By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
Men and officers of the Marine department of the Nigeria Police,Kogi State Command and local divers have commenced the search for yet to be identified tricycle driver(kekenapep), believed to have plunged himself into imeme river in Lokoja on Tuesday afternoon.
The Police Public Relations Officer,PPRO, for the Command,SP.William Ovie Aya, disclosed this in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Lokoja on Wednesday.
“Immediately the command got the information, we sent our men from our marine department in search of the man in conjunction with local divers.
” But up to this moment, efforts to recover the man has not yielded any positive result.
Sources told the Reporters that the middle-aged man could have committed suicide for the best reason known to him.
Others guessed he must have taken such a costly decision deal to the current harsh economic realities in Nigeria.
A tricycle driver, who would not want his identity revealed, in an interview with our correspondent in Lokoja on Wednesday said his colleague might have ended his life in such tragic end due to the psychological trauma many okada drivers go through in such business, to meet ends meet now a days.
He said:” It takes the grace of God and prayer for many of us to continue in the harsh economic climate attached to Okada and other means transportation business, generally in the country.
“As a university graduate of about five years standing without job, l went for a hired purchase kekenap of N1.9 million and supposed to pay back with N2.5 million, remitting N100,000 monthly to the person who sold the machine to me.
“Long after I purchased the machine, removal of fuel subsidy set in with the prices of fuel and spare parts for the machine hitting roof, almost on a daily basis.
“As it is now, l can’t meet up with my monthly payment, not to talk of breaking even or make profit to feed my wife and out two children and honor other financial commitments.
“Is this not enough for one to contemplate such thing as suicide? If not God that is still sustaining us of us in this business?
“However, if it is true that the man committed suicide by plunging himself into river due to harsh economic realities, I will say it is a very wrong and costly act. After all, tough time doesn’t last but tough people.
“At the same, tragedy such as this serves as a wait up call to the government to intensify effort to ease the effect of the current economic climate and its impact on the life of the people.
“Efforts should also be made by the states and federal government to create more employment opportunities, especially for the youth to prevent them from taking decisions that will result in such an unpalatable end to life,” he urged .
