A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State and former gubernatorial aspirant, Engineer Oyedele Hakeem Alao (Allow Alao), has expressed condolences over the death of about 30 children at the Children’s Carnival, held on Wednesday at Islamic High School, Bashorun in Ibadan.
Alao in a condolence message he personally signed, while commiserating with Governor Seyi Makinde and families of the victims, described the incident as a big tragedy that cast a dark shadow over what should have been a joyous celebration of the festive season.
He called on the state government to investigate the circumstances that led to the tragedy and take necessary actions against negligence, urging event organisers to always prioritise the safety of invited participants and ensure strict crowd control measures to prevent future occurrence.
He similarly wished the injured quick recovery, enjoying relevant authorities to provide adequate medical attention to all those affected.
Alao lamented that the level of poverty in the society could be blamed as the root cause of the incident as most people are finding it difficult to survive, noting that people will usually flock to places offering free things due to acute poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance.
He then called on Governor Makinde to encourage citizen on both subsistence and commercial farming, stating that doing this will reduce the level of poverty and unemployment in the society.
The statement read, “I want to extend my sincere condolence to the families of our children who died in the tragedy which occurred on Wednesday in Ibadan and Governor Makinde. I also pray for quick recovery for those that were injured.
“What is indisputable in the tragedy is the fact that the level of poverty in our society is very high, it is thus important for the state government to do everything possible for our people to embrace subsistence and commercial farming to mitigate this.”