Julius OkorieLooking at the charred bodies, prelude to mass burial, unrecognisable, unidentifiable, you cannot but have goose pimples.
Men, women, and children, who had woken up with high hopes, of going out as usual to hustle like they say, and return home to their families.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelOut to fend for their daily bread, but never returned after tanker explosion ended their journey of life abruptly.
Those who escaped the inferno with various degrees of injuries counted their blessings even in their hopelessness and pain. A day that started like any other has ended abruptly not even in individual graves considered honourable or better put, befitting but in a mass grave without names but perhaps with the inscription “Grave for Victims of Tanker Explosion in Niger State January 18, 2025”
Subsequent report from National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) put the casualty figure at about 98. That is just one incident in Niger state. Another tanker explosion in Jigawa state claimed 209 lives with the injured put at about 124.
The tanker involved had reportedly taken off from Kano and had driven 110 kilometers on its way to Yobe State. While traveling on an expressway near the town of Majiya in Jigawa State, the tanker overturned while attempting to avoid crashing into a truck, causing petrol to spill onto the road.
Many villagers came to the scene and tried to scoop up the spilled petrol, with some source claiming a generator was being used in order to collect the petrol.
Within minutes, fire started and an explosion followed. Video footage showed a massive fire stretching along a large area overnight with burned bodies visible. Imagine the massive loss of lives, in just two incidents 307 lives lost.
Away from that at least 18 people died and 10 others were injured when tanker, laden with gasoline lost control rammed into 17 vehicles and burst into flames along Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Spokesperson of Federal Road Safety Corps, Olusegun Ogunebemide confirmed that those who died were “burnt beyond recognition,”
The issue of tanker explosion has become over the years a recurring decimal with resultant loss of life and property. The disaster takes the same routine in virtually all the cases:
First fuel laden tanker falls
*Spills its contents
*Then large crowd spontaneously emerges armed with various containers to scoop fuel
*Then explosion takes place trapping all in the vicinity and roasting them beyond recognition
*Then sympathy follows, followed by burial, life goes on and the circle continues.
Statistics indicate that Nigeria experienced 172 oil tanker accidents and 1,896 deaths since 2009. 2024 was recorded as the highest death toll, with 266 fatalities but on the verge of being overtaken by 2025.
The big question will be, why has tanker explosion become a recurring decimal with its level of destruction both of lives and property and yet no solution in sight?
Why has site of tanker explosion remained attractive to the people despite the danger associated with attempts at scooping fuel over the years?
Why has nobody, group or agency been prosecuted for flouting rules or regulations of operation leading to this avoidable incidents?
Poverty:
To opine that there is poverty in the land is to put it mildly. The high cost of living compounded unending increase in pump price of petrol and the uncertainty associated with it has made the product attractive to all who can get it free for personal use or re-sale. Hence news of tanker falling, triggers desire in the people to dash down and make quick money if possible.
Poor Road infrastructure:
Despite budgetary claims of money being pumped into road construction and re-constructions, most roads in the country remain in a sorry state, thus exposing the masses to all various degree of danger.
To make matter worse, dilapidated tankers used to ferry fuel across the country ply the same road full of pot holes and gullies further increasing the risk of tumbling as has been witnessed over the years.
Corruption Having Its way:
Because corruption, as cankerworm has eaten deep into the fabrics of the nation, money meant for infrastructural development get diverted with impunity and nothing happens after initial alarm on television.
Many believe that with the resources available to this country, ferrying fuel using tankers on public road would have by now become a thing of the past. But because the oil industry is control by a cabal who also own the tankers and control chain of supply the issue of constructing rail to ferry fuel and compliment pipeline delivery will remain a mirage.
When Ignorance And Poverty Inter-Marry:
With every explosion, loss of lives and mass burial, the message that PMS and other derivatives are highly inflammable continues to fall on deaf ears because many are ignorant or simply refuse to listen because they are choked by poverty. The thinking has always been rather than die of hunger while not take the ration 5% chance of survival in tanker explosion, after all “Something must kill a man”
Removing The Cloud Of Secrecy In Oil Sector:
Selfishness of most stakeholders in the Oil sector in the country has turned the industry into a cult. Giving accurate figures of number of barrels of oil produced in a day and the rate at which is sold should not be debatable if transparency is brought to bear in the country’s dealings.
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But over the years, each time the questions is asked different debatable figures will emerge with every stakeholder hoarding information as if the people do not deserve the right to know everything about their commonwealth.
This state of affairs makes it difficult to actually ascertain what revenue accrues to government in the real sense of it, thus leaving lacuna of claims and counter claims.
Thus everyone makes sing-song of inadequate resources when transparency is not guaranteed in accounting for revenue generated.
No sane nation watches her citizens, burn in ‘semi hell’ every now and then through tanker explosions. Government must review all laws guiding the lifting and transportation of petroleum products across the country.
The use of rickety tankers to ferry fuel needs to be checked and standard set.
Maintenance of road is not a one off thing, in the past the Public Works Department (PWD) patrolled highways to identify and repair damaged portions of roads. This needs to be re-activated to reduce incidences of fallen tankers.
Call For Repentance, The Stealing Must Stop:
Most importantly those who aspire to lead the country and occupy any public office for that matter should reduce the spirit of looting so that there will be resources to provide better haulage system for inflammable materials on one hand and better life for the people on the other.
This is borrowing a word from Managing Director of African Development Bank (ADB) Dr Akinwumi Adesina, who submitted recently that the “the resources of a country does not belong to the pockets of powerful and rich individuals, it belongs to the state to be used for the benefit of the people of that country, there must be accountability on our national resources”
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
