By InfactNG
Adeyemi Adebayo and his wife Bukola have known little sleep since the news of the death of their only child, Adedoyin, a senior secondary pupil of Babs Fafunwa Millennium School. The circumstances surrounding the death of their child had been rather painful for the couple to bear as Bukola, clutching a Bible to her breasts sank into a chair, lost almost completely to her environment.
Adedoyin , who celebrated her 15th birthday two weeks before her death had closed from school and was on her way home when a hit-and-run truck driver carrying soap and allegedly being pursued by officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) ran into her and a group of other children, killing two and injuring about 18 others.
“She was the apple of our eyes; she was our only child,” Adebayo, the stronger of the two began, his voice seemed to carry all the sadness in the world. “ Till now, her mother is still unstable. I am a cab driver. In the afternoon of that day, the vehicle was faulty and I called the owner to inform him. As I was driving home, I saw some of her schoolmates waving at me and shouting ‘Adedoyin.’ They said she was hit by a truck.
“I parked the car and took a bike to the scene. I saw personal effects of some pupils at the scene but didn’t see hers. We went to all the hospitals the pupils were taken to but couldn’t find her. My brother and a relative then went to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, Ikeja. From there, they directed them to the Lagos Mainland Hospital morgue where her corpse was deposited.
“I was at the police station when the news of her death was broken to me. I nearly ran mad. It was policemen who held me and tried to console me. She was a very friendly child. She would hug her mum before she left for school. She was a good girl.
“The Commissioner for Education came and promised that the government would assist us in any way they could. This is the time my wife needs me most. If I have my own cab, I will be able to make more money to take care of her,” Adeyemi said.
His wife, 44-year-old Bukola tried to speak, but was chocked up on her emotions and therefore kept quiet. Her elder sister Mrs. Victoria Lawal came to her rescue. She blamed officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority for the crash, though the agency had in a statement denied complicity in the tragedy.
Lawal said: “We appeal to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to prevail on LASTMA officials. If they had not chased the truck, the accident would have been avoided.
“Adedoyin was like a child to me. She was so precious to us. She spent the last mid-term break with me.
“She preached at the church last Sunday at the children section. She was also leading the Christmas Carole that would come up in a few days’ time. She was very brilliant. She clocked at 15 on November 26.
“A day before the incident, she was asking my daughter to give her a wig. When we learnt about her death on Tuesday, we were shocked. The government should find a way to console all the parents of the affected pupils.”
Denis Akpolebi, father of the second victim, Israel was in a pensive mood as the neighbours and sympathizers appealed to him to eat.
Denis, an aluminium fittings installer, was bitter at the death of his third child who’s twin had died at birth.
Denis said: “He was my third child. I was working at a construction site when I heard about the incident. I called his mum to go to the school. She called back to say she couldn’t find him. After a while, someone called and broke the sad news to me. He said my son was involved in the accident.
“His twin died at birth. We suffered a lot during his birth. His mum spent three months in the hospital because there were issues and I spent over N300,000. His last discussion with me was on a pair of shoes I promised to buy for him for Christmas. I could barely recognise him when I saw his corpse.”
Executive Chairman, Ojodu Local Council Development Area, David Odunmbaku, in a statement on Thursday identified the injured pupils as Nimotallahi Oladimeji, SS2; Olamide Odubote, SS1; Christiana Ogunseye, SS1; Aliyah Adeboyejo, JSS2; Bose Ogunseye, SS3; Daniel Bamigbose, SS1; Nofisat Amusan, SS2; Abdulqoweeh Amusan, JSS2 and Akinyosoye Aduragbemi, SS1.
