‘We’re yet to come to terms with the demise of our sons’

One week after the incident, the immediate family members, and indeed, the entire Gagarawa Local Government Area of Jigawa State, are still finding it difficult to come to terms with the reality of losing 12 young men in a car crash.

On that fateful Saturday morning, December, 12, 2020, the young men were going to Kano to participate in the qualifying examination and screening exercise for the Nigerian Navy when the car they were travelling in, a Golf 3 wagon, crashed into a stationary DAF truck parked wrongly on the road at a location very close to the neighbouring Ringim Local Government Area, due to mechanical fault.

The victims – Auwalu Muhammad; Mukhtari Sule; Ibrahim Sani; Katimu Muhammad; Dauda Salisu; Rabi’u Muhammad-Ado;  Al-Salim Muhammad Sani; Akibu Ubale Sale; Murtala Salisu and Mustapha Yakubu – were in their twenties.

At every household of some of the victims visited by Daily Trust on Sunday, sympathisers were seen condoling with either the heads or representatives. Indeed, everyone in the town was in mourning mood.

The cases of Rabi’u Muhammad-Ado and Al-Salim Muhammad Sani were particularly pathetic. Mufta’u Muhammad-Ado narrated how the late Rabi’u loved uniform jobs and had already successfully undergone training and was waiting to be invited for the final selection into the Nigerian Air Force.

He added that Rabi’u, a staff of a rice mill in the neighbouring Hadejia Local Government Area, known as Three Brothers, was a second year student of Higher National Diploma (HND) in a polytechnic, where he was reading Physics/ Electronics. He finished his semester examination on Wednesday last week and was awaiting his result.

Apart from the Air Force and Navy, he was said to have also applied to join the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC.

Mufta’u said his late brother had actually planned to travel to Kano on Friday, a day to the incident, to enable him prepare very well for the examination, but he was prevailed upon by some of his friends to wait for them.

“He told me that he would like to travel after the Juma’at prayer on Friday, but his friends suggested that they should go as a group. As a matter of fact, he didn’t want that idea, so they went and met our mother to speak to him to postpone his trip since they were going for the same purpose. That was how he stopped the trip that Friday.

Before they left, he met our mum, who prayed for him. About 6:00am, we got a message about the accident on the road. “But they did not tell us that he was among the dead. When I called his mobile number, somebody answered and said the owner was also among those that died.

I did not tell our mother, but from my mood she was able to decode that the worst had happened. I asked who told her and she said in this kind of situation she did    not need to be told. I called one of our elder brothers who resides in Ringim to inform him about the situation. I told him to visit the hospital and find out the real situation; and he confirmed it.”

Like Rabi’u, the late Al-Salim also loved uniform jobs, particularly, the Nigerian Navy, according to his father, Malam Muhammad Sani. He told Daily Trust on Sunday that the latest one was his second attempt to join Navy. His brother, who was selected during their previous attempt, is currently undergoing training in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, their father said.

Appreciating the support his family has received from the people of the area as a result of the accident, Sani said, “The people of this town have been of tremendous assistance. In fact, as a family we could not even do anything. Right from the home of the village head to others, they did everything on our behalf before these children were buried. It was something that nobody could stop, except God. So there is nothing we can say or do, but to express thanks to God.”

Mannir Muhammad Raji, who spoke on behalf of the Salisu family said the reality of losing four members of the same family at a go was not something imaginable. He told Daily Trust on Sunday that Auwal Muhammad, Alhassan Dauda Salisu, Katimu Muhammad and Murtala Salisu were his mother’s younger brothers.

“We cannot say much about the incident; we have seen something new to us. But since it was from Allah, we just have to accept it like that without question. From Allah we came and to him we will return. Our family is the most hit in this. We have nothing to say other than to be thankful to Allah,’’ he said.

Raji believes there are several lessons to be learnt from the incident, some of which are good relationship, accountability and respect for others.

“Nobody is saying anything negative about them. They were very respectful, obedient and disciplined. In fact, they all had good characteristics and qualities. No one is 100 per cent good, but we believe those young men had 98 per cent. We thank the Almighty for their lives,” he said.

For Idris Abubakar, a lawyer, perhaps the incident would have been avoided if the authorities, especially at the local government, had done its bid. Abubakar confirmed that some of the boys were his brothers, while others were his nephews.

Asked to summarise his feelings about the loss, Abubakar said, “This is a big question because I can’t even dare to describe the situation. I am devastated up till this moment because here in Gagarawa, this is the first time we are witnessing this kind of tragedy. We are still mourning; we miss them dearly. It is really sad.”

Shedding more light on the perceived negligence on the part of the authorities, he recalled that in the past, the local government would hire a bus spacious enough to carry the people going for such exercise. He wondered why they did not do that for these boys.

“Imagine the vehicle they were travelling in, a Golf, which ordinarily should not carry more than five persons, but it carried 12. It is really unfortunate. Maybe next time the government should intervene by ensuring that a good coaster bus is provided to enable them travel comfortably. They did that before; I don’t know what happened this time around.”

Malam Adamu Haruna is s good friend of Hajibu Ibrahim’s father. He said although the late Hajibu was not his biological son, he would always treat him the way he treated his father. He said he was mourning as much as his friend.

“On the eve of the incident, Hajibu was with Rabi’u Muhammad-Ado, who also died in the accident. They were always seen together, and when it was time to go to Kano, they went together, and as Allah wished, they died together,” Haruna said.

Also, Suleiman Dauda, a friend to some of the victims, said he was finding it difficult to come to terms with the demise of his friends. He said some of them were with him till the midnight of that fateful day.

“Sincerely, they were not bad guys. When I heard the news I did not believe it until their corpses were brought in. That was when the reality dawned on me. We have suffered a great loss,” he said.