By Oluwatosin Maliki
In a recent statement, the management of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun State, warned students against the excessive use of commercial motorcycles otherwise known as Okada as a means of transport.
The warning was issued on Thursday by the Public Relations Officer of the university, Abiodun Olanrewaju, following the tragic death of a final-year student, department of Agric Economics, Chisom Nwankwo.
Quest Times gathered that Nwankwo died after a commercial motorcyclist transporting her lost control at the scene of another accident on Tuesday.
The spokesperson, condemned the nonchalant attitude of Okada riders.
Also, Olanrewaju regretted that passengers on commercial bikes, in most cases, paid no attention to their safety as they engage in chatting using their phones.
He further revealed that the bike rider conveying the deceased student was careless, noting that he lost concentration while watching another minor accident, saying a bus hit the bike from the rear.
The statement read, “We need to warn Okada riders, because they have what they hold on to, but the passengers do not have anything they would hold on to. That’s why the majority of the victims of Okada accidents are the passengers”.
“So, those who are passengers on bikes should not be chatting with their phones. You will see some boys and girls on okada, they will be using their phones to chat, and would not know what is happening in the front. If anything happens, it will hit them more”.
“If anything happens on Okada, there is no way someone pressing a phone would have prepared themselves. People should just be mindful of where they are going,” he added.
On behalf of the institution, he prayed, God should give the Nwankwos the fortitude to bear the loss.
In addition, Olanrewaju stated that the university had contacted the family of the deceased.