By George Ozalla
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday led a delegation of the Senate to the Abuja residence of the Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, to commiserate with him over the death of his son and grandson.
Senator Moro’s son, Victor Moro, who had just returned to Nigeria after completing his studies at a Turkish university and was awaiting deployment for his National Youth Service Corps programme, died in an auto crash at Asokoro in Abuja on Friday. His grandson, Abba Moro Jr, also died on Saturday.
In his remarks, Senate President Akpabio said that when he and his colleagues heard of the tragedy, they decided to shorten the day’s business to enable them to visit and condole with Senator Moro and his family, stressing that “an injury to one is an injury to all.”
He recalled his earlier conversation with Senator Moro, saying, “From the narration when I phoned you, you informed me that the boy died in Asokoro on his way to the barracks to register at a gym and that he died because some cows suddenly entered the road and so he tried to dodge. Another vehicle tried to dodge also from the opposite direction, and they ended up crashing into one another. The boy died on the spot.”
Akpabio said the circumstances of the death highlighted the challenges the Senate has been grappling with in its efforts to create a better and safer society, particularly in ensuring controlled movement of cattle. He noted that while livestock provide a source of livelihood for many Nigerians, their movement must not continue to endanger lives.
“The President recently visited Brazil to sign some Memoranda of Understanding with a view to bringing about livestock ranching, to bring sanity to our roads. Probably this is not the first tragedy of this kind, but we will like it to be the last,” Akpabio stated.
He urged Senator Moro to take solace in God, adding that life and death are beyond human control. “It is very painful that young children like that, for their lives to be cut short at such tender ages. None of us here know how to condole you or your wife. But you have to accept the situation because you have no control over it. Life belongs to God. God determines when you are born and when you leave,” he said.
Akpabio described Senator Moro as a stabilising factor in the Senate and a respected leader in the country, assuring him that his colleagues share in his grief. “On behalf of the 10th Senate and even our colleagues in the House of Representatives, represented by one of us, we want to say please accept our condolences,” he said.
In his response, Senator Moro thanked his colleagues for their visit and words of comfort, saying their presence had strengthened him. “If it is not God, why will a son die on Friday and another son die on Saturday? If anything, I feel strengthened by your presence. Your visit and words of encouragement have strengthened my resolve to contribute anything that is in me to help the Senate to grow this country,” he said.
