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Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has said the serial losses of several children in the recent stampedes in Ibadan, Okija, and Abuja should send a strong message to the Nigerian leaders.
Naija News reports that 22 residents of the Okija community in Anambra State have been confirmed dead in the Saturday stampede during an event for the distribution of rice.
On the same day, an unspecified number of people died following a stampede in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The unfortunate incident occurred when one of the Catholic churches in the FCT was distributing food items to vulnerable persons.
The latest development occurred days after 40 people, mostly children, died during a stampede at a carnival in Ibadan, Oyo State, south-west Nigeria.
Reacting via a post shared on X, Ezekwesili stated that the stampedes signalled the country’s gravity and scale of economic distress.
She maintained that Nigerians have become victims of widespread food poverty, especially among low and peripheral middle-income families.
She said, “The serial losses of several children who went in search of free food should send the strongest message yet to all self-indulgent ‘leaders’ in Nigeria’s public offices.
“My heart cries out for the families of the victims of the three stampedes that occurred during charity food distribution events in Ibadan, Okija in Anambra State, and Abuja.
“Nothing in recent times has signalled the gravity and scale of economic distress in our land more than these similar tragedies in a season of celebration.
“The fact that some like to deny is that Nigerians have become victims of widespread food poverty, especially among our low and peripheral middle-income families.
“I feel sad for the well-intended organizers of the three programs across the country who grossly underestimated the scale of beneficiaries that would show up in this season of famine in our land. And then, of course, our weak emergency response system that has often failed to mitigate tragedies.
“These serial losses of several of our children who went in search of free food should send the strongest message yet to all self-indulgent ‘leaders’ in Nigeria’s public offices. But will they hear?”
