FOOD STAMPEDES: WHO ARE TO BLAME EXCEPT THE DEAD?
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FOOD STAMPEDES: WHO ARE TO BLAME EXCEPT THE DEAD?
By Ojo Oyewamide
They were 67 in number. And they were unfortunate Nigerians. Within four days, they lost their lives in desperate scrambles for food. The spate of tragedies started in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, where a funfair led to funerals.
Prophetess Naomi Silekunola, an ex-Queen of the Ooni of Ife, had intended to put smiles on the faces of 5,000 children at an event scheduled to hold on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at the Islamic High School, Bashorun area, Ibadan. Sadly, what was planned to be a fun ended up being a disaster. 35 children were trampled to death in a stampede. Many others were injured.
On Saturday, December 21, 2024, four days after the Ibadan tragedy, 22 people died in Okija, Anambra State, while 10 were sent to their early graves in Abuja, the country’s seat of power, also in stampedes at food-sharing events. They were looking for what to eat but encountered what ate them.
But why are people desperate for food? Scholars have sought to answer this question by identifying certain factors. These factors are poverty, economic hardship, food shortages, war and conflict, climate change, poor nutrition, poor public policy and political instability, food waste, gender inequality, and forced migration. Which of these factors can we say was responsible for the desperation of the dead Nigerians for the free food of death?
It is usual of Nigerians to emotionalise and politicise issues instead of intellectualising them. The blame game has since begun over the heart-rendering food stampedes. Federal and state governments are blaming the organisers of the charities for poor organisation. Some states have introduced strict precautionary measures to ensure crowd control and prevent tragedies at public events.
Critics and opposition parties are blaming the tragedies on the economic hardship occasioned by the policies of the President Bola Tinubu federal government. Some people are blaming the greed of the dead for the woes.
Who and what can we hold responsible for these disasters? Is it the dead who were only looking for food but met their death? Can we blame their misfortune on greed? Were they greedy? To say they were greedy is to mean they had enough to eat in their various homes but were still desperate for more.
Is it safe to say these unfortunate Nigerians had more than enough to eat and still went out to scramble for some cups of rice? Can anyone who has more than enough food to eat leave his or her home as early as 4am in the morning, during this harmattan period, to struggle for a handful of food items? Is it not right to say they were driven by hunger occasioned by their poverty?
Whatever we may hold responsible for the woes that befell the victims of the food stampedes, there is no doubt that life was unfair to them. Or can we say they were unfair to themselves for not fighting and winning the battle of poverty? The extreme of material poverty is not to have the capacity to feed oneself. Hunger is a god we always seek to appease.
Can we not say the victims were fated to end their lives the way they did? The Bible says in Proverb 10:15 that “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty.” This verse is telling us that rich people are protected by their wealth while poor people are destroyed by their poverty. This has been the fate of the poor since the beginning of time.
Are the organisers of the tragic events to blame? Prophetess Naomi Silekunola has been remanded in Agodi Correctional Centre by an Oyo State Magistrate Court. She has become a victim of her generosity and good heart. Also remanded are Oriyomi Hazmat, an Ibadan-based broadcaster, and the principal of the school where the tragic incident occurred.
The Parish Priest and officials of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Abuja, have been arrested by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command. It is not yet known what has happened to the founder and officials of Obijackson Foundation, the organisers of the Okija rice-sharing event.
The organisers have material abundance and wanted to share with vulnerable people. Obijackson Foundation and Holy Trinity Catholic Church were said to have been sharing food to the less-privileged in the spirit of Christmas during Yuletide season for years. The Ibadan event was not the first of such that Silekunola would organise.
What went wrong this time? Did the organisers underestimate the level of hunger in the land? The Ibadan event was slated for 10am. But people had started arriving at the venue as early as 4am. The Amaranta Stadium, venue of the palliative-sharing in Okija, was reported to have been besieged by hundreds of people as at 5am. In Abuja, people were said to have descended on the Church premises as early as 4am.
Can we blame the tragic occurrences on the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu government? The government has absolved itself from any blame. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said: “It is worth noting that similar unfortunate occurrences have been recorded in the past, before the current administration. As such, making any attempt to link these tragedies to the President’s reforms is unfounded and disingenuous.”
On several occasions, President Tinubu has defended his government’s reforms. They are to ensure sustainable economic growth. They also aim at improving the life of every Nigerian. He said in a presidential chat some days back that he has been sharing food to the less-privileged more than a decade ago. Nobody has ever lost his or her life in any stampede. Therefore, his administration’s economic reforms should not be held responsible for the unfortunate incidents of food stampedes in Ibadan, Okija and Abuja.
Who can we now blame? Is it the organisers of the tragic palliative-sharing events whose aim was to bring joy and relief to those in need? Is it the Federal Government which has absolved itself of any blame? Is it not the dead whose offence was that they were poor?
I sympathise with the organisers of the tragic palliative-sharing ceremonies. Their intention was to give joy. But their efforts ended in sorrow, not only for the families of the dead and the wounded but also for themselves.
It is my strong belief that the storm will soon be over for them. Life continues for the living. But the dead are gone forever. Their destruction was their poverty. Sad! May we not be fated to be extremely poor to the extent of not having the capacity to feed ourselves in a country like Nigeria which leaders are as unfeeling as stones.
Ojo Oyewamide writes from Abibirih Lane, Isolo, Akure.
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