By Suzan  Edeh
It was actually a day for tears and mourning for the management of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi when one of its dedicated and hardworking staff was killed in a motor accident, just a few metres away from the polytechnic premises.

Vanguard Metro,VM, learnt that the victim of the crash, Yakubu Bako, who recently turned 38 years, had dreams of becoming a landlord as he was on the verge of completing his house in Baryara village. Aside owning his personal house, he also had plans to remarry after a failed marriage, but all these ambitions were cut short as a result of his untimely death.

*Yakubu Bako...victim of the crash

On that fateful day of February 28, 2012, the late Yakubu, who worked with the electrical department of the Federal Polytechnic in Bauchi, shortly before his demise, received a call from a colleague to fix the air-conditioner and refrigerator in the Rector’s residence. After finishing the work, he decided to proceed home to rest for the day, but unfortunately for him, that was the last day he was to spend on earth.

The incident which sent Yakubu, an indigene of Plateau State, to his early grave, occurred when a certain fast moving Vectra car on its way to Bauchi from Dass local government attempted to overtake another vehicle and in the process had a head-on collision with the motorcycle of the late Yakubu, who was on the other lane of the road.

The impact of the collision left Yakubu battered beyond recognition as blood gushed out profusely from his head. He also suffered multiple fractures on his body that it would have been extremely difficult for him to walk again, even if he survived the crash.

As the lifeless body of the late Yakubu laid on the ground, residents of Gwalameji community, where the accident occurred, trooped to the scene to behold the horrible sight that obstructed traffic on the ever busy-Bauchi/Dass road.

At the scene of the accident, people who gathered to see Yakubu’s body could not control their emotions as some of them wept openly. Although, no casualty was recorded in the Vectra car, all the five passengers who came out of the car, could not believe that they actually survived the crash, because of the way the vehicle was badly damaged.

A security agent, Stephen Matthew, who witnessed the accident said that it was actually the fault of the driver of the Vectra car since he veered off his lane to hit Yakubu’s motor cycle on the opposite lane of the road.

According to him: “The accident happened when the driver of the Vectra vehicle was trying to overtake another vehicle in the process of which the car collided with the motor cycle of the victim. The victim was thrown out of his bike and landed on top of the vehicle, causing severe damage to the car.

The motor cycle rider was fatally injured because the impact of the crash broke almost all the bones in his body. He just could not survive the crash”.

When VM visited the bereaved family of the victim in Baraya village, the mood of family members depicted that they had indeed lost someone very dear to them. It was a very trying moment for them as they mourned the death of their beloved.

A very close family friend, Joseph Audu told VM that they are yet to come to terms with the reality of the shocking death of Yakubu. He said: “We know everybody will die someday, but it never crossed our minds that Yakubu will leave so soon.

We really miss him and pray that God will grant his soul eternal rest”. He described the late Yakubu as very gentle, easy going and a hardworking person, wondering why many good people do not really live long.

One of Yakubu’s colleagues and a bosom friend, Ibrahim Idris, narrated the last moments he had with him. He informed that  before his death, Yakubu had been given to saying very strange things which somehow foreshadowed his death.

He said: “In the week Yakubu died, he said very strange things. He would call me and tell me that I should be careful how I was living my life and that if anybody offended me, I should not hold anything against the person. He advised me to learn how to forgive people no matter what they do to me.

He was a Christian and I am a Muslim, but we have a very cordial relationship that somebody will mistake us for brothers. I will really miss him”.

Another of his senior colleagues, Charles Ugwu, who also works in the electrical works department said the death of Yakubu came to him as a shock because on that fateful day he was with him around 4pm, some few hours away from the incident. He described Yakubu as a very humble, friendly and hardworking person who accommodated everyone, no matter one’s religion and tribe.

When contacted over the incident, the sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr Zakaraya Maman, said the Commission received information about the accident and has already arrested the driver of the Vectra vehicle. He cautioned motorists plying the highway in the state to ensure that they obey traffic rules and regulations, saying that some accidents can be prevented if motorists obey road signs.

Following the unfortunate incident, some residents of Gwalameji community have called on the authorities of the state to put more bumps on the Bauchi /Dass road, saying that the rate of accidents on the road was becoming too frequent.

“We want the state government to do something urgently about this problem because the accidents that occur on this road are often very fatal. We are losing precious lives on this road and we do not know who is next. The most unfortunate thing is that an academic institution is very close to the road. The victim here happens to be a staff of the institution and we are not happy about this development.

This is the third time between January and April that we are witness accidents. We also want the authorities of the National Road Transport Workers to caution these Vectra vehicle drivers who drive recklessly to stop over speeding while on the highway,” one of the residents said.