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The Tamburawa
Statement :Why we fixed the Killer
Pothole
By Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim
Newsdiaryonline 04/11/11
President Jonathan
We are assembled here at Tamburawa in Dawakin Kudu LGA of Kano
State to show the world how easy it is to fix a pothole. The
reason why so many people from all over Nigeria came here to do
this normally ordinary job is because the pothole we came to fix
is not an ordinary one. It has defied the Federal Government of
Nigeria and all its agencies and has, over the last six months,
taken the lives of at least 34 Nigerians who would otherwise be
alive today. We are not making this number up. It came from no
less an authority than the Kano Sector Commander of the Federal
Roads Safety Corps.
The latest of the more than 34 victims was a family of five
consisting of a father, his wife and their three children who
died a week ago, at this same spot.
The road that has harbored this notorious pothole is a federal
road. We felt it is necessary, as Nigerians of conscience who
come from all walks of life and who care for the lives of our
brethren, to make this journey in honor of our departed
compatriots, to fix this pothole and stop the carnage and
needless loss of life which the gross negligence of our
governments has brought about. If by our action we are able to
stop the death of more people arising from the existence of this
pothole, or even to save just a single soul, all of us gathered
here would feel our journey has been worth every single step and
we would feel more than greatly fulfilled. There is no reason
why we should stand idly by and watch innocent people die due to
no reason other than the failure of those who govern us to do
their job.
None of the more than 34 people who have died here deserve to
die in this horrific way. None of them is responsible for the
existence of this pothole. They were mostly average citizens
like you and I, who were on the road to make a living or,
simply, to visit their loved ones. Any of them could have come
from anywhere in this vast country and could, in fact, have been
a member of any of our families. Yet for over six months this
pothole was allowed to exist, killing and maiming people, while
the authorities did nothing, as if human life has no value, as
if Nigerians are less than animals who deserve to die in
horrific ways.
Only God knows how many governors, ministers, senators,
honorable members and other high ranking officials have passed
over this pothole in the last six months. It is simply
unbelievable that none of them stood up and insisted that the
concerned authorities do their job by putting this notorious
pothole out of business. I understand that a senator from Kaduna
State has raised the issue on the floor of the Senate on
Wednesday after receiving our message. We seize this opportunity
to commend the senator for his concern and call on all our
representatives, in both the legislative and executive arm, to
keep the interest of those they represent on top of their
agenda, not at the bottom of it. In a way, they should be held
substantially responsible for the carnage not only on this road,
but on all Nigerian roads. If legislators had used their
oversight powers in the proper way much of this carnage would be
curtailed. If members of the executive branch had used our
resources judiciously, much of the carnage would not happen in
the first place.
Last night a former senator who was traveling from Abuja to Kano
and who is aware of our campaign called me at about 10 o'clock
and informed me that he was right on top of
Tamburawa Bridge
and had seen FERMA officials working overnight to fix the
pothole. Earlier in the day, someone has sent me a picture email
from his phone, showing a signboard and what appeared to be a
FERMA pick up truck indicating that the agency was preparing to
move to site. I could not help but keep thinking that the only
reason why FERMA came here to work overnight was to preempt our
effort so that our mission does not succeed. Where were they all
this time? Unknown to them, we have no other mission than to fix
this killer pothole. So, we are happy that FERMA has finally
decided to do its job, albeit in the middle of the night. The
fact that the pothole is no longer here today has made our
mission a great success.
However, the tragedy is that it had to take the death of several
innocent souls and the spirited efforts of vigilant citizens to
get FERMA to do its job. Only three days ago, Osita Chidoka,
Corp Marshall of Federal Roads Safety Corp, had declared at the
2011 Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals Conference in
Warri that Nigeria is currently ranked 191st out 192
countries on the Index of World Unsafe Roads. Where did all the
money meant for the maintenance of our roads go? When will FERMA
and the Federal Ministry of Works fix all the other bad roads?
Our prayer is that the Tamburawa Tragedy and the action of the
vigilant citizens gathered here today will serve as a wake up
call to government at all levels to roll up its sleeve and do
the hard work of keeping ALL Nigerian roads safe. Enough of this
carnage from now on!
We would like to seize this opportunity to send an unequivocal
message to the authorities concerned that although the Tamburawa
Tragedy seemed to have been taken care of for now, the passion
it has generated will not go away and the movement it has
created will not go to sleep until ALL Nigerians roads are safe.
We will move around the country, from one location to another,
and mobilize local communities like we have done at Tamburawa
today to occupy their own potholes. We will give them
organizational and logistic support and be physically present at
their event.
We call on citizens across the country who are sick and tired of
this criminal negligence to take action in their localities
until the authorities are compelled to act and fix their local
potholes. You do not deserve to die on your highways. It is your
right to commute on roads that are adjudged by international
standards as safe. It is not a favor done to you by anyone. If
we can get them to act, you too can. And when you decide to do
so, we will be with you 100% of the way.
Thank you all for coming. Please be prepared to be called upon,
at short notice, for citizen action at the next pothole. We pray
God to return you safely to your loved ones and watch out for
killer potholes along the way.
Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim
(For and on behalf of Concerned Nigerians)
Tamburawa
Nov 4, 2011
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