By Dotun Oladipo

I write this from a point of pain and gratitude. Pain because of the death of a hard working and honest man, Rotimi Olaleye, who is both a great father, as attested to by his children who he has been taking care of single handedly since his wife died about five years ago, and an honest and diligent auto mechanic, as confirmed by his clients, including yours truly. We met less than a week before his death, but he left an unforgettable impression on me, even in death.

Gratitude? I was less than 10 seconds away from where Mr. Olaleye was when the fire that took his life occurred with my wife and first child.

Let me start from the beginning. I met Mr. Olaleye on March 8, 2025 following a need to change my mechanic. I was introduced to him by the best car air conditioning technician I had ever met, Mr. Akinola Ayeni. We drove the car together on that day. He spotted some issues, including the fact that the former handler was as careless as not putting the knots that should be holding the connecting ABS wire to the wheel of the driver’s side, by just driving the car. That was quickly fixed. And he told me, very honestly, that other things had to wait until Monday. That he needed to finish some other jobs. I left happily.

Advertisement

On Monday, I took the car to him. He appeared meticulous. Despite the fact that I told him that on completing the work on the Highlander, which my wife uses, I was going to send in my own car for servicing, he was not in a hurry to declare the vehicle fit.

On Tuesday morning, the first accident occurred on Otedola Bridge. My wife had to return home. By the way, we live in one of the most organised estates around OPIC in Ogun State. Before she returned, Mr. Olaleye had told me to stay in coming to meet him as he had already spent three hours from Mowe in Ogun State and was yet to get to Berger in Lagos State, a journey of less than 30 minutes. From that time on, he kept briefing me on developments until 6pm when he told me he was now satisfied with the car.

I immediately asked him if I could head in his direction. The answer was a no. He wanted to get the car washed. I told him I would take it to the car wash the following day. He said even if I do, it should still be washed. I gave up arguing.

Then at 7pm, Mr. Olaleye told me the washing had been completed by his apprentices. I called my wife, Mrs. Taiwo Oladipo, that it was time to go home. By the way, we have our offices in the same building. By the time she came downstairs to meet me, I discovered that my first daughter, Ewaoluwa, a 500 Level student of Chemical Engineering, who had requested to follow us home, was yet to leave her friend’s house. So we waited for her. For a few minutes.

When we eventually set out, we discovered we needed to buy drinking water for the house. Mrs. Oladipo and Miss Oladipo said we should buy it close to the office in Ogba area of Lagos State because each bottle was N400 cheaper than what we would get close to the house. That would save us some cool N2,000. I said no, Mr. Olaleye was waiting for us. As I zoomed past the supermarket on the way, my wife said let’s buy the water. I stopped. Reversed. We spent about 10 minutes doing that.

Advertisement

Then we meandered our way through the New Afrika Shrine area onto the Opay building, less than two minutes to where Mr. Olaleye was waiting for us. He said he was already by the gate of the mechanic village, which was to the right of Otedola Bridge, underneath. So I told him emphatically in Yoruba: “E maa ri wa ni iseju kan (You will see us in one minute).”

As we descended the bridge and approached the divider that separated those heading towards the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and those going to CMD Road, just about 10 seconds to where Mr. Olaleye had already parked both his car and my wife’s, Mrs. Oladipo was the first to notice a truck that had obviously lost control.

Instinct immediately set in and I changed course towards CMD Road. And in split seconds, the truck crashed, the seal of the tanker burst open and the sky became blue, an indication that the truck was bearing gas. Between the seconds when we saw the truck and when the seal opened, I had dialled the last number on the dashboard of the car, which was that of Mr. Akin. It was ringing when the explosion occurred. And then followed the massive fire.

I was annoyingly slow for some people behind me. One woman came out of her car and started banging ours: “Move, move.” She did it a second time and I wound down the back glass, addressing her and my wife who had also become agitated: “We have a man down there. Let’s see if there is still something we can do before we go too far.” And then his line stopped ringing.

My head immediately told me to call Mr. Ayeni. As soon as he picked it up, he asked me: “Have you collected your car? Rotimi has parked by the gate and is waiting for you.” He did not even hear me saying there was trouble at the workshop until I shouted at the top of my voice. Mr. Ayeni, who was at Agidingbi, immediately turned back. He, alongside others, discovered the remains of Mr. Olaleye, lying face down. His apprentices who were with him said as the truck crashed, he told them to flee that he needed to “save his customer’s car”. Meanwhile, his own car was just behind mine. He succeeded in turning the car around to face the workshop. But that was as far as he made it. I cried that night. Something I have not done in several years. I wept bitterly.

Advertisement

In the short period I knew Mr. Olaleye, I learnt a lot of lessons. He left an impact I would never forget. But it was a pity he didn’t pick my last call, which was to tell him to abandon the car and flee to safety. His meticulousness on the job was second to none from what I saw in the three days of being with him. He also knew his job. Adieu Mr. Olaleye.

