As though foretelling the chains of national tragedies that eventually befell Nigeria a few days ago, on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 when we published our editorial titled “Badenoch: Who’s proud of a failing country?” we stated that: “In recent times, the slogan, ‘may Nigeria never happen to you’, has become a wish exchanged among Nigerians”; that the slogan “means ‘may the avoidable death prevalent in Nigeria never happen to you’!”

As soon as the Vanguard editorial, written three days earlier, was published December 18, the tragedy it spoke about struck at Ibadan. ‘Nigeria happened’ to 35 children scrambling for food at a children’s funfair and left many others critically injured.

Three days later, on Saturday, December 21, 2024, while Nigerians were still grieving over their kids who died senselessly at Ibadan over food, a similar tragedy struck at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja. Ten persons died and many others were injured during the distribution of food items to vulnerable and elderly individuals.

As if one trouble for the grossly abused and impoverished Nigerian masses was not enough for one day, before rigour mortis could set in on the ten bodies of those who died at the Abuja food stampede, ‘Nigeria happened’ again to 22 people who were part of the almost two thousand hungry Nigerians scrambling for rice and other food items at Okija, Anambra State.

If indeed the dead see, the late Professor Anezi Okoro, author of the popular 1972 children’s novel titled “One Week One Trouble”, must be horrified in his grave to see how the Nigeria he left on January 20, 2024, at the age of 94, has rapidly floundered from one week one trouble to one day two tragedies, and for no other reason but food!

Interestingly, the title of Prof. Okoro’s book has been used by writers to describe the troubles majority of heartless Nigerian politicians have inflicted on poor Nigerians over the years. Sadly, the Nigeria’s story of one week one trouble has not only come full circle in 2024 under a government that promised renewed hope, but the trouble has escalated to an unbelievable and alarming proportion!

Vanguard wept profusely, yesterday, December 23, and is still weeping, after publishing Mr. Uduak Bassey’s experience at the Abuja food stampede. Mr Bassey, a father of four who came from Mpape, a densely populated area near Maitama in search of food for his kids at the ill-fated Holy Trinity Catholic Church food sharing venue, told Vanguard:

“We had no choice. The little we have is barely enough for the family. I thought we’d get something for the kids this Christmas. Instead, we lost everything.”

How can we say “Merry Christmas” to people like Mr. Bassey in Abuja, in Ibadan, in Okija and to the rest of empathetic, grieving Nigerians like us?