To:
The Governor of Ondo State,
The Ondo State Executive Council,
The Speaker and Members of the Ondo State House of Assembly,
Relevant Security, Emergency, Civil Societies and Public Safety Authorities.
Sir/Ma,
OPEN LETTER TO THE ONDO STATE GOVERNMENT: RESCUE THE FIRE SERVICE BEFORE IT RESCUES NO ONE AGAIN.
There are times when silence becomes a betrayal. There are moments when public concern must rise above politeness and speak plainly, because lives are at stake and institutions are failing.
This is one of such moments.
The Ondo State Fire Service, particularly its headquarters in Alagbaka, Akure, stands today as a painful contradiction. It is supposed to represent preparedness, courage, rescue, and response. Instead, it has become a visible symbol of neglect. The building stands, but the service has collapsed. The walls may still be upright, but the spirit, strength, and effectiveness of the institution have been badly weakened by years of underinvestment, poor maintenance, obsolete tools, and a disturbing lack of modern rescue capacity, except one functioning recently procured truck and ambulance.
This is not a matter of appearance. It is a matter of life and death.
A fire service that cannot respond decisively to emergencies is not merely underperforming; it is endangering the public. A rescue unit without the equipment to rescue is not a service in any meaningful sense. And when trained men and women are forced to work in environments that undermine their morale, dignity, and safety, the result is predictable: delay, frustration, and avoidable loss.
The recent tragedy in Akure, involving one Late Mrs. Ashaolu, wife to a former commissioner in Ondo State. reportedly found in a well and allegedly beyond rescue, has once again exposed the scale of the problem. A distress call was made from within Alagbaka, hope was directed toward the state’s emergency response structure, but the expected intervention did not come, as there was no oxygen to help the victim and the rescue team. Instead, ordinary well diggers were left to do what a properly equipped fire and rescue service ought to have done with professionalism, speed, and safety.
That incident should trouble every responsible mind in government.
It is not enough to express sorrow after tragedy. It is not enough to issue condolences after failure. A state that values human life must build systems that can preserve it. The true measure of governance is not in speeches but in readiness. Not in promises but in capacity. Not in reaction but in prevention and response.
The Ondo State Government must understand that emergency services are not ceremonial institutions. They are frontline lifelines. They are the difference between rescue and catastrophe, between survival and death, between public confidence and public despair. When a fire truck cannot move, when rescue tools are unavailable, when protective gears are not available, when training is outdated, and when personnel are left to improvise in dangerous situations, then the state has already failed before the emergency even begins.
This failure is not beyond repair. But repair must begin now.
The Fire Service needs urgent rehabilitation, not cosmetic attention. It needs modern firefighting and rescue equipment, not token gestures. It needs functional vehicles, protective gear, communication systems, ladders, breathing apparatus, rescue ropes, medical response tools, and all the essentials required to respond effectively to emergencies across the state. It needs regular training and retraining, because emergencies evolve and competence must evolve with them. It needs a working environment that reflects the seriousness of its mission.
Most importantly, it needs political will.
Government must treat this matter as an emergency of its own. Funds must be committed transparently. The welfare of firefighters must be improved. The command structure must be strengthened. Infrastructure must be rehabilitated. Oversight must be enforced. The Fire Service must cease to be a neglected office and become a functional, respected, and dependable public safety institution.
This is not a demand for luxury. It is a demand for responsibility.
A state capital should never be embarrassed by the inability of its emergency responders to carry out a basic rescue operation. No family should watch helplessly while a loved one is lost because the system meant to help was empty-handed. No government should accept such a situation as normal.
The tragedy in Alagbaka must not be allowed to fade into another forgotten headline. Let it become the moment that forced a long overdue response. Let it be the incident that awakened the conscience of the state. Let it mark the beginning of a serious rescue of the Fire Service itself.
The people of Ondo State deserve an emergency system they can trust. The firefighters deserve a workplace that matches the nobility of their duty. And the government deserves the chance to prove that it can still act decisively when human life is on the line.
That chance is now.
Ondo State must rise to the occasion.
The time for sympathy has passed. The time for action is here.
Signed,
A Concerned Voice for Public Safety and Human Dignity
