Expert Links  Incessant Deaths on East-West Road to Poor Governance

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

A management expert, Dr. Leesi Gborogbosi, has said the recent tanker explosion that occurred on the Eleme axis of the East-West Road was avoidable if the government had considered the plights of the citizens and road users, and hasty the reconstruction of the road.

Gborogbosi, the executive chairman of Gborogbosi Foundation Port Harcourt, also attributed the incident to poor leadership and bad governance by the government at all levels.

Gborogbosi, who made the assertion in a statement made available to journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, berated multinational companies within the Eleme axis, saying it would have been avoided if they are taking their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously.

He said:  “Another avoidable carnage on the East-West Road has left many wondering why such tragedies should occur in this time and age. The truth remains that this problem is rooted in poor governance and leadership.

“Despite poor governance being at the root of the problem, the reality of the latest incident underscores a shared blame that equally exposed the failures of other key stakeholders over the needless deaths on the East-West Road, particularly on the Eleme-Onne stretch.

“The fact that the carnage occurred almost at the gates of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited raises serious questions about such a big company’s corporate social responsibility.

“Why did they not send their fire trucks to the scene on time? This lack of empathy and responsibility towards the host communities is unacceptable.

“For the government, the negligence and hypocrisy over actions being taken is inciting. The larger Nigerian state is aware of the suffering of the people in that area since 2015, but have not taken any far reaching action.

“But, even if Nigeria has shown little concern for the people of Rivers State, out of 12 flyovers constructed by the state government lately, why was consideration not given for a flyover over the Aleto Bridge? This lack of good governance is unacceptable.”

Gborogbosi noted that local government areas in Rivers State do not have fire stations and trucks, which he said is another contributing factor to the carnage on the East-West Road.

He continued: “Why were fire trucks not deployed from Eleme, Okrika, and Port Harcourt to the scene? The lack of empathy and care for the people is appalling without functional fire stations and trucks.

“Even more concerning is the lack of empathy shown by the so-called leaders. Instead of mourning and reflecting on the tragedy, they were attending parties. How can the people take these leaders serious when they show such callousness towards their own people?

“As a concerned son of Rivers State, I am calling on the state government and the leadership of the South-east senatorial district to declare seven days of mourning.

“This would not only show the many families affected by these deaths and destructions that they are not alone, but would also send federal government another critical signal on how much it has pushed Rivers people to a breakpoint on the lingering pains over the collapsed East West Road. We need to show the love of God and protection for the people.”