On Friday, January 27, 2012, Tola and
Atinuke Omotola lost their daughter to an
alleged mistake that could have been
avoided. The family says dealing with the
loss has been very challenging and urges
the Lagos State Government to ensure that
those responsible for their child’s death are
brought to book, MOTUNRAYO ABODERIN
writes
The worst news any mother can receive is
that her child is dead. Thinking about the
fact that the little girl she nurtured from the
womb is gone is indeed painful.
For Dr. Atinuke Omotola, a young mother,
losing her two years and five months old
daughter, Simisolaoluwa, to an alleged
mistake that could have been avoided, hurts
more.
On January 27, after school, Atinuke’s two
children were transported from
Goldenbunch School, Yaba, Lagos, by the
school bus. When the bus arrived at their
home, her house help was outside waiting
to receive them. After the first son alighted
from the bus, Simisolaoluwa (otherwise
called Simi) also did. But the house help did
not know that Simi’s uniform was stuck in
the door of the school bus.
In a split second, the bus driver drove off,
dragging Simi along. Neighbors said the
tyres of the bus climbed on Simi’s head,.
Narrating the ordeal to our correspondent
who visited their home in Yaba last Monday,
Atinuke said, “Life has been quite hard. The
incident happened on January 27 but it feels
like yesterday. That Friday, we all woke quite
early. I got my two kids ready for school,
made their breakfast and lunch. I told my
daughter that she looked like a princess,
and that I would always love her. I never
knew it would be the last time I would set
my eyes on her alive.
“When we got to their school, Goldenbunch
School at Omoyele Street, Yaba, I carried her
down from the car, gave her a tight hug and
got into my car. For like a minute, I just sat
in my car, it’s like I did not want to let her
go,” she said.
Omotola said at about 1.23pm while in the
office, she got a call from a neighbor telling
her that her daughter was dead.
“My phone rang and a woman who
identified herself as our neighbour said that
my daughter had been involved in an
accident and that she was dead.
Immediately, I cut the phone. I thought it
was someone playing pranks. I called the
number and she picked up. I asked if she
was serious and she said yes.
“The first few seconds after the call was as if
I wanted to faint. I kept telling myself no, not
my little girl. I called my husband and told
him the news. I did not even wait to hear
his reply. I rushed out of the office and
drove to the hospital where they said she
was taken to by another neighbor. On
getting there, they said she had been
referred to the Lagos University Teaching
Hospital. I then drove down to L.U.T.H,” she
said.
Atinuke said when she got to the ward
where her daughter was, she was already
dead.
She said, “I could not believe my ears. I cried
my eyes out. Being a doctor, that desire to
examine my late daughter to know the
actual cause of her death was so strong.
When I checked her body and her arms, I
saw scratches. That means she was dragged
by the bus.”
Atinuke said that she kept asking, ‘Who was
the nanny in the bus? Who was with my
child? At this point, I was informed that
there was an 18 year-old nanny in the bus.
“When I met the girl and questioned her,
she said she was employed on the Monday
before the accident happened, and that she
was not a nanny but an assistant teacher. I
asked her why she did not get down to
ensure that my children got down from the
bus safely which was to be the job of any
adult in a bus with 10 children; but she had
no response. I noticed that the clothes she
wore was clean, that means after my child
was removed from under the bus, she did
not even bother to carry her.”
She added that during the ordeal, she did
not get any phone call from the proprietor
of the school. “I did not hear from the
proprietor of the school at all. When my
husband and I returned from the hospital,
members of staff of the school came to shed
crocodile tears in my house.”
Atinuke said she was angry at the fact that
the proprietor might have wanted to save
money and so opted to get an assistant
teacher who would also act as a nanny.
“At least, I pay N50,000 as transportation
fee on each of my children per term. That
should be enough to employ an experienced
nanny to take care of pupils,” she lamented.
The father, Mr. Tola Omotola, said that
dealing with his daughter’s death has been
challenging. “Sometimes when I’m sitting in
the parlour, I imagine her running out of the
room screaming dad.
“Last Friday, while driving to Redemption
Camp, my son asked me where we were
going, I said Redemption Camp, then he
asked if we were going to see Jesus, I said
yes, then he screamed and said that means
we would see Simi. I went cold. Because we
had told him earlier that Simi went to be
with Jesus.”
Omotola, a banker, said his daughter died as
a result of negligence and carelessness, and
urged the Lagos State government to
address the issue. “The school needs to take
responsibility for its action. Simi’s death
should be taken as a serious issue.”
Asked if he would press charges against the
school bus driver, Omotola said, “The school
has already handed the driver over to the
police. But I’m displeased with the police. On
Saturday, the police kept calling our phones,
asking us to write a letter for the release of
the driver. They said that the driver was not
feeling strong health wise, and that his wife
had just put to bed.
“We told them that their behavior was in-
human, and that they did not even consider
that we had just lost a child and needed a
little privacy. We weren’t the ones who put
the driver in detention, why should they be
disturbing us?”
The Director-General, Lagos State Safety
Commission, Mrs. Odebunmi Dominga, said,
“I sympathize with the family who lost their
toddler to the alleged negligence of the
school bus driver that is supposed to take
care of the children under the management
of the school, I assure them of the position
of the Lagos State Government with the
Safety Commission, harnessing and
synergising with all the safety structures
that have already been in government. We
assure them that the issue of safety will be
moved to the forefront to become a lifestyle
in Lagos State.
“From now onwards, every school in the
state, including day care or nursery that will
be having children in their custody, must
think about the safety of the children
thoroughly, and make sure that the
management system which they use to
operate in the area of safety complies with
government’s standard. They should assess
the risk these children can be exposed to,
assess the dangers that are likely to occur,
and put certain structures in place to avoid
tragedy,” she said.
In response to question on action that
would be taken against Goldenbunch
School, the DG said, “For the school, the
Lagos State Government together with its
Legal Department will deliberate on the next
action to take, but government will not take
the issue lightly with the school, and this
issue will not be brushed aside.”
The Proprietor, Goldenbunch School, Mrs.
Modupe Ogundinmu, who was at the Lagos
State Safety Commission to file an incidence
report, said she was really sober about the
tragedy.
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