members of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) left the party's secretariat in Ikeja,
Lagos, to take part in the campaign rally
of President Goodluck Jonathan at the
Eagle Square, Abuja the next day. It
began as a smooth journey as the PDP
members sang Jonathan's praises.
But tragedy struck as the travelers
approached Ikire, a historical community
in Osun State. The driver of the luxury
bus that conveyed them lost control of
the vehicle, leading to the death of a
passenger while scores of other
passengers sustained various degrees of
injuries that have refused to heal.
Those who sustained injuries in the
accident included Madam Funke
Oyinsanmi and Madam Bisi Awe. Others
were Olabisi Olojede, Mercy Oluyemi and
Mary Balogun.
The victims were first taken to the Ikire
Catholic Church hospital, from where they
were transferred to the Lagos University
Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba,
where most of them remained about two
months.
Mrs. Awe did not only lose four of her
teeth in the accident, her fractured arm
had to be amputated while her broken
lower jaw makes it impossible for her to
talk properly. Other victims of the
accident are nursing equally serious
injuries, nursing excruciating pains and
securing no tangible help, even from the
party.
Recalling the events that culminated in
her ugly fate, Mrs. Awe said: "I had no
premonition whatsoever that the journey
would bring me recurring tears instead of
joy. I went on the journey because of my
love for President Jonathan. Honestly, if I
knew that the journey would turn awry, I
would have turned down the offer to be
part of the contingent.
"We were singing songs in praise of
President Jonathan when we suddenly
heard a loud noise. I passed out
immediately. The next thing I saw was
that I found myself in the hospital. To my
surprise, I found that my right arm had
been amputated. At that point, I wept
uncontrollably, but I was frantically
consoled by the doctors and nurses
around."
When our correspondent visited the
Ikorodu residence of Awe, there were tell
tale signs of sadness in the household.
She was drinking garri, a delicacy she said
she detested when things were going
well.
The 57-year-old woman recalled the fate
that had befallen her since she lost her
arm and joined the league of deformed
persons.
She said: "Apart from the fact that I have
become a disabled person, the incident
has turned me into a beggar. I now live in
penury because I have spent all the
money I have on treatment.
"You can see that I have just finished a
bowl of soaked garri, which ordinarily I
would not have taken when I was hale
and hearty. Now, I can hardly feed
myself, not to talk of my children and
other dependants. I have aged parents
whose welfare was my responsibility
before the accident. Now, I can no longer
take care of them."
She also recalled how prominent party
leaders, including the First Lady, Mrs.
Patience Jonathan, promised to help her
but failed to make good their promises.
She said: "During one of her visits to
Lagos State in December 2011, we met
the First Lady at the State House, Marina,
at the instance of our party leaders. She
sympathised with us and promised to
facilitate my trip to India for corrective
surgery on my face and to procure an
artificial limb. Sadly, she has not fulfilled
that promise as I speak, even though she
made the promise in the presence of our
party leaders.
"I am therefore using this opportunity to
once again remind her of her promise and
to come to my aid as my health keeps
deteriorating every day.
"I know that some party leaders have
assisted me at one point or the other, but
I still need a huge lifeline to overcome my
predicament. As I speak, my children
have dropped out of school while I still
have medical bills to settle."
Other victims of the accident alleged that
they were abandoned by the First Lady
and PDP leaders, who had promised to
take care of their treatment and
rehabilitation. Lamenting their fate, they
pleaded with the party leaders and the
First Lady to redeem their pledge.
One of the victims, Madam Funke
Oyinsanmi, an indigene of Ado-Ekiti, said:
"I am a PDP member in Ward J, Ifako-
Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos
State. At about 7.30 pm, we left the PDP
secretariat in GRA, Ikeja in a luxury bus
en-route Abuja for the grand finale of the
presidential rally.
"When we got to Ikire, Osun State, our
vehicle was involved in an accident and it
somersaulted several times. Some
policemen rescued and took us to Catholic
Hospital in Ikire, Osun State, from where
we were referred to LUTH for treatment.
"I spent two months at the hospital
because one of the veins on my wrist was
badly affected while there are still broken
glasses that have not been removed from
my hand to date. The affected hand is
lifeless; I can no longer use it to lift
anything.
"I sincerely believe that the accident
would have been averted if we had
travelled in the day time. Queer party
officials in charge of mobilization are in
the habit of asking us to travel in the
night, so that they can pocket the money
meant for our accommodation.
"While we were in the hospital, some
stalwarts of the party, including Senator
Florence Ita Giwa, visited us and
promised that the party would take very
good care of us. But the promise has
remained unfulfilled.
