By Akinwale Kasali
Angry parents who stormed Ojodu Grammar School on Wednesday, a day after a trailer rammed into Students at the school’s Bus Stop, were stunned that the Management of the School did not shut it down as a mark of respect to the dead students.
The school apparently continued with its examination time table in a manner that shocked parents.
So, they rained curses at both the Management of the School and the Lagos State Government, calling them heartless.
This came as students, in their numbers took to the streets on Wednesday to protest the death of their mates who were crushed to death by the trailer as they waited to board a bus home after school.
On the same Wednesday, the Lagos State Government shut down the school till January 2022 when the Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo, visited the school.
A devastated Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu expressed deep sorrow over the tragic incident.
In a condolence message to the families of the dead students signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, on Wednesday, Sanwo-Olu described the killing of the students in the accident as sad, unfortunate and avoidable.
The Governor sympathised with families of the bereaved students, their relatives, friends, and Management and staff of Ojodu Grammar school.
He said: “I commiserate with the parents, Management, staff and students of Ojodu Grammar school over this unfortunate death of our students, whose lives were cut short by a truck driver yesterday (Tuesday).
“The sad incident has left me devastated since yesterday because it is terrible to hear about the death of innocent children, especially in a clearly avoidable circumstance like what happened yesterday.
“As a parent, words cannot express how shattered I was when I learnt about the incident. No one’s life, including those vibrant students, who were returning from where they had gone to learn for a better future, deserved to be ended in that manner.
“My deepest sympathies go out to their parents. I pray that God will grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
“Our prayers are also with the survivors, who are receiving treatment at the hospitals.
“Meanwhile, we have immediately ordered that the affected school be shut down till January, while investigations are ongoing. The erring driver has also been arrested.”
Reason for the closure of the School according to State Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo, is due to the trauma and the violence that took place following the unfortunate incident, and for calm and normalcy to return to the educational environment.
It would be recalled that the unfortunate incident sparked outrage among the students and inhabitants of the area, leading to destruction of properties.
Earlier on Wednesday, Students of the School had protested against the death of their colleagues, calling for justice for the deceaseds.
The identities of some of the dead students are yet to be ascertained, prompting parents to troop to the School in search of their wards.
Some of the parents lamented that the School remained open for classes on Wednesday after Tuesday’s incident.
One of the parents who claimed anonymity said, “Why should the school reopen. The street is still smelling of the flesh of dead bodies. The exam should be postponed and students given automatic promotion if possible.”
In tears, another parent lamented that “It is embarrassing that the school reopened today. How could the Government do such? What do they want other mothers to be thinking of. My daughter is not in school and I have come to tell them that she must not fail. If they are heartless, I am not.”
In another development, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, distanced itself from the allegation that its officials were the cause of the unfortunate incident.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba, in a statement disowned the allegation that officials of the agency were involved in the unfortunate truck accident.
Oreagba said, “From the reports we received on the incidence, the driver is believed to have lost control of the vehicle, probably because of mechanical reasons. The police are investigating the matter; the public should await their report.
“LASTMA does not have a traffic management duty post around the accident scene. And all patrol personnel had reported back to base for the daily parade as at the time the accident occurred leaving only those at their traffic management posts,” Oreagba noted.
