End deadly tanker explosions
THE recurring accidents from explosions are a deadly killer in Nigeria. This was re-enacted on Wednesday evening on the Abuja-Keffi Expressway. A truck carrying cement exploded after it lost control and rammed into several stationary vehicles.
Footage of the incident showed a huge cloud of billowing black smoke amid a scrambling crowd. Motorists hurriedly made a U-turn. Survivors said many people were trapped in their burning vehicles and that the truck driver was at top speed when he lost control. The Federal Capital Territory police said six people died in the incident.
From January 2009 to October 2024, there were 169 explosion incidents in which 1,613 people died. The year 2019 alone recorded 29 explosions with 203 fatalities.
In 2023, 10 died in Ore, Ondo State. But with 61 killed in Niger State in September 2024, and 150 fatalities in Jigawa State in October 2024, the 203-fatality figure of 2019 was pushed to second place by seven deaths.
Some truck drivers, often under the influence of alcohol and hard drugs, drive as though in a race. They bully other motorists. Strictly enforced operational rules will deter such dangerous drivers. Elsewhere, highway operatives breathalyse them to determine the level of alcohol in their bloodstream. Reckless truck drivers should be breathalysed here.
On March 11, a tanker carrying gas fell on its side at the Otedola Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and burst into flames. Fire service and road safety officials pulled out two burnt bodies. Three injured people were rescued. About 12 vehicles and some roadside structures were razed. The driver was said to have lost control of the vehicle after a brake failure. Petroleum product transporters should maintain their trucks.
The Lagos State Ministry of Transportation released a statement, saying the gas truck driver ignored a ‘No Truck Allowed’ sign. Such recklessness must be punished to deter others.
But, first, the rules must be set and strictly enforced. The absence of enforced safety procedures has made tanker explosions a familiar tragic occurrence.
In January, 86 were killed, and more injured in another tanker fire in Niger. A week later, yet another tanker overturned on the Enugu-Onitsha Road. 18 people died.
There is tragic chaos in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. Some trucks used to move hazardous substances are too old. Some with a 33,000-litre carrying capacity are upgraded to 45,000 and above to maximise profit.
With the country’s notoriously murderous roads, a few bumps tip the unwieldy trucks over. A ban on 60,000-litre trucks took effect on March 1. The government should enforce the ban.
Several depots and pipelines are dysfunctional. Petroleum transporters move products by road from one end of the country to another. This is dangerous. The depots and pipelines should be repaired.
Tanker accident sites should be sealed off immediately to prevent misguided people from rushing in to scoop fuel.
Petroleum products are transported mostly by road in the United Kingdom but under strict and elaborate safety regulations. The last notable fuel tanker in Europe occurred in Borgo Panigale, Italy, in 2018, killing two people and injuring 145 others.
In Nigeria, the frequency is alarming. Aged and damaged vehicles are imported into the country and put on the road. Many vehicles are never serviced until they break down.
The Otedola Bridge and Abuja explosions occurred during the evening rush hours. Therefore, truck operators carrying hazardous substances should not be on the road during busy hours.
The rail, once used to move petroleum products, should be revived.
CCTV cameras can monitor truck traffic. With technology, petroleum products’ temperatures can be gauged to prevent overheating and explosion.
Equipped firefighters and road safety officials should be strategically deployed to prevent and mitigate tanker explosion fires.
