The National Orientation Agency’s advocacy against the scooping of petrol indicates its rebound, writes Bolaji Adebiyi
It is baffling that despite the apparent danger of scooping petrol from fallen tankers, Nigerians persist in the act. It usually begins with a petrol-laden tanker overturning on the highway or within a city, attracting people to rush in with all sorts of stuff to scoop the highly inflammable liquid. Then, an explosion occurs, consuming thousands of the scoopers and bystanders.
Deaths from balls of fire from fallen petrol tankers have, therefore, become a regular occurrence in the country. Official figures put those who went to their early graves in the last four months at 265. The alarm began to blow in September last year when a tanker exploded along Ibadan-Ife Expressway, torching five houses, many cars and other vehicles. A few days after, 48 persons were roasted by another tanker fire in Agai in Niger State. In the middle of the following month, 150 souls went to their graves after a tanker went up in flames in Majiya, Jigawa State.
But the one that occurred early in January at Dikko Junction, near Suleja in Niger State, would jolt the authorities to the need to rise from their slumber. With the death toll put at over 80, it became clear that something urgent had to be done about the malaise that had cut short many people’s lives.
For obvious reasons, President Bola Tinubu took the lead in addressing the matter, setting up an interministerial committee comprising the Ministries of Information, National Orientation, and Humanitarian Affairs and other critical stakeholders like the National Emergency Management Agency, Standard Organization of Nigeria, and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association to examine the challenge and proffer workable recommendations to address the problem. He also directed the National Orientation Agency to sensitise the public about the danger of scooping petrol from fallen tankers.
While many observers have attributed the root cause of the rush to death to poverty, it is significant that the National Orientation Agency has taken its assignment with vigour, preferring to engage rather than blame the people for their otherwise silly act. Deploying all the tools of public communication, the agency is on the rebound as its advocacy reverberates nationwide.
Its messaging is deep and simple: “Life has no duplicate. So, don’t risk your life because of a token fuel.” In short video clips and explainers, it tells people, “A small spark can cause a fire that will end your life.” The agency adopted above-the-line and below-the-line communication strategies to execute its assignment.
With over 76 jingles aired by over 190 local and national radio and television networks, the message has penetrated many urban and rural communities, where potential victims live. The agency also used modern technology, including social media via its X handle, Facebook, and official website platforms to push its messages.
Its direct messaging has also been impressive. Led by Lanre Isa-Onilu, its Director-General, the agency’s ground offensive is comparable only to the Prof. Jerry Gana-led MAMSER of old as it deployed its structures in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas to organise townhall meetings to sensitise different stakeholders, traditional rulers, market unions, religious organisations, trade unions and youth groups.
The message was clear. “People must prioritise their safety and empathise with the victims of tanker accident rather than exploit the situation by scooping fuel,” Isa-Onilu told participants at the townhall meeting in Lambata, Niger State. His message to traditional rulers and community leaders is, “Public safety is the collective responsibility of community leaders who must educate their citizens on the need for the prevention of loss of lives and property.”
For him, the enlightenment campaign was an opportunity to tie back to the agency’s National Value Charter and Citizens Brigade Initiative to instil patriotism and discipline in young Nigerians through civic education and locally produced animation. It has become a national value reorientation drive needed to reset the citizens’ commitment to good values. He told the people that petrol scooping was a direct consequence of value degradation, making an otherwise despicable act acceptable to society. Ordinarily, he said, scooping petrol from a fallen tanker instead of assisting the driver to safety was an act of thievery.
The campaign drive was also extended to the primary source of the problem, tanker drivers. Speaking to the officials of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers in Lagos, Isa-Onilu called for a more effective regulation of the industry to ensure stricter adherence to safety standards. He said the incidence of fallen tankers was traceable to the failure of tanker owners and drivers to maintain their trucks properly. He said that if the regulatory agencies were more diligent, the incidence would be reduced to the barest minimum.
Some regulatory agencies the NOA boss engaged in were NEMA, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. At the headquarters of the FRSC in Abuja, Isa-Onilu emphasised the need for more safety standards enlightenment and enforcement. He urged the corps to improve its accident prevention strategy, road safety regulations and enlightenment education for drivers. The interagency engagements signposted the importance of collaboration to the sensitisation campaign’s success.
So far, the campaign against the rush to death has brought to the fore the NOA’s potential for rekindling the citizens’ awareness of their civil responsibilities. Left in the lurch for decades due to varied factors, the agency appears to be getting its groove back under its new leadership. It should not be surprising, though. Isa-Onilu had been in the newsroom of top-notch national newspapers, rising to the top of the ladder. Add that to his stint in public relations, political communication, marketing, and media entrepreneurship, and you will see the rising success emerging in the NOA.
Adebiyi is the media assistant to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.