Our society is progressively shedding the power to tell apart between hazard and alternative. What ought to ordinarily make us run for our lives has, sadly, turn into a chance for some individuals to threat all the things in pursuit of instant acquire. The tragic petrol tanker explosion and fireplace incident at Oluku Market, Benin City, Edo State, on October 15, 2026, is a painful reminder of this disturbing actuality.
The incident, reportedly triggered when a petroleum tanker fell close to the busy market, ought to compel us to replicate deeply on our perspective in direction of security, human life and the determined battle for survival in our society. The query we should ask ourselves is that this: Why ought to a catastrophe turn into a chance to some individuals?
When a petroleum tanker falls and its contents start to spill, the pure response must be to maneuver away from the scene as rapidly as potential. Yet, in our society right this moment, some individuals see such a harmful scenario as a chance to gather gasoline, ignoring the potential for an explosion that would price them their lives.
Should we name it ignorance, greed, desperation or a mixture of all three? Whatever the reason, the implications will be devastating.
The painful fact is that we appear to have forgotten the teachings of earlier tragedies, together with the Jesse gasoline explosion in Delta State a few years in the past. Such incidents ought to have taught us that spilled petrol is just not a present, and a fallen tanker is just not a chance to turn into rich. It is a severe hazard that calls for instant warning.
Unfortunately, the tough financial realities going through many Nigerians have made survival more and more troublesome. Poverty, unemployment and the rising price of residing have pushed many individuals into determined conditions. However, no financial hardship ought to make us gamble with our lives. What is the worth of gathering a couple of litres of gasoline if the value could possibly be one’s life?
Idris Rufai,
