Oyo state coordinator of the Child Protection Network (CPN), Oyo State chapter, Dr Rosemary Odigbo, has said that the tragic death of the children who lost their lives at Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan on December 18, 2024, could have been avoided if all necessary measures were put in place before the event.
According to her while addressing the press during a press briefing held on January 2, 2025, at the Conference Hall, EAC Building, Old Bodija, Ibadan, the death of the 35 children who lost their lives at the programme organised by Wings Foundation owned by Ms Naomi Silekunola in conjunction with the chairman of AgidigboFM, Mr Oriyomi Hamzat, as co-host, which took place at the aforementioned school, could have been avoided if proper measures were put in place.
In her address, she emphasised that there is an urgent need for stronger child protection policies and tougher measures to be put in place to avoid recurrence of such tragedies in future.
According to her, “We don’t want this matter to be swept under the carpet. Their pain is our collective burden. CPN visited some people and we traced them to their houses from the hospitals to extend our heartfelt condolences to the deceased’s families and the injured.
“We want this matter to be investigated by Independent Enquiry Committees set up by the government. What we want them to do is to investigate the cause of this stampede. Their focus should include: examining the event’s planning, crowd control measures, and safety protocols.
“There should be guidelines on ground for anyone who wants to put up a programme of such a magnitude and there are questions we should ask them to know if they meet up with these standards,” she said.
She proposed measures that can prevent future occurrences such as training volunteer officials and personnel that will be at such events about how to control affairs.
She also said there should be safety standards and no matter what is to be shared and given out, safety protocols including crowd control and on-site emergency response teams should be available so that immediately a situation arises, there are people and teams on ground to handle such.
She said, “Beneficiaries should be registered beforehand. In this case, it was an open invitation that everybody from anywhere could attend. There should be a kind of control in registration. It can be digital, platforms, through schools or organisations.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean the children should be brought by their parents. The bodies involved could have handled it better and they would be responsible for their care and it would have controlled the number of parents trooping in.
“They could have also expanded distribution sites across the city in terms of multiple locations such that the event won’t be at one spot and all will take place simultaneously.
“We should all wake up as this will help in a long way to avoid a repeat of this sad situation. Every group and organisation that gathers children should teach their people that when there is a gathering, these are what you do.
“The long-term solution to hunger is through security, empowerment and sustainable food system, partnership with community stakeholders and community farming. That will help to curb the issue of hunger. Child safeguarding policies should be addressed and we should revisit the Oyo State Child Rights and other related policies that emphasise their safety and well-being. Our children deserve a system that protects them.”
In her remarks, the state coordinator of the Association of Orphanages and Home Operators, (ASOHON), Mrs Kehinde Ayeola, emphasised that when we fail to plan, we have planned to fail.
She said, “You can have good intentions but if you don’t plan, you’ll fail.
“For us as child advocates, we really feel sad about this tragic incident that could have easily been avoided or minimised. The thing is: are we learning from these things because if we aren’t careful it will happen again.
“So there is a need for media sensitisation especially during festive seasons. In future, organisations should meet with the stakeholders like security agencies, child advocates and people that will guide them.”
Other organisations present were Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) and many other Children-friendly bodies.
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