That no stampede may consume us again – Dr. Muiz Banire

Permit me to commence the intervention of the year by wishing my numerous readers a happy and prosperous new year. May the year blossom for each and every one of us. No matter how bad we feel, the best way to sustain hope is to be prayerful that a new year would be more beneficial than the previous ones combined. Hope is a powerful tool that keeps a destitute alive and expectant of a better future. It is also a source of great thanks to the almighty for all His mercies and blessings as no human lives without such blessings and mercies, at least, the necessaries of breathing air whether rich or poor, receiving the same sunshine and rainfall whether rich or poor, using the same roads and bathing in the same way, whether rich or poor, notwithstanding that the facilities in which we bath may differ.

It reminds me of the song of the Fuji maestro, Obesere omo Rapala that ko s’olowo ni baluwe/kankan laa maa sa o, ose lo maa yato which literally translates to mean that there is no status in the bathroom, we must all use sponge though the quality of soap used may differ. That God has made some basic minimum a factor of equality among men is a thing of grateful reflection for which it is good to be thankful for His mercies, no doubt. However, that the Nigerian economy has been challenging and taking a toll on the citizens is no news again and for which there will continue to be agitations. Also the various attempts at ameliorating the scorching situation through several intervention programs daily rolled out by the Government, particularly at the federal level, is equally noteworthy. Despite all the genuine and laudable efforts in some instances, I must confess that not much traction is gained at the other levels of governance.
This is rather disappointing as these tiers of the state and local governments are meant to be closer to the people, and, therefore, be more impactful than the central government. That this aberration should be no news to an average Nigerian is best exemplified by the reality that virtually everything in the country defies not only theories but even presumed common sense. Be that as it may, the offshoot of the biting economic situation is the unwitting impoverishment of the people. The multidimensional poverty continues to get elevated, thereby endangering the people particularly through hunger. As opined above, the situation has become so alarming that all efforts of the federal government continue to remain like a drop in the ocean.
Noting the lacunae, and in order to bridge same and complement the efforts of the government, several philanthropic Nigerians are rising up to be their neighbor’s keepers by extending the hand of generosity to all and sundry. It is in this connection that towards the end of the year 2024 and in accord with the spirit of the season, more philanthropists trooped out to mitigate the hardship and the suffering of the people through their charitable programs.

This natural gesture, beyond individuals, was undertaken by foundations and religious organizations also. However, in the course of dispensing the largesse, the unexpected occurred, leading to the death of so many of the hustlers for the goodies. It is certainly not that the goodies are poisoned, contaminated or laced with harm but the strive for the opportunity to partake in the sharing, that eventually endangered the crowd that turned up for the ‘palliative’. Within the space of time, several fatalities and causalities had occurred in three different places in the city of Ibadan, Anambra and Abuja, amongst others.

The touted figure puts the number of causalities at almost a hundred deaths while several injured abound in different health facilities. An act of goodwill and humanitarian service thus turned to a sour pill difficult to swallow as the philanthropists must definitely be regretting the day they conceived the idea to give back to a society that is already lost on decorum as a result of poverty. Of course, this is not the first time that the country is witnessing this type of tragedy. As recent as just a few months back, similar incident had occurred during the sales of cheap bags of rice by the Nigerian Customs Service to the people. In reaction to the tragic incidents, different responses have been recorded. With the Ibadan incident, the arrest, investigation and probable prosecution of the organizers by the men of the Nigerian police is ongoing.

