Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described as heart-rending the death of scores and missing of many people in a boat mishap in Niger State over the weekend.
Atiku Abubakar said in a press statement by his media office in Abuja yesterday that the grief occasioned by the boat disaster is neither for the families of the deceased and the missing victims, nor the Niger State government, but a grief for the whole nation.
He noted that the death of the merchants who were plying their trade across the waterways is emotionally distasteful, more so that catastrophes such as this could have possibly been avoided if the nation had a responsive emergency capability.
“Much as we must mourn the deceased, we should not let this situation pass by, without learning a lesson from it on the imperative of improving on our national emergency response capabilities,” he said.
The Turaki Adamawa urged relevant emergency response units to rise up to the challenge by ensuring the missing is accounted for.
He expressed his condolences to the affected families and the government of Niger State, while also praying that God gives the bereaved families the fortitude to bear the loss of their loved ones.
