MORE LESSONS FROM PROF. FESTUS IYAYIS SUCIDE #Eye-witnesses told me ASUU-UNIBEN bus over-sped or competed with Gov. Wada convoy# There is a superstitious belief in Nigeria that any time there is an accident involving a Governors convoy in Nigeria (it is often misrepresented by the agitators and the excited) that the Governors convoy must be at fault. Such a weird belief is often a superstition. It is also the same way okada men, in Lagos, often blame the motorist despite being at fault. I am not holding brief for Gov. Wada; but when the Governors convoy is on the road they always blow sirens which could be heard miles away and a responsive motorist could prepare on time. I was not at the accident scene at the time the event occurred; but I rushed down from Abuja to the scene the following day where I saw things for myself and heard first-hand account from eye witnesses. (The truth is that most excited reporters and journalists did not report from the accident scene but from twisted stories gathered from blackberries, etc). Most of the time accident victims are often unduly exonerated; yet we conviniently forget that an event such as accident is often an interaction between the presumed offender and the victim, and that both the offender and the victim played self-subverting roles. There are a couple of scenerio that could be reconstructed from the Lokoja event. On the one hand, it is possible that in sweying the convoy the pilots kissed the ASUU-UNIBEN bus which might not have slowed down as it is evident from the state of the bus. Generally, Presidents and Governors convoys are moved in snake-like form for security reasons; and that is why they blow sirens to keep other motorists at alert. On the other hand, it is possible that ASUU-UNIBEN bus driver ignored the siren (either unilaterally or on the insistence of the occupants) so as to register their protest against what is most often misunderstood as Governors road recklessness. The second scenerio is more likely the case. (There is also a third possible scenerio which has to do with excessive bus chatter by excited like-minds or sleep-driving by ASUU driver who is most often not a professional but junior lecturer). Every trained or professional driver knows that he must give way to the siren. Not giving way to the siren is recklessness; not giving way to the Governors convoy is rightly viewed as security threat. So next time when you see a convoy in your rear mirror, slow down and give way dont protest at the wrong time.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 07:54:18 +0000
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