• Bad Roads
• Fuel Scoop
• Poverty
• Tanker Explosion

CONTAINING FUEL TANKER EXPLOSIONS IN NIGERIA

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  CapitalTimesNews / 3 months
• 0
• 2 min read

Sir Kelly Elisha Between 2009 and 2025, a spate of 16 years, Nigeria recorded almost 174 fuel tanker explosions. The explosions claimed almost 2000 lives with the highest fatalities of 266 recorded in 2024. In that year alone181 lives were lost in one single incident in Mania Taura, the local government of Jigawa state. As Nigeria was trying to grapple with the explosion that occurred in Dikko, Niger state on Sat Jan 18, 2025, which claimed over 100 lives, another disaster took place in Enugu with a number of deaths recorded. The victims of the explosions are mostly gullible people who rush to the scene to scoop spilt fuel. A common thread in the explosions is the refusal of the people to learn some lessons from previous incidents. For instance, as the gory experience of the Dikko incident was still fresh, the people defied the pain to race to the scene of the Enugu tanker explosion. As a response to the incessant and unfortunate development, the Nigerian government has set up a powerful panel to unnravel factors responsible for the explosions. Perhaps the most important part of the terms of reference is how to prevent a recurrence of fuel tanker explosions. The government can not gloss over the issue responsible for such incidents. When such explosions occur in places of high human density, there is the temptation on the people to rush for what they think is manna from heaven. The facts remain that most Nigerian roads are bad coupled with reckless driving and outright negligence of the drivers. We also play down the issue of poverty, greed, and ignorance. It is our considered opinion that there is a need to develop a regulatory framework. The Federal Road Safety Corps will need a special task force to enforce traffic laws as they affect articulated vehicles as well as set up traffic stops. As it stands, the country can not allow a situation in which people are burnt alive. A stop should be put to this.