Ambode: Rising to the task of dousing recurring tanker fires
With two major tanker explosions in a space of three days, and four other similar incidents averted, leaving hous- es and properties worth several millions of naira destroyed in their trail, the first week for Governor Akinwunmi Am- bode, the new helmsman of Lagos, could not have been more difficult.
But the events that followed would prove that Ambode is prepared for the task of running the affairs of Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan and complex state.
The governor had embarked on an offi- cial trip to Abuja, at the close of work on Monday, June 1, and was to come back in the state on Tuesday evening.
However, on receiving the informa- tion that a tanker conveying 33, 000 litres of petrol had fallen off the Iyana Ipaja Bridge and spilled its contents resulting in an inferno at midnight, he cancelled his plans and returned to Lagos Tuesday morning heading to the scene of the inci- dent from the airport to access the extent of damage.
When it was done, 44 shops, 21 cars and six tricycles (Keke Marwa), parked along five streets within the area, had been destroyed, with 14 persons injured.
No life was, however, lost in the raging in- ferno, thanks to the Lagos State Fire Ser- vice and other agencies which response was prompt.
Governor Ambode’s arrival at the scene of the disaster must have elicited some hope in the victims who, upon sighting the governor shouted “Ambo, Atide”.
Unhappy with what he saw, and based on the information by the residents of the area, the governor blamed the accident on the indiscipline of the truck driver, saying it was high time measures were put in place to prevent such occurrences in the future.
For a man saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of Lagosians, a similar inci- dent in Badagry and Ojo, same day the Iyana Ipaja explosion was reported, was enough to call the tanker drivers to order.
The Badagry incident, according to the state fire service was the fault of the driver of the truck who was contesting the road with another articulated vehicle before it went tumbling.
Upon being briefed, Ambode said “It would mean that our tanker drivers have to start to do something about their op- erations. We cannot continue to record loss of lives and properties because our tanker drivers’ are not disciplined.”
The governor did not just commiser- ate with the traders and residents on their losses, he left them with a promise that the state government would ensure that those who had lost properties and their shops, would get succor to enable them get back to their normal business lives.
“I would receive the report of the fire incident in the next 48 hours and we would ensure we do something to ensure that life can return to normal,” he said.
But while the rubbles from the Iyana Ipaja incident was still being cleared up and the extent of damage accessed, another tanker conveying petroleum product fell on Idimu Road.
The Idimu incident which occurred few minutes into midnight on Saturday, June 6, was more devastating as over 70 shops and 34 houses were destroyed leaving hundreds homeless.
Rasaq Fadipe, the director of the Lagos State Fire Service attributed the incident to the driver of the tanker said to have been contesting the road with another tanker on a sharp bend resulting in the petrol-laden tanker falling and spilling its contents to over 100 metres from where it occurred.
Again, Ambode was at the scene to sympathize and give hope to the victims. His mood was enough to show his dis- dain for what had become a recurring decimal in his first week in office.
When it was time for him to speak, the governor did not mince words.
For him, the Idimu crash was one too many and it was time to match words with action if continued loss of properties must be prevented.
“We do not want this to repeat itself again. We have said it before, we need to address our tanker drivers and start to enforce our traffic laws. I have directed that the union of tanker drivers should meet with us on Monday morning and we must make pronouncement relating to the usage of our roads. Moved by the pleas of some residents who lost their properties to the inferno, the governor directed the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASE- MA), to collate the names of victims so as to provide immediate relief to cushion their pain. After being conducted round the affected houses, he assured that the state agencies and local council would give clothing, food and shelter as relief to the displaced.
“We will estimate all the destroyed items and once they are ready, we will give support to you all,” Ambode said.
However, in furtherance of his re- solve to tackle the issue headlong, the governor by the following Monday, June 8, 2015 convened a meeting of all stake- holders in the transportation sector with a mandate to forestall further tankers ac- cidents in the state.
At the meeting held at the Conference Room of the Lagos House, Ikeja, Ambode set up a committee chaired by Tunji Bel- lo, the secretary to the state government (SSG) to examine the immediate and re- mote causes of the incidences witnessed the previous week.
The committee would also prepare guidelines for ethical conduct for tanker drivers over the next two weeks.
Other members of the committee include two permanent secretaries in the state public service, deputy commis- sioner of police in charge of operations, Lagos command, sector commander of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC), director of fire service, representatives from the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), National Union of Petroleum amd Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) and Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA).
The governor also charged the com- mittee to open a discussion with the in- surance industry with a view to agreeing on appropriate policies that would pro- tect and indemnify victims in the event of future occurrences.
“I belief we have created the platform to bring immediate relief to those who have been affected. We are also waiting for the two final reports on the two in- cidences in Ipaja and Idimu in which we will take appropriate actions to bring fur- ther relief for our people”.
“I know that it is in the interest of ev- ery Lagosian that we extend the enforce- ment of traffic laws to all drivers in Lagos State. It is not only tanker drivers that of- fend us. We would not wait until anoth- er incident occurs before we take action. We know that all drivers must come un- der the enforcement of our traffic laws,” said the governor.
He maintained that the purpose of his administration is to make life simpler for people and for them to be able to live their life comfortably wherever they are.
“We believed that you should be in- volved because we promised to run an all inclusive government. It is not in our interest to force down directives on the people without getting them involves,” Ambode said just as he commended the fire service, LASEMA, FRSC, and the po- lice for their efforts in averting more of such disasters.
Tunji Bello, chair of the committee reeling out some of the submissions of stakeholders as reasons for the frequent road crashes by tanker drivers, said the present administration has resolved to do the needful to prevent a re- occurrence.
On his part, Remi Ogungbemi, chair- man of AMATO, admitted to the opera- tors not doing enough because there are lapses which are traceable to them, stat- ing that safety should however be every- body’s business.
Babatunde Kokumo, the deputy com- missioner of police (operations), Lagos command, observed there was the need to revisit the issue of drivers in terms of their conduct and morale.
He believed there should be a minimum standard for drivers which could be enforced through the unions which have a lot of influence on them.
Providing a security angle to the car- nages, Hyginus Omeje, the sector com- mander of the FRSC, suggested the se-curity profiling of some of the tanker drivers as the tendency for the crashes occurring in densely populated areas needed deeper investigation
.JOSHUA BASSEY