Hundreds of students of Ondo State
origin on Friday took to the Akure/Owo Expressway to protest against
incessant road accidents often caused by trucks, which have caused the
deaths of many students across the country.
The protesters, under the aegis of the
National Association of Nigerian Students, blocked the highway for
several hours, preventing vehicular movements, especially those of
commercial vehicles heading to Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja.
The protesters called on the Federal
Government to create alternative routes for the trucks or ban them from
moving during the day time to reduce the rate of auto crashes on federal
roads.
The protest was said to have come up
after the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Federal
Government to ban trucks from plying the highway during the day time.
Armed with placards bearing various
inscriptions, such as ‘Enough is enough, government should ban trailers
from our highways,’ ‘government, please ban trailers on our roads,’ ‘our
colleagues are dying in road accidents,’ and ‘stop trailers from
killing our colleagues’ among others.
The
protesters, who were led by the National Vice-President, NANS,
Timileyin Ayenuro, said they could not continue to fold their arms and
allow their colleagues to be killed by trucks on the highway.
Speaking with journalists during the
protest, Ayenuro said, “We cannot allow our colleagues to be dying in
road accidents caused by trucks. Last two weeks, we lost about seven
students on this road; last month, 12 students of the Olabisi Onabanjo
University lost their lives in an accident caused by trucks.
“The students of the University of Benin
also died of accidents last two weeks. In Onitsha, 68 people lost their
lives. Just this morning (Friday), about eight people died in an
accident caused by a truck in Oyo state; so we want the Federal
Government to find a solution to this. Nigerian students are asking the
Federal Government to ban trucks and tankers on our highway for now to
stop the killing of Nigerian students.”
Security personnel were, however, present at the scene of the protest to ensure that it did not get violent.
(Punch)
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