A promising 300-level undergraduate of the University of Ibadan died recently in a cruel manner in an avoidable factory accident in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The victim, Richard Gbadebo, lost his life after slipping into a soap-making machine at a factory owned by Henkel Nigeria Limited, producers of laundry and homecare products. The 21-year-old was engaged in a holiday job due to the closure of schools occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gbadebo would be alive today if the government had displayed the requisite leadership by insisting on compliance with standard safety measures long before now. Many states in Nigeria are guilty of weak enforcement of the safety, health and welfare provisions on factories. This explains why many owners of industries are as bold as brass whenever preventable disasters occur. Compensating the family of the late Gbadebo is appropriate, though doing so would not restore him to life.
In November 2019, one 50-year-old Sunday Usenobong, an employee of an Ikorodu, Lagos-based firm, reportedly fell into a melting pot while operating the company’s machine. He died on the spot and homicide detectives visited the scene and evacuated the corpse to a public morgue for autopsy. Also, one Femi Olatunde, while operating a moulding machine at an Ikeja-based company, reportedly got trapped in the machine and died on the spot.