Following the tragic mass burial of over 140 victims of a fuel tanker explosion in Northern Nigeria, many citizens have attributed the incident to the nation’s weakened economy.
The disaster took place in the town of Majiya, Jigawa State, when an overturned gasoline tanker exploded as residents attempted to collect leaking fuel. The explosion caused significant destruction, with emergency services reporting that most victims’ bodies were unrecognizable.
A Nigerian civil servant, Emenike Okpaga speaking to reporters, primarily blamed the government for mismanaging the economy, leaving citizens desperate to survive by any means. “I blame both the people and the government. If the government prioritized the welfare of its citizens, this would not have happened.”
“No one in their right mind would be scooping fuel except out of hunger,” added software engineer Emmanuel Isaac.
“When someone sees an opportunity to make money from fuel scooping, they will take it,” he continued.
“We need to do better as a community and as a nation. People cannot continue living in such dire conditions.”
This deadly tanker explosion is one of many in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where traffic regulations are often poorly enforced, and there is an absence of an efficient railway system for cargo transport.