Yesterday, I attended a deeply emotional and heartbreaking burial of three siblings, Stephen Onyeka Omatu, Casmir Nnabuike Omatu, and Collins Kenechukwu Omatu, the three young brothers whose lives were cruelly cut short in the Great Nigeria Insurance building fire in Lagos, Nigeria.

It is almost impossible to describe the depth of this tragedy. For days, these young men sent distressing pleas for help while trapped in the building, yet there were no emergency services to rescue them. Several days passed in the rubble before their bodies were finally recovered. Several days of unanswered calls, of a system that failed them at the moment they needed it most.

This is not just a personal loss for their family, it is a national loss. This tragedy should serve as a reminder that our emergency services must be improved and accessible to every citizen. We cannot continue like this. Every life matters, and no Nigerian should ever have to endure such neglect or be left to perish in such a gruesome way, while help could have been provided.

I pray that the souls of Steve, Casmir, and Collins find eternal rest, and that God grants their family the courage, strength, and comfort to bear this unimaginable grief. May we never forget them, and may we be moved to ensure such a tragedy never happens again. -PO