Nigeria's Pipeline Explosion: The Failure of Leadership at all Levels

The failure of the Nigerian nation, at all levels
of government, to serve and protect our citizens and be supportive,
helpful, and available at crucial times to the people has once again
been exposed. The citizens of Nigeria are people who have no one to
turn to, no nation to come to their aid when they need it most, no
assistance either at home or abroad when tragedy struck and when
situations become pathetic, difficult and life threatening. A nation
that lacks processes and structures for dealing with disasters,
tragedies, programs and plans is obviously devoid of any leadership at
every level - forget about those who are actively stealing, looting,
and living off the nation. The agony of the people, most of them
innocent babies and women, of Abule Egba in Lagos State and in
particular at Segun Akinola Street near Awori Bus Stop is a metaphor of
a nation that is adrift and very synonymous with John Pepper Clerk's
The Raft. Disasters and calamities kept coming and occurring, yet no
strategy has been put in place to check them, no effort has been taken
to prepare for and manage such emergencies. Above
all, the Federal, State and Local governments in Nigeria have
considered no proactive steps necessary to prevent these tragedies. For
more than two decades we have witnessed repeated oil pipeline disasters
and we have taken no steps to ensure that there are tools and necessary
manpower to handle them; putting in place the fire trucks, equipment
and technology the whole world rely on to protect the civil society
from such calamities that ravaged Lagos and roasted thousands of dreams
and lives. The following pipeline disasters have been recorded in
recent memory: About 1,000 people were killed in Jesse