Balikisu Omolabake Temitope Lamina, a
graduate who was observing the mandatory one year National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) programme, has died in a traffic accident.
The young woman was said to have been returning to school
after travelling to rejoice with her family on the safe return of her
mother from the holy land for this year’s pilgrimage, where hundreds
were killed in various disasters.
The Nation reports that her father, Lateef Lamina, a senior
sales executive officer with New Telegraph newspaper, could not hold
back tears while narrating his last moments with his late daughter whom
he referred to as his ‘hope’.
He said: “My hope is dashed.”
“Balikisu, my brilliant, promising and talented daughter who had
passion for broadcasting is gone. The mother travelled to Mecca and came
back successfully. When she came back, we were all happy that she
survived the misfortune that happened during the pilgrimage. She (my
late daughter) decided to come home to see her. She was given about four
weeks to be away from her service post.
“Within two weeks of her stay with us, they started calling to
say that her attention was urgently needed. She was serving at Rima
Television in Sokoto and, at the same time, a top member of the press
crew. When the call was coming, I started having premonition that
something was about to happen. I kept praying for God to be in control.
Her elder sister, Kadijat was also serving in Kebbi State.
“When it was time for her to go back, I followed her to Iddo
where she was to take a bus to Sokoto. When we got there, I saw a Sienna
bus that looked new, and we paid. We had an agreement with the driver
that he would take her to Sokoto. She boarded the vehicle and we bade
each other goodbye.
“Instead of taking her to Sokoto as agreed, the driver dropped
her off in Kaduna. As at 11.30 pm when we spoke, she was at Kau Motor
Park. I wanted her to pass the night around the area but she said she
had already got a vehicle and that it remained just two passengers for
it to be full. Eventually, they got the remaining passengers and left. I
wished her journey mercy, hoping to speak with her in the morning.
“At about few minutes past 4:00 a.m., my phone rang. When I
answered the call, the caller asked if I was the father of Balikisu, and
I replied in the affirmative. She went on to say that my daughter was
involved in an accident and that she died on the spot. I became
disconcerted and wished it was a dream. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a
dream. It was real.
“My daughter who I saw off the previous night, and spoke with few
hours before the sad news came, had died in an auto crash. I was told
that the accident occurred at about 2:00 a.m. in Zamfara.”
“A survivor said the vehicle conveying them had head-on collision
with a lorry carrying cows. He said my daughter was sitting behind the
driver and was trapped when the accident occurred and that she was the
only one that died on the spot. Immediately the day broke, the mother
gave me some me some money to quickly travel down there.
“As I was making the arrangement, my first child who is serving
in Kebbi State said I shouldn’t bother coming because she didn’t want
any unpleasant thing to also happen to me. She would make arrangement
for the remains to be brought back. I quickly sent her some money to get
a vehicle that would bring my late daughter’s remains back. Along the
line, the NYSC assistant director in Sokoto called to sympathise with
me.
“He asked if as a Muslim I would want her buried immediately over
there or would like to see her remains. I said I would like to see her
remains. He then asked me to leave the responsibility to them. They
actually brought her back in their vehicle and took active part in her
burial. They also gave us N30, 000 to entertain guests that came, but we
didn’t do that because it is against our custom. I really commend them
for their efforts.”
Speaking glowingly of his daughter even in death, Mr Lamina stated: “My
pain as a father is that I did everything possible for my children not
to be posted far away but it didn’t work out. I have been working in the
media industry for over 30 years and looking forward to seeing my
highly talented and brilliant child who had passion to work in the media
but bad government policies have made that impossible.
“My hope is dashed. I don’t have university degree. I only
managed to have diploma when I was working with Concord Press in the
north. As poor as I am, I struggled to train two of my children in the
university but the Nigerian factor has robbed me of my joy. I never
liked the idea of travelling over a long distance because of NYSC. What
is the big deal about the programme that I have had to lose my precious
daughter because of it?
“Though, I don’t want to believe that she was killed by anybody,
but if they had not mounted pressure on her to return to her duty post,
she would (not) have died. How could I have struggled to nurture my
children to this point and the government took both of them to that
distance? I know that if they were serving here that similar thing could
have happened, but it would have been better if it had happened close
by than in distant place.
“She was an avid reader and had her eyes fixed on her dream of
excelling academically. She attended Ambassador Nursery and Primary
School here in Ota. She had a rapid education as she moved from Primary
Four to secondary school. She attended Iganmode Grammar School. Before
she completed her secondary school education, she had written GCE twice.
She later wrote SSCE. Before her graduation from secondary school, she
applied for admission at UNILAG but she didn’t get it.
“When she did not get admission at UNILAG, she proceeded to
Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ojeere for diploma in Mass
Communication. Thereafter, she went for her Industrial Training at
Raypower and performed brilliantly. In the process of doing that, she
wrote JAMB again and passed very well. This enabled her to gain
admission into University of Benin where she accomplished her desire of
acquiring a degree in Mass Communication.
“She had passion for communication and was prepared to give her
all to make a mark in the industry. When she was in her Year Three, she
went to Television Continental (TVC) for her Industrial Training.
Because of her outstanding performance, she was given the privilege of
taking diction-related course at a communication outfit in Oshodi. When
she was leaving TVC, she was showered with lots of gifts because of her
excellent performance. She graduated with 2\1.”
The family, which is still coming to terms with the death of the
21-year-old, is already having its plight compounded following pressure
from NYSC officials in Kebbi state that the elder sister should return
to her base or attract a stiff penalty.
“Another frustration I am having now is that the elder sister who
led the NYSC officials to bring my late daughter’s remains home is
also being pressured to return to her duty post in Kebbi. With the
terrible experience we had with her younger sister, we are scared of
allowing her to go back.
“We are traumatised and filled with awe about allowing her to go
back. No parent who had had this kind of distasteful experience would
easily allow another child to embark on similar journey. If we allow her
to go, we would be stone dead all through the period she would be on
the road.
“Instead of understanding or empathising with us, the NYSC
officials over there are threatening to penalise her if she fails to
return within a stipulated period. I even called him to explain our
ordeal to him but he rebuffed me. When she even went to notify one of
the top officials that she lost her sister in an accident and would want
to go with the vehicle conveying her remains, the man put obstacles in
her path even when the bus was ready to leave and just waiting for her
to join them.
“It is sheer callousness and I want to appeal to eminent
Nigerians to help me facilitate the redeployment of my first daughter,
Kadijat, who is serving with the Ministry of Finance in Kebbi State to a
nearby place. There is no way we would have peace of mind if she goes
back there. We have not overcome the shock we suffered and wouldn’t want
our plight aggravated,” the bereaved parent said.
In a similar development, a female youth corps member Temi Omolabake died in a ghastly motor accident on Monday, October 26, 2015.
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