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Fuel tankers wreak havoc on highways, leave sorrow, tears and blood

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bdullahi Salihu resided in the Lokogoma area of Lokoja before relocating to Felele, Kogi State, where his cousin, a Muslim cleric, Idris Yusuf, lives with members of his family. Together, the cousins were striving to achieve their dreams of giving their children sound education and a good life.

But their plans were cut short on September 23, 2020, in the most horrific way. A tanker explosion killed 28 persons with six of their children among the victims. Abdullahi lost four of his children, while Idris lost two.  Aisha, Aisha Jnr, Wasila, Faiza, Ibrahim and Abdul-Mutallib were heading for school in a bus when the explosion consumed them. The mothers of the children became unconscious and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital.

Among the casualties were Kogi State Polytechnic students, traders, civil servants, artisans and bystanders. Though the police claimed to have commenced a probe into the incident, nothing has been heard about it since then. Eyewitnesses said the tanker rammed into five cars, two motorcycles and three tricycles, killing all the occupants and some passersby.

The spot, described as a death trap, has claimed dozens of lives in the last few years. Yet, nothing has been done to remedy the situation by both the state and federal authorities.

On December 26, 2007, five persons were killed and seven others injured following a fatal auto crash at the spot. On March 9, 2010, over 70 persons reportedly lost their lives following a tanker explosion. On July 25, 2017, no fewer than 25 persons died as a result of an accident at the infamous Felele bend. On November 18, 2019, eight commuters were killed and seven others injured, while on January 13, 2020, two people lost their lives.

Findings by our correspondent indicate that tanker explosions have claimed over 230 lives between June 2018 and December 2020. Investigations also show that over 70 persons sustained serious injuries in crashes involving tankers and other articulated vehicles during the period. Properties estimated at millions have also been lost to tanker fires without compensation to the victims.

The frequent crashes seem to have defied solutions as no week passes without reports of deadly tanker explosions across the country. On December 23, 2020, no fewer than 16 persons lost their lives when a fuel-laden tanker lost control and exploded in the Gaika area of Jebba in the Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State. About 30 houses and other commercial property were also razed, rendering their owners homeless and destitute. Many of the victims are still in hospitals battling to survive their injuries. Needless to say, their lives may never be the same again.

The gory catalogue of tanker explosions in the country read like a nuclear holocaust. On July 23, 2020, about 20 persons were reportedly burnt to death along the Benin-Sapele-Warri Highway when a tanker conveying a petroleum product fell and exploded around the popular Koko junction. No fewer than 10 vehicles were equally gutted by fire.

In January 2019, about 60 persons were feared dead after a petrol tanker veered off the road, caught fire and exploded as people tried to scoop the fuel. The vehicle crashed in the Odukpani area of Cross River State, just north of the state capital, Calabar, around 5pm. The Cross River State police spokeswoman, Irene Ugbo, said the blast could have been sparked by the clashing of steel containers used to scoop up the petrol.

Four months later, 12 people were roasted and 16 others badly injured when a fuel tanker exploded in Gombe on April 14. The driver allegedly lost control of the tanker as he tried to avoid colliding with another truck at a bridge on the outskirts of the city.

“The tanker fell on its side, spilled its contents and exploded, causing an inferno that engulfed other road users,” Gombe State police spokeswoman, Mary Mallum said. “Twelve people were burnt to death, while 16 others were seriously injured and evacuated to hospital for treatment,” she added, accusing the driver, who was among those killed, of reckless driving and excessive speeding.

In June, at least nine people died in the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos, when a petrol tanker crashed, triggering a wildfire that destroyed more than 50 vehicles. On July 1, a total of 60 lives were cut short in a tanker explosion at Ahumbe village on the Otukpo/Makurdi Road. The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Benue State, Baba Aliyu, confirmed to Governor Samuel Ortom that two fire service operatives also died in the incident. In July 2012, at least 104 persons were killed and 50 others wounded as they tried to collect fuel from a petrol tanker after an accident in Rivers State.

According to a report, Lagos State alone records 56 tanker breakdowns weekly. More than 302 tanker crashes were recorded in the state in 2018. The following year, the number of crashes exceeded the reported figure. The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transport, Mr Olawale Musa, was quoted as blaming tanker drivers and owners for the scourge of explosions.

“Most of the accidents involving fuel tankers, both as a result of breakdown and fire breakouts, are due to human factors on the part of the owners and drivers. For example, the Otedola Bridge incident and others were due to carelessness on the part of drivers. Most of them are under the influence of hard drugs, because they believe they need it to be agile behind the steering wheels,” he said.

The World Health Organisation in 2010 estimated that road traffic accidents would be the third leading cause of death worldwide by the year 2020 if preventive actions were not taken to curb them. The global body appears to be right as could be seen in the high rate of fatalities resulting from tanker explosions and other road traffic crashes in the country.

According to the global body, nearly 1.3 million people die each year as a result of road traffic collision, which translates to more than 3,000 deaths per day. Additionally, 20 to 50 million more sustain non-fatal injuries from collisions, and these injuries are important causes of disabilities worldwide.

The WHO report went further to state that 80 per cent of road traffic deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, even though these countries have only about one-third of the world’s registered vehicle fleet. Road traffic injuries are among the three leading causes of death for people between five and 44 years of age. This is, in part, a result of rapid increases in motorisation without sufficient improvement in road safety strategies and land use planning.

Between January and November 2019, the nation recorded over 8,527 road traffic crashes in which 4,163 people were killed, an average of about 12 persons daily. The Federal Road Safety Corps said 59,724 people were involved in the crashes in addition to 14,425 vehicles. While 27,408 were injured in the accidents, 27,523 escaped without injuries. The FRSC attributed the cause of the crashes to human and mechanical errors.

Commenting on the huge loss in human and material resources, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Clement Isong, said, “When you hear that people die (in tanker explosions), the propensity to kill people is incredible. It is not two or three people that die, but 30, 40, 100 and nobody can be satisfied with such a situation.”

One of the measures being put in place, Isong said, was that tankers without safety valves would not load petroleum products at oil depots across the country with effect from January 2021. The valve ensures that flammable liquid does not spill during a crash.

He stated, “The FRSC, the DPR (Department of Petroleum Resources) and the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) are driving the protocol on anti-spill or safety valves. Even if these trucks fall, the products do not spill. This is very key to making sure that there will be no explosion during an accident. We have agreed that from next year, no truck will load at the depots if it does not have the safety valve.”

To enforce the new safety measures, the FRSC officials at the depots are expected to certify tankers and stop those without the valves from lifting products. Against the fact that most of the tanker fleet on the roads are aged, stakeholders are also pushing for assistance from the government to acquire modern trucks to sustain their business.

The initiative is expected to contribute to the reduction of tanker accidents and explosions as the modern trucks are fitted with an automatic braking system, airbags, internal and external cameras, satellite tracking and other gadgets to reinforce safety on the highway.

“What we need in Nigeria is to renew our truck fleet. We are engaging the government to help with their sustainability; the government should assist in rebuilding our fleet. Trucks used to carry 90,000 litres (of petroleum product), but from next year, we will not have trucks carrying more than 45,000 litres,” the MOMAN chief executive officer stated.

While endorsing the fleet renewal initiative, the Corps Marshal, FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, said trucks above 10 years would no longer lift petroleum products or be allowed to operate in the country.

How fast these initiatives will be implemented and their effectiveness remain to be seen.    ,,

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