Today’s Lagos building collapse is one collapse more than Nigerians should bear. Lagos state has been known for frequent building collapses, ranging from resident houses through churches but the collapse of a school building which took the life of many innocent children, today should have been the last of its kind. In societies where human life has value, such negligence calls for a total reshuffling of the government. On April 27, 2014, South Korean Prime Minister resigned over the handling of a ferry sinking that left many Korean citizens dead. On October 26, 2018, the Reuter carried news according to which “Jordan’s education and tourism ministers resigned, after an investigation into the deaths of 21 people, mainly school children who were swept away in flash floods on a school outing in the Dead Sea region.” Here in Africa too, the Tunisian Minister of Health resigned, last week, over the death of 11 children in a hospital.
In Nigeria, however, no one is even reprimanded no matter the number of deaths caused by the negligence of our ruling elites. It is a sign that we have no value for the lives of our fellow Nigerians. With the number of deaths in Lagos, through illegal constructions, the Lagos State commissioner for housing, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal and the commissioner for education, Dr. Idiat Adebule has no reason to remain in the government. They should both boldly resign or forced to resign to trigger the necessary changes that could curtail the reoccurrence of this type of negligence that brought to untimely death our lads.
If the commissioner for housing has been doing his work well, this collapsed building should not have been occupied in the first place. From what the New York Times has to say this morning, the house shouldn’t have been in use. It is said that the house was initially condemned but was later refurbished. If the reason that led to its initial condemnation was taken into consideration, maybe these children should have been alive, and their families saved from the grief they are going through. How could such negligence be tolerated in a civilized 21st century Nigeria? Mr. Lawal has no reason to roam our city as a free man not to talk of a state commissioner. He should be investigated and placed behind the bar for allowing his carelessness to bring such a catastrophe to our society.
Dr. Idiat Adebule, the commissioner for education should also be forced to resign if he cannot be jailed for allowing the existence of a school under such unworthy environment. Ignorant is said, is never an excuse before the law. And the commissioner of education cannot feign ignorance of the existence of the establishment as he is in charge of the organ responsible for monitoring and discerning certificates to schools in the states.
Finally, Nigerians should wake up and ask our governments to give the account of their duty, if we do not want these irresponsible rulers to have us where they want us, to employ the expression of our beloved Pius Adesinma.
Ali C. Nnaemeka (mekaalison@gmail.com) ”The truth might be hard to say, painful to bear or even drastic for the truth sayer but still needed to be said”. ALISON.