I was informed as I was ending this piece that a staff of Zenith Bank Plc and his wife died in the accident. The husband was said to have just resumed from his annual vacation that day. He had just picked his wife and they were heading home when they were caught in the explosion. May their souls and those of others I do not know involved in the accident rest in peace.

To the Lagos State Government, bravo. The response by the emergency responders was swift. However, it was not enough. Only one fire truck arrived after 15 or 20 minutes of the fire. After it exhausted its water, it took another 15 or 20 minutes for another to arrive. By the time Mr. Ayeni and others reached where Mr. Olaleye was, he was still breathing. But help did not reach him on time. But beyond that, the team did well. Despite the damages and the danger of dealing with a gas explosion, the scene was cleared well under 18 hours.

To the company that owns the truck that lost its brake and ended up ending no fewer than five lives and consuming properties that included cars and buildings, Second Coming Gas Company, I am torn between knocking them and giving them kudos. This was because of their response to the victims who were admitted in the hospital. The following day, the management staff had reached out to those in the hospital and met with the executives of the technicians association affected. They were making plans, like some of us are doing, to reach out to the children of Mr. Olaleye. I was told their mum died about five years ago. And the company is in discussion with the technicians on how to alleviate their losses.

But they could have done better. That truck was faulty as those who passed by it on CMD Road before it crashed noticed. The driver was, obviously, trying to manage it into the station on CMD Road. I imagine if it was into the station, which had drinking bars and other joints around it, the truck crashed.

Advertisement

I also pity Lagosians who have to pay N15,000 for third party insurance but get no benefit when the accident involves fire as a representative of Nicon Insurance Limited said. It amounts to gifting the company money for rendering limited services.

To the Federal Road Safety Corps and Lagos State Traffic Emergency Management Agency, you still have a long way to go. It appears the traffic laws in Lagos are meant more for private vehicle owners. Whereas we know that most infractions are committed by commercial vehicle owners, including the trucks that bear inflammable and heavy materials. When these agencies exercise their mandates fully, it is then those with warped minds will come to the realisation it is drivers who have no regard for lives and properties that are the cause of accidents on the Otedola and Kara bridges.

Advertisement

By Ikechukwu Ani

I stumbled on a social media report that faithful Monday afternoon of March 10, 2025 and before me was the shocking news break that my boss (will forever remain my boss), the debonair, industrious and effervescent Chief Hon. (Sir) Dubem Onyia, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, two time Member of the Federal House of Representatives and former Member of the Constituent Assembly, has passed on. The news was not only sobering but was devastating. He bowed at the age of 73, too early for a man who still has a lot to offer his country.

He was a man of destiny, succeeded where many failed and also left indelible imprints in the sands of time. He touched many lives, including mine. He was generous, committed to nation building and built friendships across the globe. He was my boss of inestimable value. I am still in shock on the sudden turn of events.

Our parts crossed when I was a practising journalist in Enugu. He wanted to address the Media to announce his intention to run for the Governorship of our state and needed someone to organise the briefing. It was Ozo Agu Gab Agu, a Professor of Law at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology that introduced me to him and I went ahead to package the Press Conference. And it was a huge success. He later didn’t make it to the Enugu State Government House but was later appointed the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Advertisement

He assumed office, looked back and invited me to come and manage his media relations in Abuja. That was how I came close to the man who was later to shape my future. I became his Press Secretary and served him for the four years he was in office.

Within the four years, I came to know him as a strong-willed person, compassionate and driven by excellence. He has the capacity for work and was overtly result oriented. He was dynamic, multi talented and radiated love and affection, tools that saw him as one of the flying ministers in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first tenure in office. He was always having his way in most of the things he wanted done. When he invited me to join him as Press Secretary, the bureaucracy in the system became an obstacle, but he quickly dismantled it, he wanted results and would not take any half measure in the line of duty. I joined him and initially struggled to keep pace with his work schedule. It was obviously a trying period, but I did not hesitate in falling in line. He does not leave any file unattended to before close of work everyday. He attends to them with the required urgency. Atimes, we stayed in the office till 10pm, something not common in government offices.

Chief Dubem Onyia exposed me for the first time to government media management and with him I visited almost all the continents of the world. He loved journalists, and with that, made my job a lot easier. As Minister of State, he was virtually in charge of all the parastatals in the Ministry. And during pilgrimages, he would direct that I shortlist journalists who will participate as part of the Federal Government Delegation. This is both for the Hajj and Christian pilgrimages. For joint Commission Meetings outside Nigeria, he accommodated some journalists. He was also always ready to speak to the media, grant them interviews, and attend to their welfare. I was really lucky in that direction.