"We also sought audience with the First
Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, during one
of her visits to Lagos, and she promised to
take care of our treatment. But she has
since abandoned us to our fate. Please
tell Mrs. Jonathan and our party leaders
to come to our aid because our health
has not improved at all."
The story of Mrs. Olabisi Olojede is not
different from those of other victims. The
Woman Leader from Ward G, Lagos
Mainland suffered a fracture and a
swollen hand that have refused to heal.
She said: "We were singing on our way to
Abuja. In the middle of this, I fell asleep.
The accident happened while I was still
sleeping. I woke up to see blood gushing
out of my head while I also sustained
injuries on my lips and left hand. My
swollen hand has not gone down and the
attendant pain is what I live with to date.
"In April last year, we met with Mrs.
Patience Jonathan in Lagos and she
promised to facilitate our treatment;
which she has not fulfilled. Although she
gave us some money on that day, it was
not enough to even take care of one
person, let alone the rest of us.
"I used to work as a bead maker and
traditional wedding engagement anchor,
but people are no longer giving me jobs
because of my predicament. Please tell
our party leaders to take care of us in the
name of God, because we embarked on
the journey out of our love for PDP.
"Since the incident and the indifference of
party leaders to our plight, we have
become the butt of jokes from members
of rival political parties in the state."
Another victim, Mrs. Mercy Oluyemi-
Lawal (49) said: "When the incident
occurred, one of my hands was trapped
under a heavy object. I tried to lift my
hand but I couldn't. My forehead was
lacerated by broken glass and my tooth
was also broken.
"To date, I still suffer severe pain in my
arms while pieces of glass are still stuck in
my hand. I am a trained caterer but I can
no longer work because of my broken
arm. Our former State Woman Leader,
Mrs. Olabisi Odunsi, tried for us but her
effort was not enough to relief us of our
pains."
Also recalling the sad incident, 43-year-
old Mrs. Mary Balogun said: "I was
sleeping when the vehicle somersaulted
at about 7.30 pm at a spot on Ikire-
Gbongan Road. I hit my head on the
pavement and blood started gushing out
of it. A co-passenger had to use her
wrapper to tie my head in order to
prevent further loss of blood.
"Now, I can no longer see clearly with my
eyes while my badly damaged hand is yet
to heal. As I speak, I cannot use the hand
to lift or pick anything. "
"Despite the promises made by our party
leaders and Dame Patience Jonathan to
the effect that we would be given free
medical treatment, nothing has been
done about our plight. We can no longer
continue to suffer for being patriotic, and
that is why we are appealing to our party
chieftains to assist us. We are dying in
silence.
"Many of us still need treatments that
require going overseas even as we battle
with poverty and hopelessness."
A letter of appeal addressed to the
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, by the
counsel to the victims, Kunle Fadipe,
dated March 18, 2013, reads in part: "We
wish to bring to your attention that
efforts made by our clients to get
echelons of the party (PDP) at the local
government and state levels to look into
their predicament have been futile…our
clients are widows whose means of
livelihood have been truncated by the
mishap.
"Because of their health challenges, they
cannot go about their daily businesses,
which were hitherto their sources of
income. Unfortunately, they now live on
contributions from friends and family
members. Even from these contributions
made to them, a substantial part goes to
the purchase of drugs and other
medications…it is upon these ugly
experiences of our clients that we
passionately appeal to your esteemed
office for a comprehensive rehabilitation
programme.
Their situation is pathetic and needs
urgent attention. They have become
objects of ridicule and scorn in the eyes
of friends and associates who deride them
for sowing where they could not reap.
They blame them for committing so much
to the party and getting nothing in return
in their time of need."
The Acting National Publicity Secretary of
PDP, Mr. Tony Okeke, declined comment
when one of our correspondents met him
at his office in Abuja on Thursday. "I am
not in the mood to say anything on the
matter," he said.
Efforts made by our correspondent to get
the comment of the Media Assistant to
Dame Patience Jonathan, Mr. Ayo Osinlu,
were also fruitless. After failing to
respond to calls made to his phone, our
correspondent sent a text message,
explaining why he needed his comment,
but he responded saying: "Welcome and
thanks for making contact. However, I am
not in a situation to make a comment
right now. Please direct this enquiry to
Mrs. Ayo Adesugba."
Adesugba initially did not respond to a
text message our correspondent sent to
her phone. Our correspondent later
called her on the phone and she
promised to call back. "I am in a meeting,
I'll call you later," she said. She, however,
did not make good her promise to call
back.
The PDP chairman in Lagos State, Mr.
Tunji Shelle, could also not be reached for
comment as he neither picked the calls
made to his phone nor respond our
correspondent's text message.
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