The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, Mr Peter Obi, has regretted the frequency of national tragedies in Nigeria, saying the regular occurrences are concerning to Nigerian.
The former Anambra State governor said this when he visited Jigawa State to commiserate with the victims of the petrol tanker explosion which killed more than 180 persons with so many still hospitalised.
Obi, takin to his X handle, regretted that those who died or hospitalized were young persons in their primes, noting that this is a national tragedy.
He tweeted; “As planned today, I visited Dutse, Jigawa State, to commiserate with Governor Alhaji Umar Namadi Dan Modi and the people of Jigawa over the tragic petroleum tanker incident that took over 180 lives and over 80 still hospitalized.
“Those who died and were hospitalized are mainly young people in their prime productive years.
“This is a national tragedy. I pray for the departed souls and strength for their bereaved families. I also pledge to donate to the victims. I appreciate and thank the government for the efforts they are making to alleviate the suffering and help those in the hospital.
“Again, I use this as a point of contact to condole all the victims of the tanker explosion and spillage and to urge tanker drivers to be more careful. I also call on governments at all levels to provide our people with a source of livelihood to avoid things that will jeopardize their lives.
“The frequency of tragedies in our nation has become a concerning issue that calls for special supplications for God’s intervention even as relevant stakeholders and governments at all levels should strive to put in place infrastructure and laws that will help prevent such ugly incidents.
“Tragedies occur when necessary human action is not adequately taken to mitigate misfortune.”