Man Blames Buhari for hardship Jumps into River

A major tragedy was averted yesterday in
Lagos, when a man jumped into the river on the
Mile Two Bridge in Amuwo Odofin Local
Government Area.
The unidentified man, according to eyewitnesses,
stood on the bridge for some minutes, loudly
expressed bitterness over his sufferings and how
things had gone bad for him and his
helplessness.
He was said to have mentioned Buhari
repeatedly, muttered some other words before
he finally took the terrible decision.
However, the timely intervention of a passing
speedboat prevented the victim, who is in his
40s, from drowning.
Passengers on the speedboat dived into the
river, dragged the man who was gasping for
breath to the riverbank, and continued their
journey.
A witness, Mr. Andy Odiaka, said the victim,
who wore native clothes, was left on the floor for
a while, unconscious.
Odiaka told Daily Sun that he called the state
emergency number – 112, which facilitated the
arrival of the Lagos State Ambulance Service
(LASAMBUS) in about 20 minutes.
The three-man medical team, went ahead of the
bus to resuscitate the victim. According to one
of the medics, the man had to be given first aid
drip, explaining that he was too weak to make it
to the hospital.
Odiaka said: “I was there on the bridge where
the man was also standing. He was speaking to
himself. He said he had no transport fare to
move from one place to another. He said his
suffering was too much that he could hardly
feed. I also heard him saying life was
meaningless to him. He mentioned Buhari many
times, and the next thing I saw, the man jumped
from the bridge into the water.
“He is an Igbo man because he was speaking
the language. I thought he was joking when he
said he was tired of everything around him. “If
not for a speedboat that was passing, he would
have died. The boat stopped and the passengers
dragged him to the riverbank and they
continued their journey.
“Thereafter, nobody was ready to assist him.
People simply looked at him, expressed
sympathy and continued their journey. I have to
call an emergency number,” he said.
Before the ambulance came, it was gathered
that sympathisers, including Mr Odiaka,
contributed about N1, 000, with the intention of
taking the victim to the hospital.
Another witness, who simply gave his name as
Okpala, said he ran to the place and saw the
man almost dying, but did noit know what to do
to help him out of the situation. He said he
mobilised others at the scene to donate money
to take the victim to a hospital.
“The man said he was tired of life and he
wanted to kill himself,” he said.
When the victim’s pockets were searched for
any means identity, only N90 was found on him.