Nigerians are lost in those road crashes daily too. Just maybe, more lives could be saved.
The South African President’s visit last week, was perceived mostly as a venture to iron out issues between Nigeria and South Africa and this can’t be wrong.
In Nigeria am sure most people are conversant with the landmark fine imposed on MTN by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued a landmark fine of N1.04 trillion ($5.2billion) one of the largest mobile network operators in the country for failing to disconnect subscribers with unregistered and incomplete Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) cards within the stipulated time.
At the joint press briefing after bilateral meetings between the two Presidents, a journalist asked a question relating to the MTN fine crisis and President Buhari could not hold back. He chuckled and said ok let me just address this once and for all. He knew Nigerians have been waiting to know his stand on the matter.
On the other hand Zuma when asked when Nigeria’s confiscated arms money would be returned, indicated that due process is being followed as the relevant agencies were still investigating the matter and would return the monies when done.
Well, I have no idea if Zuma expected a quick fix to one of his country’s biggest business interest when Nigeria’s files were also on his table. Call it tit-for-tat. If Nigeria must be taken seriously, we have to stick to our processes too. You break our laws, you pay.
Meanwhile, at the Presidential Villa, the authorities decided to embark on serious security checks again ( however inconsistent because it could not be sustained through the week), this time going to the extent of taking attendance of guests and staff alike. There was a clear duplication of efforts. You are checked at the entrance gate to be sure you have a tag admitting you into the Presidential Villa, you are checked yet again when you step into the villa.
On the day of the South African President’s visit, I was shocked when asked to write my name on a list, even when I showed my ID, a special pass for journalists accredited to the State House (don’t blame me, this was obviously new to me as I had been checked at about 3 different posts to be sure I had the right tag for that entrance).
Well, a peek at the sheet, I saw my other colleagues had written theirs (it was the topic for the rest of the day as we all could not stop wondering what would come next). The next day I dutifully stopped to put down my name on the sheet which was still there anyway, but I got a response of “oh no need, you have your tag” (but I had a tag yesterday too). Was I confused? Yes, but as we now say, here, it is one week, one problem or something new.
On a final note, let me wish our very own Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a happy birthday (though belated). May your strength be increased for the days and tasks ahead.
Elizabeth Archibong
