Izuchukwu Okosi
Nollywood superstar actor Richard Mofe Damijo has spared his thoughts for the victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack by a terrorist group suspected to be Boko Haram on Monday which culminated in the deaths, injuries, kidnaps and missing of several passengers onboard.
Noteworthy was the demise of young Chinelo Megafu, an Onitsha, Anambra state born medical doctor who died from bullets wounds and was billed to travel out of Nigeria on Friday (April 1) in pursuance of a better medical career abroad.
Mofe Damijo who revealed that he was fortunate to have escaped unscathed several times on the same route and at other train stations took to his Facebook page on Wednesday to pay his last respect.
“My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives, the wounded and those who will be traumatised by this incident for a long time,” RMD wrote ruefully.
“At this time last year I was on this same train to Kaduna and we talked about how unsafe life is and the risks we were taking. We are the lucky ones.
“Again a month ago I was on the Lagos /Ibadan train and it was the same spectre of death and attacks that plagued our minds. This is not to disregard the comfort and timeliness of the train ride and how desirable it is.
“A few weeks later we heard reports of the same train breaking down on the tracks due to lack of Diesel. Again I was lucky that this didn’t happen to me. Point is, it could be anyone any day. On the road, at the airport, train station, no where is safe anymore. This is the extent of our brokenness.
The reaction to Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup by irate fans after the 1-1 draw against West African rivals Ghana according to the multi award winning actor mirrors the sad reality of the country.
“If anything is an indication of how broken we are today, then the shameful storming of the pitch and destruction of the MKO national stadium Abuja, is a clear indication. People are angry and bitter and are just looking for triggers. And boy! they are plenty.
“See the initial reactions to the quite clear tweet of the young doctor (Chinelo Megafu) who died from gunshot wounds from the train and you will see that we’ve also lost our humanity,” the Delta state-born actor stressed.
“Nothing surprises and shocks us anymore. We’ve seen and heard it all. Ridiculousness has been enthroned by our leaders at every level.
“There is an urgent need to declare a state of emergency in this country. We are heading for the precipice and it doesn’t seem like we are interested in pulling the breaks. After now it’s a free fall.
“The government needs to do more than just promises to apprehend the perpetrators and truly save the lives of WE THE People. #Rmdsaysso.”
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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