Nigerian farmer Mustapha Majiya is still reeling from the loss of nearly 50 members of his extended family this week after an overturned fuel tanker exploded, sending flames into the night sky.
“My cousins, Nuradeen Rabiu, 16, and Dini Babalo, 17, were among the dead. They were trying to prevent people from getting too close to the tanker and scooping up fuel before the explosion,” said the 50-year-old resident of Majia town . told the BBC.
The explosion on Tuesday evening in the northern state of Jigawa has been described as one of the deadliest tanker accidents in Nigeria in recent years.
It has killed at least 153 people; many are burned beyond recognition. Of the hundred people injured in the inferno, several are still in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The tanker truck was full of gasoline and was traveling on a main road through the city with no street lights when the driver lost control as another vehicle approached.
When residents realized that free gasoline was available, people, mostly young men and teenagers, rushed to get buckets and other containers to collect the precious liquid.
Over the past 17 months, petrol prices in Nigeria – where fuel shortages are frequent – have soared, leading to a cost of living crisis.
Many residents of the farming community did not want to miss the opportunity to stock up, ignoring warnings from the likes of Mr Majiya’s cousins, who were both in their fourth year at the town’s high school.
“I just bought them books and new uniforms for the school year,” he says in disbelief.
Mr Majiya also lost an old friend, Jamilu Maigaji, in the explosion which occurred about an hour after the tanker crashed.
The 55-year-old was married with two wives and 13 children and had been at the scene when people went to get fuel, some of which had collected in a drainage ditch and some brush along the highway.
“Some people were just spectators and did not understand the dangers of being on stage,” Mr Majiya complained.
As a devout Muslim, Mr Majiya says he accepts God’s will as the giver and taker of life.
But it is part of a wider pattern of tanker-related explosions and accidents in Nigeria, which experts believe could be avoided if there were better strategic planning and safety measures.
Petroleum products in Nigeria – a huge oil-producing country and Africa’s most populous country – are largely transported by road.
“There is no place in the world where they rely solely on roads to transport goods. The government must invest more in freight rails across the country,” city developer Kola Ashiru-Balogun told the BBC.
More than 1,500 fuel tanker accidents were recorded in 2020 alone, resulting in 535 deaths, according to the latest figures from the country’s Federal Road Safety Corps.
Just last month, 59 people died in north-central Niger state after a fuel tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and livestock.
As emergency services responded to the Majia explosion, another fuel tanker overturned in Ibafo in southwestern Ogun state.
The tanker spilled its contents in front of a commercial bank, leading to an explosion. Although there were no casualties, the incident caused significant damage to nearby vehicles and property.
Following Tuesday evening’s horrific accident, the Senate has asked the National Orientation Agency, the body responsible for government communications, to intensify efforts to raise public awareness of the dangers of approaching a tanker involved in an accident.
Vice President Kashim Shettima echoed these sentiments and said, “As we deal with this tragedy, let us also reflect on the importance of safety measures and public awareness to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Last week he even attended the launch of the National Road Safety Advisory Council (Narsac), which aims to improve coordination within government to increase road safety and reduce accidents.
However, some security experts argue that the problem is not a lack of policy, but rather an inability to implement those policies.
“There is no political will to take action,” Timothy Iwuagwu, president of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, told the BBC.
He attributes many of the tanker accidents to factors such as poorly maintained roads, inadequately inspected vehicles and untrained drivers.
“The force of the tanker hitting the ground is not enough to cause an explosion. It is the poor manufacturing of these tanks by unqualified persons – that is the problem,” he said.
Overloaded tankers and ineffective safety controls at depots also played a major role in the frequency of these accidents, he added.
But the reality on the ground is that desperate people will take risks.
Since President Bola Tinubu came to power in May 2023, his government has removed fuel and electricity subsidies, causing gasoline prices to rise by more than 500% and significantly increasing energy costs.
Meanwhile, the naira, Nigeria’s currency, has depreciated by more than 400% against the US dollar, exacerbating economic problems.
Inflation is over 32% and an estimated 104 million Nigerians – almost half the population – live in poverty
The government has defended these measures, stressing that they are necessary to stabilize the ailing economy.
And while the government has promised an investigation into the Jigawa explosion, history shows that prosecutions are rare – and victims or their families rarely receive compensation.
“The people left in Majia feel sorry for this incident,” Mr Majiya said, reflecting the city’s shock and sadness.
“The government has promised to help the community and survivors. We are waiting for them,” he said.
As the nation joins them in mourning, calls for the government to protect its citizens from these preventable disasters are growing louder.
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