Oriyomi Hamzat, a media celebrity, has spoken out about the terrible stampede that happened at an Ibadan funfair event and blamed the parents for the mayhem that resulted in casualties.
In a thorough account of the events, Hamzat defended Prophetess Naomi, the person who organized the event, and emphasized the difficulties that were faced in planning and carrying out the program. Hamzat disclosed that he went to the location the day prior to the event to check the setup, stressing the importance of appropriate ticketing and security.
He recalled how, after realizing that the audience in Ibadan might be different from that in other places the event had covered, he insisted on printing 5,500 tickets in order to control the crowd. Even though the program was supposed to start at 10 a.m., things got out of hand as early as 4 a.m. on the day of the event, with parents congregating at the location.
When Hamzat got there at 5:45 a.m., he discovered that roads were blocked and that mothers were hurling their kids over the fence to gain entry. Tragically, one youngster apparently died after his mother threw him over the fence, thinking someone would grab him, and he smashed his head on the ground.
Hamzat questioned how Prophetess Naomi could be held accountable for such carelessness and denounced the parents’ behavior.
Oriyomi Hamzat on the Tragedy of the Ibadan Stampede
“A day before the funfair, I went to inspect the venue to ensure that all the necessary things were in place. Prophetess Naomi was there and she said the place was more spacious than the place they wanted to use.
“I asked about the security arrangement and she said the security will be there by 8am. I told her and the team that Ibadan is different from the other places they have been using so I promised to give her 200 boys that will be giving out tickets to the children. She didn’t plan to use tickets initially.
“I arranged how 5500 tickets would be printed. The following day, I got to the venue at about 5:45am. I saw a lot of crowd. All roads were blocked. Mothers have started throwing their kids over the fence.
“The program was scheduled to start at 10am and security men were expected at 8am. I started begging that everybody should go back home. They refused to listen to me.
“Over 2000 mothers threw their kids over the fence as at 5:45am. I was told they have been throwing their kids since 4am. Even though we were expecting 5000 kids, Naomi rented 7000 chairs because I told her to make provision for mothers that would bring their kids.
“Stampede started happening at 7am. A woman said she threw her son over the fence thinking that someone would catch him but the child h!t his head on the ground and d!ed on the spot. One woman gathered her neighbor’s kids and brought 19 children to the venue. HOW WAS IT NAOMI’S FAULT that parents were throwing their kids?”