The same approach has been applied to the Abuja incident while it is unclear as regards what is being done with respect to the Anambra incident. Technically, speaking, since fatalities occurred, the natural tendency is to hold the organizers accountable for murder, or at least, manslaughter. This, however, ought to be after a thorough investigation of the circumstances that led to the deaths. I must state that it is not sufficient that death occurred at the event, which undoubtedly raises presumption of murder, the act may well be that of a third party. Whichever way it is viewed, it is most unlikely that the organizers will ever be charged with murder as certainly, they could not have envisaged, much less intended to ‘kill’ anyone. Hence, in the circumstances, the best any of the organizers can be culpable of will be manslaughter. This automatically entitles them to bail which I believe that the Police must avail them. It is no point slamming murder on them when obviously it is known that there is absence of intention to kill. The ongoing investigation, I believe, is the legal way to go. However, there is the divergent view that the organizers ought not to be that ‘shabbily’ treated as the intention is not only genuine but innocent. Ordinarily I would have been equally swayed by that persuasion but for the fact that it is difficult to explain such to the victims. For how do you comfort the loss of an only child to a woman who was childless for many years? Now, to the crux of the conversation today.

Which lessons have we learnt from all the incidents? The best that I have read from the government and the Police is the need to involve the men of the Nigerian police in such events in the future in order to provide security and regulate the activities of people. As I continued to read that, I am troubled as that position seems to glaringly miss the point entirely. The question is, have we done the proper diagnosis of the situation so as to have the right prognosis? ME THINK NOT! After my post mortem or the autopsy of the incidents, I am of the view that inviting police to such event is no real solution, as in all the instances, the matter goes beyond the maintenance of the law and order. What the various incidents have clearly demonstrated is the lack of capacity to manage and control crowd.

This is essentially a safety issue that calls from different types of approach and expertise. Crowd control is a specialized skill that is largely absent in our society. To start with, it is only in few states like Lagos that you have, in the first instance, the existence of a safety commission responsible for this kind of situation. Even where they exist, they function more to monitor population at event centers, bearing in mind the capacity of such facilities, than really managing the crowd attending such events. Even at this, most of the Commissions lack the necessary data and tool to work with. Hardly in most of the instances do they have accurate data of the capacity of such event centers ab initio. Even where they do, only in scanty situations will you find enforcement being decisive. The point I am struggling to make is that the existence of safety commissions, or by whatever nomenclature we refer to them, needs to be promoted across the country. For regulated events, it is such a commission that ought to be responsible for the management of the crowd. This again falls within the schedule of responsibilities of the states which they need to take up seriously.

Beyond the crucial need for the establishment of these bodies, there is urgent need to embark on the training or development of the capacity of those concerned in crowd management. This aspect is being taken for granted but continues to be the harbinger of the incidents. If the Nigerian police want to assume such responsibility of crowd management, which is not advisable, there will equally be the need to train their men in this art. The police are overwhelmed already with security issues and should not be more distracted by activities of this nature. If my recollection is correct, this basically ought to be the responsibility of the various private security outfits licensed, I believe, by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). If this piece of information is correct, then it should either be the direct responsibility of the NSCDC to train them or mandate the development of such capacities by all the private security firms that want to engage in management of events. In fact, there must be special certification and recognition for this type of skill.

Even, for general events, the associated stress is never that much comparable to events involved in the distribution of food items which, in the peculiar circumstances of the country, and due to the undisciplined nature of our people, must be carefully executed. These occasions call for more diligence than ordinary as it is proverbially said, an hungry man is an angry man. In other words, a hungry man, in most instances, is out of his mind due to the survival instinct. Such a person or victim of hunger is willing and prepared to go to any length to realize the goal of quenching the hunger rather than observing the niceties of decent conduct in a crowd. To a certain extent, therefore, he can be said to be temporarily insane at that point; caging him then becomes a herculean task.

A Chinese proverb says the best way God manifests to a hungry man is in the form of food. Consequently, it takes an experienced competent person to deal with him and inject a little bit of sanity into his conduct when he is already ravished by the consuming pangs of hunger. In fact, the desperation of a hungry man is best depicted by the Yoruba saying that ‘ebi kii wonu, ki oro mii wo’ which literally means hunger does not accommodate any rational conversation.

I, therefore, conclude that never again must we allow this to happen to us as a people. Ina eesi kii jo’ni ni eemeji otherwise one proves to be a fool when one is accidentally burnt twice by the same fire. Thus, in the spirit of the season, if wishes can do it, I wish us all a happy and prosperous new year, good enough to avert stampede for food.