Nigerians have criticized rampant reckless truck parking and overspeeding following a recent accident involving Nigerian-born boxer Anthony Joshua and his two friends.
New Daily Prime earlier reported that the incident which occurred on Monday along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway claimed the lives of his two friends on the spot.
A significant number of Nigerians have taken to social media to express their views. Many claimed the road is notorious for frequent accidents, while others attributed the situation to a lack of government enforcement.
Olamide Lawrence, a Facebook user, described the Nigerian-born boxer’s survival as a miracle, emphasizing the situation as a recurring ugly event.
He said, “It is about the trucks, stationary death traps — parked randomly and recklessly in the middle of the road. No caution signs. No reflector lights. Just a massive hunk of metal parked like it is resting in its father’s compound.”
While urging the government to take action against reckless driving, he denounced drivers as the major cause, emphasizing that drivers need to take precautionary measures to avert future occurrences, “because by the time headlights pick up the truck at night, it is often too late.”
The Facebook user recalled the case of the late Nigerian popular singer Dagrin as the same exact script, noting that the plot remains unchanged as many Nigerians have died in this exact manner, but their stories are rarely heard.
He added that truck owners move on while drivers slip under the radar, stating that the government is only releasing statements and panic-reacting now because the victim is a global icon and a foreign national.
Similarly, Otareri Ochuko said that news of accidents is alarming to hear almost every day, adding that in sane countries, damaged trucks hardly park on roads.
“In Nigeria, you see them parked for days or weeks. Some are even repaired on the spot without traffic signs, and it is the job of road safety officers to remove them immediately when they break down,” he lamented.
Another user, Mustapha Olufemi, maintained that safety is a shared responsibility and not the government’s alone, stressing that overspeeding kills.
“The smooth Lagos-Ibadan Expressway makes it easy to drive beyond the speed limit. From available videos, the accident involved a parked truck, and loss of control occurred during an overtaking attempt.”
Mustapha concluded that while government lapses exist, FRSC officials, soldiers, and good Samaritans were present at the scene, based on videos in circulation, but the rescue was not handled professionally. Therefore, personal responsibility matters.
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