For over 30 minutes, maybe up to an hour in the largest city in Africa; no emergency vehicle was available to help Niyi Odetoye and the dozens of others who were suffering from injuries from the avoidable gas explosion that occurred on Thursday June 18th 2021; 5 days from what would have been his 47th birthday.

No Medically induced coma was offered to save their lives; no first responders to control the scene.

Niyi was a 1993 graduate of the Federal University of Technology, Akure from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He had risen through the ranks of his profession to become President of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON) and ran his own Planning Company: Cityscape Planning. He was also Chairman of Omole Estate Phase 1 in Lagos; a prime residential estate in Lagos.
He never forgot his alma mata as he constantly and continuously gave back to the school and supported his department.

This is not about Buhari, GEJ, Yaradua, Obasanjo, APC , PDP or the Military. What happened on Thursday has happened every year, every month, every week, every day in as many years as we can remember. What happened was Nigeria. The failed system many have been shouting needs to be urgently repaired.

Just last week, a young gospel singer was shot by armed robbers in Ibadan –days to his wedding. He would have lived; but Nigeria’s premier hospital UCH and a private hospital REFUSED to treat him even as he bled to death. Reason: They wanted a police report first!
Almost on a daily basis, vehicles that should not be on the roads-kill people driven by people who should not be driving. Containers that should be securely secured onto trucks are left to fall off and crush people to death like it happened to another alumnus of FUTA; Oluwadaisi Badejo 2 months ago.

There is no reason a functional fire station with ambulance services is not situated within 5km of EVERY HOUSE in metropolitan Lagos such that they can arrive at any destination in less than five minutes. These are the services for which people pay taxes for. These are not privileges, these are the basic requirements of human existence in the 21st Century.

We watched with agony as dozens of school children burnt to death in Port Hartcourt in the plane crash that also took the life of Pastor Bimbo Odukoya in 2005 because there were no fire trucks available. We found out how over 200 army officers suffocated to death in the Ejigbo Plane crash of 1992 because no help came to them for over two hours as the military plane sunk into the swamp and the men were trapped.. We hear of thousands who die every year from road accidents, household accidents, armed robberies, fights all because of non existent emergency services or their slow response.

Accidents will happen, crime will happen as long as humans control the affairs' of this world; but that’s why we have smart people all around us who can minimize the damage these events cause. And by the way, an ambulance is not just a vehicle with the words AMBULANCE painted on it. Unfortunately a real ambulance is better equipped than many hospitals in my country Nigeria. There is a reason the cost to ride an ambulance in many parts of the United States is $3000 ( mostly paid by insurance and no money is EVER asked from any victim in advance especially trauma victims). The equipment in those vehicles saves lives.

There is a limit to the pain a human being can tolerate; before shock kills the person; which is why burn victims in many cases undergo medically induced coma so the body can rest and help fight the damage. I doubt that happened on Thursday.

No matter how many new buildings, refineries, structures, railways are built-they mean nothing if people can die anytime, anywhere, anyhow. The madness needs to stop.

Governor Sanwo Olu seems to be a reasonable caring administrator and like his predecessors he has set Lagos as the example for Nigeria; but we can do more.

May Nigeria not happen to you, because definitely it will happen to someone again today and tomorrow and the day after that until enough good men and women stand up to say no more.
And may the day come when the words : Nigeria happened to him come to mean one was blessed by the vast opportunities in Nigeria.

Source: https://v7place.com/index.php?topic=4033.new#new

May his soul rest in perfect peace.

Noooo, stay there shouting Nigeria killed him!

You All Know That Nigeria Has Killed And Still Killing Thousands Of Citizens In Avoidable Deaths Everyday, From The Army Shooting And Police Brutality To Artificial Insecurity To fulani Supported Killings But You All Sit There And Shout One Nigeria is indivisible.

You ain't seen nothing yet.

Damn

This police report thing needs to end. Save lives first

You just spoilt the story with the last 2 paragraphs as I do not think Governor Sanwo plus has added any new infrastructure to the fire service or ambulance service.

Where are all the LRU equipment

The state assembly can propose a law to not prosecute corrupt person's that have stolen from the state at a federal level? And sanwolu can sign that into law but no.....

They cant change the law to uphold the principal initiative of the medical instutions - to save lives.

Seriously I can't wait for this country to be the best in the world! Maybe God should kill all those affecting it. Most of these workers in government establishments are just more wicked than any politicians. Good Nigeria starts from me and you.

Bola146:
Seriously I can't wait for this country to be the best in the world! Maybe God should kill all those affecting it. Most of these workers in government establishments are just more wicked than any politicians. Good Nigeria starts from me and you.

Keep Waiting.

I wish you many many more years of waiting

SLAP44:


Keep Waiting.

I wish you many many more years of waiting

Indeed sad.

Each major hub needs a fire fighting truck. The equipment's are there but people cant use them. Its all about the people. There is a fire fighting unit just in front of Lasuth on your way to the local airport. That unit is just 5 minutes away to the points of this accident on Mobolaji Bank Anthony. The government needs to realize that accidents can happen anytime and they must have people running shifts to save lives.

There's no need for this epistle. The guy is dead and gone. People die everyday. His time was probably up

SimplyShit:
There's no need for this epistle. The guy is dead and gone. People doe everyday. His time was probably up

His time was not up; he was brought out alive from the building. He was lucid and speaking. But for almost 2 hours, no ambulance, no help.

Mourn with those who mourn, rejoice with those who rejoice. Its in the Bible.

Speak out, so Nigeria can get better, many people who are dying in Nigeria are not supposed to die when they do.