He enjoyed warm and cordial relationship with his colleague, Alhaji Sule Lamido, the senior Minister in the Ministry. They operated more like brothers and together had, in my estimation, the best tenure in the Foreign Ministry so far.

His job as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was obviously demanding but he was on top of it. There was a day we flew to several Hajj camps in the country to address Muslim pilgrims travelling for the Hajj. We had stop overs in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Maiduguri, and still returned to Abuja the same day with the attendant bad weather. It was obvious he loved his country and was ready to give his all to the service of his fatherland. He also loved his job and virtually had no time for any other past time. Sometimes, I will be in the office then at Wuse Zone 3 Abuja and he will call from the Presidential Villa and direct that I join him at the airport for an urgent Presidential assignment to one country or the other. In those trips, he would go as Nigeria’s Presidential envoy to invite or mediate in disputes in some African Countries. He had attended to these assignments with dedication and commitment.

Advertisement

Chief Dubem Onyia loved his people of Ngwo and Enugu State, although he was a detrabilized Nigerian who believed in one united and progressive Nigeria. He had a large heart, was accommodating and built bridges across the divide.I was at his Abuja residence on Wednesday and could not believe that my boss who insisted that I accompanied him to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in one of his several trips was no more. I have obviously lost a mentor, a benefactor and leader of men. May the gentle soul of this rare Nigerian find peace in the sight of his maker and may the Almighty give his immediate family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. May God bless his loving soul!

Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations/Spokesman Police Service Commission was Press Secretary to Hon. Dubem Onyia (1999 -2003) as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

A gloating Nyesom Wike, took time on Saturday to dish out a large dose of taunting to Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, over the latest outcomes in the two-year bitter conflict between them, asking the latter derisively – who is having the last laugh now?

Wike’s side, was a fortnight ago handed down what appears a straight victory in the political war which started in October 2023 with the attempt by the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach the governor.

Believed to be loyal to Wike, Fubara’s predecessor, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 27 members of the assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, had gone for the governor’s jugular leading to a multi-pronged crises that eventually ended up at the Supreme Court, where the lawmakers seemed to win on all fronts.

Not only did the apex court recognise them as the authentic assembly as opposed to the four members led by Victor Oko-Jombo, it also nullified the local government election held on October 5, 2024, stopped all federal allocations to the state and asked Fubara to re-present the 2025 appropriation to the Amaewhule group.

Advertisement

Beaming with enthusiasm, indicating his all-round victory and suggesting that the governor had been brought to his knees, Wike, at a reception organised for him by Fubara’s Kalabari people, an Ijaw ethnic stalk in Rivers State, took time to narrate how he warned the governor and how he eventually allowed himself to be misled.

It was also a day the former governor used to amend his statement on Thursday, suggesting that the Ijaw were powerless to take any action if their son was impeached not being the majority ethnic group in the state or even the Niger Delta.

Amid the latest outcomes in the Rivers crises, the FCT Minister had told reporters: Wike said: “Ijaw doesn’t constitute the majority of the Niger Delta. People must speak out the truth. Heaven will not fall.
What nonsense. Everyday people will just wake up and say Ijaw this and that.

“In Akwa Ibom Ijaw can’t be governor. In Delta State, Ijaw is the minority of the minorities. The only place an Ijaw man can solely be the governor is in Bayelsa State, not in Edo or Rivers states.”

But in a pushback, on Saturday, Wike who spoke against the backdrop of angry ripostes from various individuals and groups to the statement, said what he actually meant was that the Ijaw people could not singularly make anyone governor and there must be collaboration with other ethnic groups in the state.

Advertisement

But regarding the case of Fubara, Wike maintained that he would not even take steps to stop his impeachment by the G27, should it come to that since the governor had decided to abandon the ship that brought him to power, adding that even the office was actually forced on him, having said himself that he was not keen on running and that it should go to someone else.

Hear him: “If you watch, all those who are around the governor are natural ingrates. Nobody who is not an ingrate will be happy with what is going on. All those who believe that they cannot appreciate and thank God for any good thing are there. I told the governor God gave you this position peacefully, eat it peacefully, it is not good for you to face this crisis.

“But they told him, you’re the governor, you have money. Money is not everything. All these people, they have nothing to offer. See where we are now. See where we are! How far? How far?

Narrating how he took the governor to Germany to sign major contracts with Julius Berger on the construction of some critical roads in the state, he said: “All this one they are going about now, were all my initiatives, I thought we’re working together, that I have handed office to you, go ahead.

“Let them tell me what initiatives they’ve put on ground. Let them tell you one. It is not to abuse us. You can abuse us all you want. And let me tell you, I’ve never bothered myself. Abuse dey kill anybody? You don see who abuse don kill? What is important is the result, is it not? Who get high blood pressure now? No be dem? We, we de siddon de enjoy, dem, they get high blood pressure. That’s what I was avoiding, saying don’t go through this route.”

Advertisement