Temokun Questions Nigeria’s Bad Leadership After Motorists Risk Lives To Rescue Trapped Victims

By Paul Joseph

Human rights activist Tope Temokun has questioned why Nigerians who demonstrate extraordinary kindness and solidarity often end up producing leaders who appear indifferent to the suffering of ordinary citizens.

Temokun raised the concern on Thursday, October 15, 2026, after joining other motorists to rescue occupants trapped beneath an overturned cement truck following a tyre burst.

Recounting the incident, he said the Dyna truck, which was carrying bags of cement, suddenly suffered a tyre burst in front of his vehicle, veered into the bush and overturned.

While two occupants escaped, others, including a young motor boy, were trapped underneath and cried for help.

Temokun said he immediately parked his vehicle and rushed to the scene, where motorists travelling in both directions had also stopped to assist.

According to him, the rescuers worked together with their bare hands to lift the overturned truck sufficiently for the trapped occupants to crawl out.

He disclosed that he strained his biceps near his shoulder during the operation and was still experiencing pain, but expressed happiness that their collective effort had helped save lives.

“What touched me most was the extraordinary compassion of ordinary Nigerians. Nobody knew anybody. Nobody asked questions. Everybody simply wanted to save lives,” he said.

However, the experience also prompted him to reflect on the country’s leadership, questioning how people capable of risking their lives to save strangers could produce leaders who fail to show similar concern for the welfare of citizens.

“But something keeps troubling me. How do good people keep producing bad rulers? Where do the bad men in power come from?” he asked.

Temokun further questioned whether political power changes people’s attitudes towards human suffering, making them indifferent to the challenges of those they are expected to serve.

“What is it about power that turns good people into bad rulers?” he asked.

The activist’s reflection centred on what he described as a troubling contrast between the compassion ordinary Nigerians demonstrated during the emergency and the conduct of those entrusted with political leadership.