Femi Aina, the father of Oreoluwa Aina, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member killed in last Thursday’s collision between a train and a Lagos state government staff bus, has blamed the naira scarcity in the country for his daughter’s death.
The Herald can report that Oreoluwa Aina, 28, was among six persons that died in the accident.
She was serving with the Curriculum Services Department of the Lagos State Ministry of Education in Alausa at the time of the accident.
She was buried at Atan cemetery, Yaba, on Saturday.
In an interview with The Punch, the victim’s father said she would not have been on the ill-fated bus if not for the naira scarcity occasioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s naira redesign policy.
Asked if he knew his daughter used the staff bus, Femi Aina said, “I know she boarded the staff bus, but not every day. If not for this cashless nonsense policy, she would not have followed that bus. But she did not have cash, so she had to follow the bus. She had just N200. They just kill people anyhow in this country.”
He described his daughter as a “gift from God”, as her name implied, who was very dear to him.
The grieving father said his daughter was planning to go to the United Kingdom for further studies before she died.
“She feared God and she was hard-working. I used to tell her that she took the job like she was already a staff member of the state government. She was a very nice girl with visions and ambitions.
“She was preparing to go to the United Kingdom for her Master’s programme after her youth service ends in May, but unfortunately, all her plans had been dashed.
“She happened to be the first grandchild of my parents and she stayed with my mum here in Lagos because our dad passed away last year, so she had always been with her grandmother. She was dear to everyone around including church, school and at work.
“Her death is a great loss,” Femi Aina said.
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