Hardball
Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle has every reason to be bitter with reckless drivers, particularly those fellows in questionable physical and mental state huddling behind the wheels of articulated vehicles and who, now and then, wreak distressing carnages on Nigerian highways.
Only last week, a truck from the fleet of BUA Company lost control and plowed into three vehicles near Fegin Dan Marke community on Funtua-Gusau road. That mishap, which occurred shortly after Governor Matawalle passed the point en route the state capital from Abuja, left 16 persons dead and several others injured. Though it wasn’t officially confirmed, the victims were reportedly supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on hand to cheer the governor on his way from Abuja. Upon receiving the news before reaching Gusau, Matawalle returned to the scene to oversee conveyance of the dead to the morgue and those injured to the hospital. He directed that families of the victims be immediately contacted and ordered all his staff to gather early the following day for a befitting burial of those who died. The governor equally declared a three-day mourning in honour of the deceased. Road safety agents blamed the mishap on speeding and wrong overtaking.
At the weekend, Matawalle led members of the state Executive Council and BUA Group management on a condolence visit to Emir of Gusau Ibrahim Bello, during which time he disclosed plans for an executive bill that would stipulate the death penalty for any reckless driver who kills on Zamfara highways. The governor was reported saying: “Any reckless driver that causes the death of people in the state would be compelled by law to pay compensation for lives lost before he faces the death sentence.” He added that his administration would introduce speed limit gauge on highways, weight measurement on trucks and drug tests for drivers to forestall rough and reckless driving.
The governor’s beef with reckless drivers is perfectly understood; it is the same feeling towards operators of articulated vehicles who haul unlatched containers that frequently tip over and kill hapless citizens in Lagos. But the death penalty for accidents is sheer overkill, besides being a contradiction in terms – since the death penalty is typically reserved for the highest level of premeditation, whereas accidents are essentially inadvertent. Moreover, the idea of compelling offending drivers to pay compensation for lives lost before facing capital punishment seems like what is called double jeopardy in conventional jurisprudence.
Fatalities from irresponsibility of drivers are reprehensible and deserves stiff retribution. But care must be taken not to trivialize capital punishment and turn Nigeria into a gazetted abattoir. Matawalle should concentrate on delivering the promised safety precautions on Zamfara highways rather than waste taxpayer-funded man-hours on producing a monster legislation.
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