A Benin traditional priest in charge of the Ikpoba River in Benin City, Edo State, Prince Udinyiwe Eweka, has attributed the accident in which six vehicles were crushed on the Ikpoba River Bridge on Monday to the anger of the water goddess over the ongoing dredging of the river by the state government without carrying out necessary sacrifices.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that the truck which had a brake failure, crushed the six vehicles on the bridge. Though no life was lost, six persons were said to have sustained injuries, while 20 others escaped death by the whiskers.
Some eyewitnesses however said three vehicles plunged into the river, a claim that the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, debunked.
The accident occurred barely two weeks after the Prince Eweka, warned of dire consequences of dredging the river without making necessary sacrifices to appease the river goddess.
Edo State Government had, last week, began dredging the river to provide lasting solution to frequent flooding in Benin and river overflow.
The state’s Commissioner for Mining, Andrew Ijegbai, said the dredging would address persistent flooding as well as harness the river’s potential to boost revenue.
But Prince Eweka insisted consultations must be made to find out what to do to appease the goddess for the dredging to be successful.
According to the priest, “This Ikpoba River has been here for decades. I grew up to meet this Ikpoba River here. We know that our past governments tried to dredge the river. We knew what happened. It didn’t go well because we didn’t follow the rules and the regulations of the river.
“We need to consult the gods on what they need before dredging the river. And some sacrifice needs to be done before we carry out anything like that. It is not that we just go to the river and start dredging. Sometimes, it might not work because of the power of the river. After our past Governor, Lucky (Igbinedion) did his own, others tried to do the same, but all of them failed. No one worked because they didn’t do any sacrifice. So, they have to go out there to consult what Ikpoba N’ ogi Eze needs and give them their needs before we start dredging.
“When we do that, everything will just work out fine without any disturbance because you give what belongs to Caesar to Caesar and give what belongs to God to God.”
Confirming the accident, the Edo Sector Commander of the FRSC, Cyril Matthew Zango, said the injured victims were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Zango however stated that nobody drowned as a result of the accident, neither did any vehicle plunge into the river.