Five people were officially confirmed dead as a result of the explosion that recently occurred from a fully loaded Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker, at Maryland, along Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way area of Lagos.
The sad episode led to the destruction of several vehicles as well as properties running into billions of naira. Several other people also experienced a diverse degrees of burns, while others suffered different physical injuries.
According to eyewitness accounts, the incident occurred when the gas tanker, which was on top speed, suddenly slipped and exploded, thus leaving in its trail a ball of fire that spread with the speed of lightning.
Unfortunately, as victims of the Maryland incident were still coming to terms with the reality of their pains, miseries and losses, came the sad report that another articulated truck fell into the Oshodi BRT terminal due to mechanical failure. Fortunately, no casualty was recorded from the incident, as the state’s emergency responders swiftly responded.
In view of the needless agony and losses caused by the reckless actions of articulated vehicle drivers, the time has come for stakeholders to put up a common front against the menace which is becoming too close for comfort.
Many pointless mishaps and carnages on our roads are often caused by reckless driving. Articulated vehicles drivers, in particular, need to be more careful and professional in their operation. Across the country, they are mostly notorious for the sloppy manner they function. Findings have shown that several carnages recorded on most roads in the country have been caused by them.
A recent research indicated that out of about 358 transport accidents recorded in Nigeria between 2019 and 2020, 70 per cent involved articulated trucks and heavy‐duty vehicles. The survey further showed that about 32 per cent of truck drivers are below 30 years and probably immature and inexperienced to handle such psychologically demanding tasks.
Studies have also confirmed that 62 per cent of trucks involved in road mishaps that resulted in monumental disasters were of poor quality which probably aided fire outbreaks whenever there was an accident. Study has also shown that about 54 per cent of fuel spilling that had led to fire outbreaks was as a result of negligence on the part of truck drivers.
For obvious reasons, Lagos will continue to attract articulated vehicles and trucks of all shades because of its prime socio-economic status.
With all these indicators, it would be difficult, for now, to banish articulated vehicles and trucks on Lagos roads. However, with the cooperation of major stakeholders in related sectors, the havoc being wreaked on lives and properties by articulated vehicles on residents of the state could be reduced.
For instance, the continuous importation of locally consumed fuel in the country, arising from the inability of the federal government, over the years, to fix local refineries places a serious burden on the state. With more than 50 fuel depots in Lagos alone, at least over 3,000 trucks travel to the state on a daily basis with the intention of lifting petroleum products.
To redress the current trend, there is a need to encourage more investors to build new refineries, just as the Dangote Group is currently doing along the Lekki Free Trade Zone axis.
Equally, we need to invest massively in the infrastructure development of the transportation sector. One vital way through which this could be done is for us to de-emphasise road transportation and revitalize rail transport. If we had developed a viable rail mode of transportation, most of the road carnages that result in monumental loss of lives and properties could have been avoided.
Tayo Ogunbiyi is with the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
