At every point in our dear nation whereby we experience a change for the better, it always has been due to a very sad and avoidable lesson. Not often do we look critically at a situation and then take necessary steps to forestall the imaginable scenarios that could occur from it.
The drowning Adesola Ogunmefun and Funmi Odusina, the two postgraduate students of the University of Lagos (btw, they're no longer MAULAG?) on Sunday 5th of June, 2016 has once again proven right that indeed the blackman's brain has similar colour as his skin.
A cursory visit to any of the so-called private beaches e.g. Elegushi, Oniru, Eleko, etc would show you why the latest disaster was long time coming ...unfortunately, it wasn't the first time it has happened, hopefully it would be the last. The first rude welcome you'd get are from the touts cum gatemen would give you an insight of the rough deal you are about to get. From the shouts of "oya owo yin da?" (Your gate fee?) in an artificial baritone voice that can only remind you of a bad gramophone to that of "e s'anwo parking abi k'e k'oshi danu!" (pay your parking fee or disappear with your nonsense!); in-between, you start asking your self if the trip was worth the trouble.
You are not done! Nothing here at the beach is free, except of course the air that you breathe. you must pay for the chair you're gonna sit on and the table as well while everyone would start suspecting you are the heir apparent to Otedola's billions if you venture to rent a canopy or a wooden cubicle. And the price of the drinks? Double the amount you would ordinarily pay outside. Thereafter, your mind would race back to the gate episode while asking yourself, "so what was the gate fee for?" Just to see the ocean and then acquire the bragging right among your friends with online posting such as "elegushi on-point!", "Oniru fully loaded" or "beach tinz" ......SMH for Naija babes? Na una dey cause am!
One would have expected the owners and managers of the the beaches to ensure that safety provisions would be worth all the huge revenue being generated on the daily basis. Hell no! This is Nigeria .. you are OYO!!! For once I've not seen a lifeguard at the beach neither have I heard of cases of heroic lifeguards saving anyone from the ocean. Let's for a minute agree that the lifeguards are on part-time duties or are in secret service, how about health or emergencies facilities? They are also in ghost mode?
Not that I really blame the business families that "own" these beach spots, after all profiteering is the sole aim of a typical african entrepreneur. That's why someone in PH could sell gunungun (vulture) meat as suya meat for the consumption of the populace. It is the regulatory agencies who are either too familiar with those they are bonded to oversee (in the Omo Eko spirit) or are simply not trained or knowledgeable enough about their duties. One would have expected the Lagos State Ministries of Transport and Waterfront Development, Lagos State Waterway Agency (LASWA) and/or the Lagos State Safety Commission or any other agency (with some proud acronym) to have compelled the owners and managers of all Beach Tourism centres in the state to have an efficient emergency response team and facilities in their domain in order to avert tragedies. Indeed, the ocean can be very unpredictable as it doesn't speak English, hence those who make their living off the thrills of the unpredictability of the ocean have the moral, legal and conscientious responsibility to ensure lives are adequately protected in case of incasity.
Of course, in the days to come, you can expect the heads of these afore-mentioned agencies to start talking tough and showing off on the pages of newspapers the belated regulations that would have probably saved the lives of these pretty souls. That bragado would last for few weeks and then everything would go back to business as usual till another avoidable disaster strikes...and then the cycle starts.
A nation that could conveniently waste the souls that could be of immense benefits to the advancement of the nation still does have a long way to go in whatever direction. Losing these beautiful girls at a time when many of my friends such as Twhy Adegbesan, Gbenga Olayinka and Bamisaye Segun are still looking for their missing ribs is most unforgivable. Did I mention Dr. Jide Awoyelu?
Oluwole...u ehn...tin ba mu e....nice write up tho...you said it all...lives don't seem to mean anything to those in authority, something needs to be done urgently to avert preventable loss of lives..
ReplyDeleteIts actually fun to visit the beach, excessive activities should however be adequately avioded. And until government sees the potentials & loss of revenue for lack of regulation and management of beaches will there be sanity in our beaches.
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