Day Kano family lost 12 members in auto crash

Friday, October 9, 2015 will for some time remain memorable to the family of veteran journalist and former Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Alhaji Halilu Ahmed Getso. On the fateful day, 12 members of his family, mostly children, lost their lives in a fatal automobile accident which occurred at Kanye village along Kano-Gwarzo road at noon. A bus conveying 26 family members of the former FRCN DG collided with an incoming vehicle, resulting in the death of 12.

The victims of the auto crash were on their way to Kano to attend a naming ceremony, Daily Trust gathered. Eleven out of the 12 dead persons were children and grandchildren of Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Getso, while the 12th was the son of Alhaji Sani Ahmed Getso, both elder brothers of the former FRCN DG. 
Aliyu Musa, a local who spoke to Daily Trust at Kanye, the location of the accident, said all the three drivers involved were on high speed. “The accident happened due to wrong overtaking by one of the drivers. One of them attempted to overtake another vehicle and in the process he collided with an incoming vehicle, and shortly after the truck ran into them,” he narrated.
The accident, Daily Trust gathered from more eyewitnesses, involved three vehicles; a Peugeot J5, Toyota Hiace and a truck. One of the drivers was said to have lost control while swerving to dodge potholes and resulted in a head-on collision with an incoming, speeding J5 van which had overtaken another vehicle. While some of the victims died on the spot, others passed on at Gwarzo General Hospital. Some of the survivors are on admission at Murtala Muhammad General Hospital and Gwarzo General Hospital, respectively.
Those who lost their lives include Hassana Ibrahim, Usaina Ibrahim, Bilkisu Ibrahim, Sakina Ibrahim, Zaharadeen Ibrahim, Ramatu Sani, Fati Aminu, Sadiya Basiru, Hadiza Lawan, Sadiq Shu’aibu, Nusaiba Abdullahi and Lawan Abdullahi. Also, 14 other sustained various degrees of injuries. Among them are Hauwa Shu’aibu, Salamatu Ibrahim, Habiba Ibrahim, Maryam Abdullahi, Rashida Aminu and Bilkisu Yahuza.
However, Yaha Mukhtari, Khalid Yusuf, Hamisu Musa, Bilkisu Shu’aibu, Walid Yusuf, Misbahu Shu’aibu, Zayyanu Shu’aibu and Abdullahi Abubakar were treated and discharged from Gwarzo General Hospital.
At Gwarzo General Hospital, Daily Trust observed that most of the injured victims admitted at the hospital are responding to treatment.
Alhaji Sani Ahmed Getso, father of one of the deceased, Ramatu Sani, told Daily Trust that the family has never experienced such tragedy. He said it was a moment that his family will not easily forget, for a single family to lose 12 people at once. “This is a test to the family by the Almighty. We have never been tested this way before, but as Muslims, we have accepted it in good faith. We are all from Allah and we will all go back to Him one after the other.”
He added that nobody among the elders of the family was at home when the women arranged for the trip. “Otherwise, we would not have allowed the driver to carry as much people as he did. The number is outrageous,” he said.
Also, the former FRCN DG, Alhaji Halilu Ahmed Getso, described the incident as destined, impossible to be stopped by a human being. “May Allah forgive them all. We will continue praying for their souls.”
Lamenting on the condition of Kano-Gwarzo road, Getso described it as a death-trap, saying many lives have been lost recently due to the condition of the road. “From the very Friday we lost our family members, two different accidents occurred on the same road on Saturday and Monday and lives were lost in both,” he lamented. He also called on the federal and state governments to come to their aid by fixing the roads.
Kano State Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Malam Aminu Usman Jabaka, confirmed the incident and appealed to motorists to avoid reckless overtaking.