A friend of the victims, Ginika Okolo, who took to social media to mourn them, said the ladies were swept away by high tides on Sunday while celebrating a friend’s birthday.
The two ladies graduated from Covenant University and were on the verge of completing their Masters in International Law and Diplomacy at UNILAG. Funmi’s brother, Gbenga Odusina, reacting to the death of his sibling on his Facebook wall, wrote: “Happy birthday to my dad as much I would have loved to celebrate his 65th birthday, death snatched away his baby daughter; my sister, Funmi, a few hours before. I have never experienced death this close. I still saw her in the afternoon making up. I even asked her, ‘Funmi you’re really dressed like a big madam today.’
She cleaned her room so well today; maybe she knew she was going to meet her creator a few hours ago. I saw her lifeless body at the mortuary and all I could do is wonder how? But I never really queried how God does His things and I continue to give thanks to Him for all. Rest in peace dear sister!” Udoffa Nancy, another friend, wrote: “This is very sad.
I lost a friend last week at Elegushi Beach. Is this becoming a trend? The government needs to step in. We are paying to enter these beaches but they are death traps!” Another friend, Royal Hottness, said that deaths which occurred at beaches shouldn’t be taken lightly. She insisted that someone should be held responsible.
She wrote: “Two of my friends, Phummie Toe’dunni Odunsina and Shola Adesola Olubola Ogunmefun, both graduates of Covenant University, Class of 2011, Beacon set, died yesterday at Elegushi Beach, Lagos, Nige-ria, and this was due to lack of proper safety measures.
For the first time, I have actually decided to say something; Lagosians, why do we agree to go to beaches where we are being exploited, in the sense that we pay money to get into this beach? We pay to park and yet we record more deaths each day due to lack of safety measures.
“Safety measures like wave alarm systems, Licensed Life Guard, Emergency Medical unit around the beach and a patrol unit to escort the ambulance to the hospital in cases of emergencies. These are not in place. We need the Lagos Government to please shut them down for the time being till they put in place these amenities.”
Okolo felt her friends would have been saved if there were life guards around. She said: “Some of us have been awake and have cried our lives out. I shut the day because of the death of these two. Our tears have turned to anger because their lives were carelessly taken away by Elegushi heavy tide.
Is there not a rescue team? Don’t people pay to enter the beach?” She said that both ladies had bright future. “This is so sad but we must bring awareness because their lives are not worthless. If you went to Covenant University, Bells Secondary School, Home Science Secondary School, University of Lagos and you know their families, loved ones or you have loved ones who have been victims, you need to join this campaign.
“We need wave alarm system, emergency medical unit, patrol unit, good rescue team in all Nigerian beaches. Funmi and Shola were wonderful ladies,” Okolo added. When contacted, the state Police Public relations Officer (PPRO), Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said the police were yet to establish if such incident occurred.http://newtelegraphonline.com/unilag-postgraduates-drown-celebrating-birthday/
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