Man contemplates suicide

The ship before it was wrecked and vandalized

By Bose ADEBAYO

Fola Badmus, an indigene of Ondo State has been in dire need of help for the past one year. An overseas-based business man for many years, the cause of his predicament  appears to be his decision to return home and settle in his dear country.

As at the time of filing this report, Fola’s entire investment and source of livelihood has more or less disappeared while he is presently indebted to a lot of people whose efforts to get him out of the woods have come to nought.

Fela, an indigenous ship owner and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Elite Limited told Vanguard Metro his ordeal started some months ago when some vessels were washed ashore a  Lagos beach, an after result of heavy storm in that period.

According to him, his vessel‘MT FK’  Badmus was one of the 16 ships that suffered a wreck sometime  late last year. This development, he laments,  has grounded his business and left him considering  suicide as an option.

In an emotion-laden voice, Badmus said although the Federal Government has tried to reach those affected but such effort has been thwarted by various factors. “My ship was one of the six that were identified as salvageable by the Nigerian Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) but was later abandoned and vandalised by hoodlums,” he explained.

Fola Badmus

Tracing the genesis of his problem, Badmus narrated how the Federal Government has so far tried to reach  those affected and how some unpatriotic elements have sabotaged such interventions.

In his  words:  “A contract was awarded to Captain Cornelius Buckerman of Julius Berger, Ijora Lagos  to  remove the six salvageable vessels. Funds was made available for the project by the Federal Minister of Transport.

The contractors removed only four ships out of six; mine was to be the next but what happened next was that the contractor demobilized. When I demanded to know why he did this, his complaint was that he had not been paid the balance of his money after collecting a mobilization fee”.

The worst, he said, was to happen as on October 7, 2010 he found out that his ship at Takwa Bay Area of Lagos has been vandalized.

“I am traumatized;  almost everything, except  the engine room which is flooded  have been vandalized. Ten vandals are, however, in detention at the Apapa Area B Police Station.

I have spent close to N20 million to ship salvage operators, attempting to refloat my ship to no avail. I am completely finished. My family  has been badly affected,” he lamented.

Badmus said his situation was made worse because he has  been out of insurance  since May 2009 and is therefore calling on government to assist him .

“I have been a patriotic Nigerian and I think I deserve assistance from the government. When I bought the ship in the United Kingdom, I decided to bring it in with Nigerian Flag out of patriotism and love for my fatherland.

“We were six that were designated to be assisted; five others have been assisted by the government, I don’t think I should be left alone in this predicament,” Badmus said.

He said his last hope is the help he is expecting from government as, according to him, there is nothing he can do as an individual again to rescue the ship saying, “government should not abandon  a good citizen in his time of need”.