Published by Osasere Edomwonyi Ikpoba
Tragedy struck on Saturday along the Ife-Ilesa Expressway in Osun State, as a head-on collision between a Toyota Hiace bus and a car claimed three lives and left approximately 20 others injured. The crash, which occurred in the Tonkere area, has once again highlighted the devastating consequences of excessive speeding and dangerous driving on Nigerian roads.
The Osun Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Sunday Adebayo, confirmed the casualty figures during a telephone interview with The PUNCH. According to Adebayo, the FRSC team arrived at the scene of the crash about five minutes after it occurred, demonstrating a rapid response that likely prevented further loss of life. The two vehicles involved in the accident had a head-on collision, an impact so severe that it resulted in immediate fatalities and multiple injuries.
Adebayo disclosed that the deceased comprised two females and one male. Among the injured, 11 were females and nine were males, with three children—two males and one female—also among the casualties. The injured commuters were promptly taken to the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital in Ile-Ife and the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, also located in Ife, for medical attention. Some of the survivors sustained minor injuries and were discharged after receiving treatment.
The Sector Commander attributed the accident to excessive speeding and dangerous driving. "If you look at the road structure at the time of the occurrence, you see that there is no reason for that high fatality. Nigerians need to change their attitudes on the road. Excessive speeding is killing," Adebayo said. He stressed that the tragedy was entirely avoidable and called on drivers to adopt a more responsible approach to road use. "There was no need for such an accident on the road if Nigerians can change their attitude. But we will continue to tell road users that they should change their attitude to the way they usually speed on the road," he added.
The remains of the deceased were deposited at the morgue of Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa, while the two vehicles involved in the crash were moved to the nearest police division for investigation. The road has since been cleared for movement, and normal traffic flow has been restored. Adebayo urged road users to exercise caution and avoid acts that could lead to avoidable loss of lives. "If you go at a lower speed, if you have cause to be involved in a crash, the fatality will not be as much as what we saw this morning. Nigerians should respect other road users. They should have this shared responsibility that everybody has a right to use the road. The person who is safe on arrival is the person who knows how to drive," he said.
The accident serves as a grim reminder of the persistent dangers on Nigeria's highways, where speeding and reckless driving continue to claim lives on a daily basis. The FRSC has repeatedly called for a change in driving culture, emphasizing that road safety is a shared responsibility. As the injured recover and families mourn their lost loved ones, the message from the FRSC is clear: the road is not a race track, and every life lost to speeding is a life that could have been saved.
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