A former Labour Party presidential aspirant and leader of Rescue Movement For New Nigeria aka Rescue The Vulnerable Initiative, Comrade Faduri Oluwadare Joseph popularly called Fadojoe, has spoken out in defense the ex-wife of Ooni of Ife, Queen Naomi Silekunola, and seven others arrested, detained and arraigned in respect to the Wednesday’s December 18, 2024 funfair tragedy which caused a stampede. Describing the arraignment as very ridiculous. While expressing sympathy to the family of those who lost loved ones and those injured and taking treatment, he also added that “referring to them as criminals is completely misnomer and discouraging those of us that have been sending food to Nigeria from doing it this December and may be in future”.
The USA based former Presidential Aspirant under Labour Party made this known through a broadcast from his official YouTube channel, saying he “was shocked to read on Instagram that Naomi and seven others were arrested, arraigned and detained over the stampede that occurred in an invent that was organized to give to the society, but for circumstances beyond the control of the organizers turned out to be a tragedy.
“The question we should first ask is if our country is how it supposed to be in the first place, will Naomi be distributing food or money to people? Secondly, if our country is in good shape, will that huge number of people, rush to such event just to collect what eventually they will end up getting few or little things due to the number of the people?
“Let us first establish the fact that the major reason for the stampede is because millions of Nigerians are suffering and when they hear anywhere at any point in time that someone wants to give out money and or food, no matter how small, they will bombard the venue. Even if you have one million naira to share to hundred thousand people; and you are expecting one million, you are going to see ten million people. Do you know why? Because millions of Nigerians are hungry because the situation of the country is so terrible! In fact, the only people that have money in abundance in Nigeria now are the politicians.
“This event is definitely not her first time. And some of us have been doing it. I have been doing it too, and I had the plan to give out food items this December, but I had to stop it because I don’t want my good intention to turn to serious problem. I know that if I had called for two hundred people to collect food in different locations across Nigeria, in each location millions of people will come and it may result in stampede”.
Expatiating that from the information available, the Ibadan stampede was not directly caused by the negligence of the organizers. It was said that there was actually provision for security and crowd control. And that by the arrangements, the security team was to arrive the venue one hour before the time the event was scheduled to kick off. But as the result of the serious hunger in the land as early as 5:00 am people have started arriving the venue of the event scheduled to kick off at 9:00am, and as the gate was not yet opened parents were pushing their children in over the fence just to ensure they don’t hear any story that food finished before it reached their turn.
“Therefore, it wasn’t a tragedy that was directly caused by the organizers of the event, as they obviously didn’t expect such large number of people and didn’t envisage that people will storm the venue that early. In a responsive administration, the government should have set up a committee to look into the direct and remote cause of the stampede. Then the committee will come up with the report, before the authority can now make the decision either to invite the organizers and handle the issue appropriately and go further to advise people on how to effectively organize such give away to avoid any kind of tragedy.
“Also we know that Nigerians as we are, we are never compliance. Even the president said it during his media chat that Nigerians are never compliance. You want to assist and everyone wants to be first to be attended to. When you ask them to form a line, they will not form a effective line, even if some try to do, it will be in total disorder. Because they are afraid that it may not reach them.
“To arrest Queen Naomi Silekunola (Ooni’ ex-wife), Oriyomi Hamzat (Broadcaster), Fasasi Abdulahi (The Principal of Islamic High School, venue of the event) and five others and arraigned them on four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, and negligent acts causing harm; is not the right step to take.
“With the way the government is handling this issue, the masses will be the people to suffer it, because this will totally discourage many of us that have been doing it before now from continue to do more. If something happen, let’s look at it in people’s way and not just in criminal way.
“We have never witnessed this in Nigeria before, that where people are to collect food and other support, stampede occur leading to death. This should be a wake up call to the government that Nigerians are seriously hungry and there is need for the government to be proactive in handling the issue of economy nosedive that has thrown the nation in jeopardy.
“In conclusion, I call on the federal government lead by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider their actions on this Ibadan stampede tragedy and don’t continue to handle it in such a way to make Nigerians feel as if those helping others are being victimized. Once again, my condolences to the family of those that died and I sympathize with those injured and are receiving treatment”, he concluded
