Key Points

• Highway safety reforms must be accelerated nationwide.

• Anthony Joshua tragedy exposes systemic road risks.

• Emergency response delays worsen accident outcomes.

Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan has sent her condolences to boxing champion Anthony Joshua after a car accident in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends.

The crash happened around noon on Monday on the Lagos Ibadan Motorway. A Toyota Lexus carrying Joshua and three other people was involved. Ayodele Kelvin Olu, a Nigerian British citizen, and Gami Sina, a British citizen, both died at the scene. Joshua was hurt and is getting medical help.

The lawmaker called the incident “heartbreaking” and “avoidable” in a condolence message released on Tuesday. He said it shows bigger problems with highway safety enforcement and emergency response across the country.

Most senators respond with calls for highway safety reforms

Akpoti Uduaghan said that the tragedy shows how important it is to make changes to highway safety in all of Nigeria. She said that dangerous roads, weak enforcement, and slow emergency services still make many Nigerians’ everyday trips deadly.

She called highways “corridors of sorrow” and said that road safety should be a top priority for the whole country, not just something to think about when making policy. She says that crashes that could have been avoided keep happening because rules are mostly on paper.

She told the Federal Road Safety Corps to step up enforcement, saying that rules lose their meaning if they aren’t constantly checked. The senator also said that everyone should be held accountable, no matter their social status or power.

The Anthony Joshua tragedy starts a debate about safety

Akpoti Uduaghan said that the Anthony Joshua tragedy should not fade away after people stop feeling sorry for him. She said that high-profile events often bring attention to risks that regular people face every day without anyone noticing.

She asked the federal government to pay for well-equipped rest stops for cars along major highways to cut down on accidents caused by tiredness, especially among long-distance drivers. She says that driver fatigue is still a silent but deadly cause of car accidents.

She also suggested that a special highway emergency rescue team be set up, with ambulances, trauma care units, and quick response teams stationed along major roads.

Changes to highway safety need better emergency response systems

Akpoti Uduaghan said that changes to highway safety must include the ability to respond to emergencies in real time. She said that a lot of people who get hurt in accidents die not just from their injuries, but also from not getting medical help right away.

She told lawmakers to put money into systems that respond in minutes instead of hours. She said that long-term changes could save thousands of lives every year and make people feel safe driving again.

Her message came after visits to Joshua by high-ranking officials, such as the governors of Ogun State and Lagos State, as well as representatives from the British High Commission.