Faces Behind The Crashes

On May 11, 2025, I did a piece titled, ‘Who killed Biggy’. I followed up that piece with the second edition, titled ‘I know who killed Biggy’. Both write-ups x-rayed the tragic end of Biggy who was not just my technology technician, but was also family. In the first piece, I told you that when the news of his death hit my phone, I was startled.

My shock was not just because of his death, but the surrounding circumstances that ended his life. On Thursday, May 8, 2025, I accompanied my staff, his family, friends, and colleagues to pay him the last respect where he was laid to rest. Biggy, I was told, was knocked on a Monday evening, sadly by a friend and church brethren who never knew who he hit.

There was a scratch, no visible injuries, but unfortunately, he had severe head trauma, according to the report I received. The report also informed me that he arrived at the hospital clinically dead but was however placed on life support; sadly, negligence by health workers was his albatross.

I was speechless when I heard. Biggy could have lived, if the right treatment had been administered; promptly. Like most victims, he could have survived. Lived. Biggy did not die on a terribly abandoned road. He died on a road where you expect road users to be familiar with the 122 toll-free number of the Federal Road Safety Corps. His death, no doubt brought again to the fore, the growing and disturbing ignorance of the rules for pedestrians; the look left, look right, and then left again before crossing.

I know this grammar will not bring him back to life but would preserve the life of those still breathing. Although this other incident is outside the scope of this piece, it is still worth mentioning. The incident is that of brainy, beautiful Riyana. Riyana (not real name) was a medical doctor whose aspirations and dreams were cut short by a hit-and-run driver.

The incident happened in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Like most hit-and-run cases, the driver zoomed off after the incident without stopping to assist and save her life. Passersby were busy with selfies. No one attempted to help, provide first aid, or rush her to the nearest hospital. None. Content creation was their preoccupation. No one even attempted to capture the identity of the vehicle for further investigation. She died without justice. Biggy, Riyana, and Anthony Joshua’s pals were not killed by a terrorist, bandits, or kidnappers. They were killed by bad, irresponsible driving manners.

How can I forget so soon the celebrated road traffic crash of December 29, 2025, involving our dear brother, friend, and hero, Anthony Joshua? For those who read my three pieces on him, I stated clearly for the record, that what happened on that date was not an accident, but a road crash.

The incident occurred when a black Lexus SUV    carrying him and his close pals, on Monday, December 20, 2025, in Makun the rural part of Ogun state crashed into a stationary red commercial Sinotruck near Lagos. It occurred along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway near the Sagamu interchange on the Ibadan-bound axis.

I don’t wish to rehash all that happened or did not happen. I am talking about the role of eyewitnesses who are usually the first responders in most crashes, who heroically began rescue efforts before the Federal Road Safety Corps first responder team arrived three minutes after the crash, followed by the police.

We read of how before the ambulance got there, the former World boxing champion was moved to a hospital. Meanwhile, the deaths that occurred, we were told, were not caused by negligence as the two who lost their lives due to the crash, died on the spot due to collision trauma from excessive speed.

Again, I refer to keep mute on the official report which identified suspected speed, reckless driving, and tyre burst as probable causative factors responsible for the crash. Commentators and commentaries, lampooned the failure of emergencies and ambulances to arrive at the scene, and other failures that I would rather not rehash here.

Do you still remember the parked truck, the failure of the owner as well as government agencies to remove the truck promptly? How about the content creators whose interest was not in saving a life but earning dollars through robust content on the tragedy of a nation’s hero and pride?

Remember I told you that the truck was parked on the hard shoulder which is permitted by the provisions of National Road Traffic Regulations, the Highway Code as well as laws in both developed and developing countries. The hard shoulder is part of a highway or expressway infrastructure.

It is a paved emergency lane on the side of a motorway or highway, separated by a solid white or yellow line or other road markings. It is designed for vehicles to stop safely in case of breakdowns or emergencies, and to allow emergency services to bypass congestion, only for emergency purposes.

It is called ’’hard’’ because it is made of durable material like tarmac, unlike softer, unpaved shoulders on the other road. Meanwhile, because it is not a lane, it is illegal to drive on it, overtaking or generally stopping, unless on the authorities of the Agencies concerned.

What about the actor responsible for this tragedy; the driver? Like most of us, he did what we delight in doing; break the law, drive without an iota of care for other road users. If you are in doubt, please drive along major routes in the Federal Capital Territory, other major cities, and ask yourself if our drivers are really sane.

Only an insane driver does what he did, by overtaking on the right. Unfortunately, this is the pastime of even uniform personnel whose conduct should guide others. Over-taking is usually on the left side of the road in countries that drive on the right, and on the right side in countries where traffic drives on the left.

Did you know that Nigeria drives on the right-hand side of the road, a change made from left -hand to right-hand driving, on April 2, 1972, to align with neighboring West African countries.  Do you know that ours is unique; that we drive on the right and have our hard shoulders on the right while overtaking is only permitted on the left and not on the right as the driver was alleged to have done.

Contrary to the daily bashing of the government on the state of some of our roads, do you know and remember that bad roads were not a factor in this crash? The stretch on which the crash occurred was motorable and stands as one of the best highways in Nigeria. It is a six- lane highway with three lanes on either side. It boasts of no potholes; rather the lanes are well demarcated and delineated.

I am deliberate in dwelling on this because in the words of Dr Reuben Abati of Arise Television, we dwell more on Nigeria happening to us when in fact, we happen to ourselves. Why would a driver in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory with the good road infrastructure choose to display tendencies that were not common among early humans such as neanderthals?

For the record, again, the government deserves some flowers for the state of the 127.6-kilometre-long Lagos-Ibadan expressway connecting Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, and Lagos. It is perhaps the busiest interstate road in the country, well policed by the Federal Road Safety Corps with the establishment of accident clinics, ambulance points as well as operational Commands with daily deployment of light, medium, and heavy-duty tow trucks