22nd May, 2019
By Ademola Adegbamigbe
It was not that the keyboard of his computer was broken or that he was trying his hand on a doggerel. Though it sounds like a poem, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, Lagos State Information Commissioner, repeated his statements with emphasis and to let his message, in its urgency, sink into the readers’ subconscious. In his words: “Use the belt on the rear seat…when in the car. Use the belt wherever you are in the car. Use the belt whenever wherever you are in any car in motion. A week ago, I forgot. And I regret it as I write. Be wise. Stay alive!” As he wrote those words, it is certain that, as a good writer that he is (a humorous one at that), he would describe himself, (wearing that orthopaedic neck brace) as a cosmonaut, padded like a father Christmas, placed in a space capsule, ready for exploration in Jupiter or Mars!
On a serious note, Bamigbetan is, indeed, lucky to stay alive to, apart from warning his countrymen on the need to use the rear seat belt, he can continue to be a husband to his wife, father to his children and even serve his state and country in a higher capacity. He is glad to be alive to also indulge in his passions for farming and writing.
Why is he so passionate about people wearing their rear seat belt? “Rear,” in the sense that Nigerian motorists concern themselves with only the front seat belts. What happened to him on 12 May was a great lesson that the rear belts were not manufactured there just for aesthetics.
He explained what happened to him at Onikoko junction in Ife area of Osun State: “His mercy endures forever. The driver, Sunday Olawuni. aka Merit, drove into an armoured carrier on our way from the farm. I was taking a nap in the rear seat. The impact flung me at the windscreen. He dozed off on speed. But our Creator was in charge. He saved us from the calamity. To God be the glory.”
A native of Ile Ife, Bamigbetan was appointed to the Ife Development Board, IDB, by His Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, Kabiyesi Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, where, as he wrote, he gained the rare opportunity to contribute ideas to the developmental think tank of the cradle of Yoruba civilisation. “In less than six months of working together, a strong bond developed among members. The accident brought the best out of the bond,” said he. We had met on Saturday May 11 and held fruitful deliberations with our chairman, Comrade Awowoyin on seat. One of the outcomes, according to him, was a private meeting between him and the chairman of the IFe Central West LCDA, Barrister Oladosu, slated for 12noon on Sunday 12 May.
It was at the appointed time for the meeting that Bamigbetan was stepping out of the crashed car. It was Barrister Oladosu ‘w call that came. He wanted to know if the Commissioner was already at home waiting for him.
Click to read the rest here: www.thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2019/05/lagos-commissioners-accident-and-time-for-rear-seat-belt-enforcement/