THERE is a popular saying that a stitch in time saves nine. This simply implies that doing the right thing at the right time can save us a lot of headache. As humans, the good Lord has endowed everyone of us with the power of analytical reasoning such that we have ability to discern with ease how to place our priorities right so as to live meaningful lives and not hurt or cause unnecessary harm to others.At every point in life, there are decisions to be made and actions to be taken. In Ecclesiastes, the Bible says there is time for everything in life: a time to sow and a time to reap. When we do things at the appropriate time, we receive just reward, likewise, inappropriate actions have consequences. When we fail to plan, it is said, we plan to fail. As a nation, there are so many things we have taken for granted. These are already affecting us negatively in several ways. In other words, we have been guilty of negligence. Negligence has to do with failing to exercise utmost care in doing something, leading to avoidable loss or injury, sometimes very grievous. In legal parlance, negligence is an actionable offence; one who suffers injury as a result of another's negligence can sue the former and claim damages.Recently, precisely 6.30am on Thursday, July 12, 2012, while the nation was still mourning the slaughter in Jos, Plateau State; another disaster reared its ugly head. This time, it was at Okogbe, along Ahoda-Mbiama East West Road in Rivers State. A petrol tanker, loaded with fuel, reportedly fell along a bad portion of the road, spilling its contents. Hundreds of poor villagers ran to the spot, carrying jerry cans and buckets to scoop some of the fuel. Perhaps their intention was to sell the product at the black market and make some quick bucks. It boomeranged. In the process, the tanker was gutted by fire, consuming over 100 of the villagers, burning them to ashes. Many more sustained varied degrees of injuries. This is not the first time such avoidable disaster would occur. There was the Jesse incidence of 1998 that claimed hundreds of life. In June 2003, at least 105 were killed in Abia State; September 2004, 60 were killed in Lagos; December of the same year, 20 died in Lagos; 150 reportedly died in May 2006 at Abule-Egba Lagos, while 260 people were believed to have died during another explosion at Snake Island. The list goes on.In all of these disasters, several factors come into play worthy of consideration. One is the fact that there is so much poverty in our clime. Every one knows that it is suicidal to toy with fuel because it's highly combustive. Yet, every now and then, we find people vandalising oil pipelines to scoop fuel, and forming themselves into human scavengers when ever a tanker capsizes with its content. What this implies is that people are so desperate that they fail to realise the grave danger in their actions. When people are eaten up by much poverty as many Nigerians are, they throw caution to the wind and indulge in actions beyond rational explanation.In the second instance, it is a known fact that many of our federal roads are in very terrible states of disrepair. The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is a case study. For many years, concessional rehabilitation of that major gateway to many parts of the country was supposed to have commenced and finalised, but the contrary has been the case. And so, virtually no day passes without ghastly accidents, most of them involving fuel tankers and trailers. So much life and property have been lost on this road; so much that one has lost count. This is a clear case of gross negligence on the part of the relevant government agencies. And until they do the right things as regards rehabilitating that road, we will continue to witness avoidable human carnage.Another area of our national life that has been neglected for too long is the revamp of our comatose rail system. In the days gone, the rail system of transportation used to be very functional such that there was not much pressure on our roads. But that is past. The present reality is that we have been playing too much politics with this important sector of our national development. There appears to be a deliberate move by those in authority to ensure that the rail system goes extinct so that rich tanker owners and those involved in haulage business can continue to thrive at the expense of the life of commuters. Imagine how many people would still have been alive today if our roads have been in good shape and if our rail system has been functioning optimally.When we continue to do things the same way, we will continue to get the same result. St. Augustine once wrote that an unexamined life is not worth living. We are fond of being reactionary instead of being proactive' Why, for instance, must a serving Senator be killed before the presidency deems it fit to take decisive action against the Hausa-Fulani herdsmen believed to be responsible for incessant killings in the Plateau' Must we wait again before a top government functionary is obliterated before they deem it fit to realistically address the worsening insecurity in the country'Often, we are the cause of our own failures because of our negligence. No amount of prayer or supplication would work when we refuse to do the right thing. Recently, thousands of our fresh graduates commenced the mandatory one year National Youth Service amid so much hullaballoo over insecurity and their proposed states of postings. What will happen to these vibrant minds after their service year' How many of them stand the chance of being gainfully employed afterwards' How many of those who passed out last year are working today' Are we truly sincere about eradicating armed robbery, poverty, prostitution and corruption in our national life'In this period of sober reflection, we cannot but call once more on the President and his team to rise and take some realistic and potent decisions to address loopholes in our system. There are so many bottlenecks that must give way for us to move forward. We must begin to place more emphasis on the life and well being of fellow Nigerians so that they would not end up being roasted alive while scavenging for their daily bread.The wound of the recent DANA plane disaster is still very fresh in our minds. One of the ways to reduce the pains is to ensure that all identified lapses in the aviation sector are fixed. Same should apply to all sectors of our socio-political and economic life. Unless something is done to block the loopholes, empower the masses and begin to hold people accountable for their negligence, we will continue to witness avoidable tragedies.May the good Lord dry the tears of families, friends and relations of all those who recently lost their life in the Okogbe tragedy.Very Rev. Msgr. Gabriel Osu is the Director, Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.
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