If money could be given in exchange for untimely deaths, Mr. & Mrs. Adebisi-Ademusayo claim they would have gladly done this as they mourn the loss of their only two children in a ghastly motor accident penultimate week, Olunike Asaolu writes.
Wednesday, May 11, will be remembered as a day of gnashing of teeth, bitterness and sorrow in the home of Newman Adebisi-Ademusayo. That was the day their only two children-Phillip and Tobi were killed in an auto crash on their way to school.
Both of them were pupils of Cornerstone Bright Schools, Sangotedo in Ajah, Lagos. Phillip, aged 13, was in Junior Secondary School One while his sister, Tobi, 11 years, was in primary six before they met their untimely deaths on their way to school that Wednesday.
They both died in their school bus, which crashed in Ajah, Lagos two week ago. And they were buried on the same day, in the same ground, at the Epe Cemetery, Lagos.
They were not the only victims of the tragic accident. Another man with his three children and some other school children were also killed in the accident that occurred around 7.30 am when the children were being taken to school.
The Adebisi-Ademusayos, who were surrounded by relatives and friends, couldn’t be consoled at their Sangotedo home when our correspondent visited the family penultimate Thursday. The couple said the two children were their last hope, disclosing that after the birth of Tobi, 11 years ago, they couldn’t get another child due to medical reasons.
The 32-year-old mother said, “These two children were my hope, I couldn’t get any children since 11 years ago after the birth of Tobi. I didn’t do any family planning, and I didn’t want to stop at two, it is just that I couldn’t conceive after then. I just pray that God in his infinite mercy will turn this situation around for good. It is just as if I am dreaming, I wish somebody would wake me up and bring back my children to life. My dreams have been shattered! My doctor and my lawyer have been killed! Who will love me like my children?” she cried.
An eye-witness, who accused the school bus driver of recklessness, alleged that the driver, having left his lane, veered to another lane and was hit by a truck. “Because the car was on top speed, the driver lost control and hit some cars, including a jeep before it somersaulted thrice and landed in a carnal at Eko Akete along the Ajah Expressway.
“By the time people got to the scene of the accident, some children were in a very critical condition, all efforts to save their lives proved abortive as they died before they got to a nearby hospital. The only survivor then, who I don’t know his condition now, was taken to Safeway Hospital, Sangotedo, Ajah,” he said.
When our correspondent visited the hospital to check on victims, one Ibrahim was said to have survived but sources said he had been transferred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos. One of the nurses who disclosed this said she could not comment further on his health condition.
But while the incident occurred, Mrs. Bukola Adebisi-Ademusayo was going about the day’s business as usual. She didn’t have any idea that some parts of her had been cut off.
Asked if she had a premonition of what was going to happen on that day, she said the love between her and her children did not give her any inkling that they would leave her very soon.
On how she knew that her children were dead, she said, “Before that fateful day, My husband and I had already planned to have a family photograph that we would hang on the wall in our living room. So that morning, I was getting a place ready for the picture. That was when one of my neighbours came to our apartment and talked about school buses. She said, ‘mummy Phillip, one of my sisters said she had a dream that some school buses had accidents and that Cornerstone school bus was involved.’ She asked me to call my husband immediately, because according to her, her sister’s dreams usually come to pass. She said if her sister had told her the dream before the school bus came to pick my children, she wouldn’t have allowed them to go with the bus.
“I immediately called my husband, not knowing that the deal had been done. But he wasn’t picking his calls, it was his workers that were picking the calls, and they were telling me all sorts of things. I called his brothers too, nobody told me anything. I became worried, I was having only my wrapper on, no underwear, nothing, then I went back to put on my underwear and I headed towards Sangotedo.
“By the time I got there, I saw a crowd in front of a hospital and I stopped, I saw my husband rolling on the ground with the lifeless bodies of my children also on the ground,” she narrated. Seeing this spectacle, Bukola temporarily lost her senses as she could not fathom what had befallen her.
“When I got home, the only thing I could do was just asking people for my children’s whereabouts,” she added.
But while Phillip and Tobi’s mother could summon courage to talk with people, her husband, was speechless. He was said to be very close to the children, as he often bought food for them at a nearby eatery almost on a daily basis. His shop, where he repairs generators, is directly opposite the school. He had to be given some drugs for strength.
As at the time our correspondent visited the family, he was on a bed all through, he couldn’t eat or stand on his feet, he was being assisted by his brothers.
But a family member, Mr. Adedoyin Ademusayo, has blamed the school for the accident. “This incident wouldn’t have occurred, if the school had employed an experienced and elderly driver who is good at driving school buses. This driver was a young man, who was newly employed by the school. He had no experience and I don’t think he is a good driver. Schools, especially Cornerstone, are fond of changing drivers because of the money they will pay. They are not concerned about the lives of their pupils.
“It is so sad that this is happening to my family but there is nothing anyone can do now. However, we have to prevent this kind of incident, by appealing to government and even schools to ensure that school drivers are professionals, if possible they can send them back to driving school for certification.”
Also blaming the school, a family friend, Mr. Benjamin Abiodun, said the school couldn’t tell anyone that it didn’t know that the driver was reckless because it would have received letters and complaints from parents but they turned a deaf ear, because they got him cheap.
“I can’t say the number of times people have complained about this driver, even landlords in this area had asked Ademusayo not to allow the driver to take his children again. We didn’t know that it would be so sudden.
“I don’t think anyone would be able to console Newman, he loved these children to a fault. His shop is close to the school, and everyday he bought lunch for them in one of the eateries, now that they are gone, where are the children to love, or pamper? Even, we friends and brothers will miss these children greatly, because they are lovely, accommodating and respectful.”
One of the father’s customers, Mr. Eniola Akande, got to know that the two children were involved in the accident through one of their exercise books that he saw at the scene of the accident. “As everybody was running around, checking if their children, or somebody they knew was there, I saw an exercise book on the ground and I checked the name on it, it was Tobi Adebisi. I was wondering which of the Adebisis, I called their father, and he confirmed that his children were involved,” he said.
While they have accepted their fate, the bereaved family is not happy with the school management, which they said, had not deemed it fit to pay them a condolence visit. “It is very bad on the part of the school not to have paid a condolence visit to us. They have not even called us either, it is bad, ” one of the aggrieved brothers said.
A sympathiser, who simply identified himself as Akeem, advised parents to ensure that their children are driven to schools by responsible drivers.
He said, “I will advise that telephone numbers should be written on school buses, so that any reckless drivers can be reported.’’
When our correspondent visited the school, it was shut, there was nobody to talk with. However, the proprietress, Mrs. Aweh who spoke on the phone, said the school would remain shut till the board decided otherwise.
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