The city of Ibadan has found itself in the crosshairs of tragedy twice in 2024.

The year began with the devastating Ibadan explosion on January 16 and ended with the heartbreaking Ibadan Funfair stampede on December 18—two major tragedies, 337 days apart.

Although vastly different in cause and nature, both events carry strikingly similar undertones—human error, negligence, and systemic failures. As we mourn the lives lost in these devastating events, we must also confront the deeper questions they pose. What are we doing wrong, and how can we ensure these tragedies are not repeated?

A Pattern of Negligence

Both the stampede and the explosion were really avoidable. The stampede stemmed from poor event planning and crowd control; the explosion a product of illegal dynamite storage in a residential area. What ties these events together is a glaring lack of accountability and regulation.

In the case of the explosion, the presence of dynamite in an affluent neighbourhood like Bodija—a hub of safety and privilege—should never have been possible. Similarly, the stampede at the Islamic High School funfair occurred because organisers prioritised attendance numbers over safety, failing to anticipate the chaos that overcrowding would bring.

The root causes may vary, but both events highlight a worrying trend: safety is often an afterthought in our systems, whether it’s in urban planning, event management, or law enforcement.

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The Cost of Complacency

The aftermath of these tragedies paints a grim picture of lives lost, families shattered, and communities scarred. It was said that the Ibadan Explosion claimed five lives, while the stampede took over 30—most of them children. Both events also left scores of survivors with injuries, trauma, and the daunting task of rebuilding their lives.

For the survivors and their families, these losses are personal and profound. Yet, for the city and the nation, they are a collective indictment of our systems. Every collapsed building, every unregulated event, and every avoidable death is a reminder of the human cost of complacency.

Shared Lessons for a Safer Future

From the rubble of these tragedies must rise a resolve to change. Here are some lessons we must take from both events:

1. Stronger Enforcement of Regulations
   Both tragedies reveal the consequences of weak enforcement. In Bodija, authorities failed to detect or prevent the storage of dynamite in a residential area. In the stampede, the absence of proper oversight allowed organisers to overreach the event’s capacity.

Government agencies must implement stricter monitoring systems and impose severe penalties for violations. Safety must become non-negotiable.

2. Community Awareness and Responsibility

Communities have a role too. Reports indicate Bodija residents alerted authorities about the miners, but no action followed. Had they realised the dynamite’s presence, their concerns might have sparked action, especially with better use of traditional and social media.

Similarly, the funfair organisers flooded the airwaves promoting the event, making the looming tragedy almost predictable. When it became clear that the crowd had exceeded expectations, families at the funfair could have insisted on better crowd control or opted to leave once the situation turned unsafe.

Public awareness campaigns can empower citizens to recognise and report unsafe conditions before they escalate.

3. Proactive Emergency Preparedness

The response to both disasters, while heroic, was largely reactive. What if we had robust systems in place to prevent them altogether? Event organisers must prioritise emergency plans, including crowd control measures and clear evacuation routes. At the urban level, authorities must invest in disaster response infrastructure and training.

4. Prioritising Human Lives Over Profit or Prestige

The stampede and explosion both stem from prioritising something else—whether it’s unchecked mining profits or a record-breaking event turnout—over human safety. Organisers, businesses, and even governments must shift their mindset. The loss of a single life is too great a cost for any ambition.

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A Call for Change

Ibadan is a city of resilience, a city that has weathered wars, colonialism, and economic upheavals. But resilience is not just about surviving; it’s about learning and improving.

As the curtain rolls on 2024, the memories of the Ibadan Explosion and the Ibadan Stampede should catalyse transformation. Let us strengthen our safety regulations, educate our communities, and create systems that prioritise human life above all else.

Because tragedy, though it may scar us, also has the power to teach. The real tragedy would be failing to learn.