Stampede In Owerri: We Must Look Before We Leap

Lancelot Obiaku
(Chieftain)

As much as we are knowledgeable of the security challenges that we have faced in recent times, we must be careful not to endanger our lives when there is no danger. We must imbibe the culture of verifying information before we act upon or react to it.

The panic and hysteria witnessed in Owerri on Monday, October 4, 2021, was to a reasonable extent uncalled for. It was disappointing seeing most public schools release their students and pupils between the hours of 11 am and 12 pm following wild-spread rumour of the presence of unknown gunmen in Owerri and sounds of gunshots at certain locations in the city. Sending the school children out to scamper home at that hour could put them in harm’s way.

As people at various parts of Owerri took their heels when nothing, apparently, was pursuing them, valuables were lost, goods were destroyed, and many sustained injuries. A story has been told of how a panicky old woman swiveled into a gutter in the heat of the pandemonium.

We must understand that there are people who love to spread negative information, either because it is their nature or that they have an interest in doing so. Imagine that someone published on Facebook, yesterday, that unknown gunmen attacked and set ablaze Imo State Fire Service station whereas this never happened, and it did not even come close to being true. People must make effort not to cause themselves further harm by reacting impulsively to rumours.

We appreciate schools, mostly private ones, who did not release learners in the middle of hysteria. We can do better to look before we leap.