Dr. Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo's Son Kayode Joshua Dragged by Transit Bus in Nigeria

Nov. 8, 2013 - PRLog -- IBADAN, NIGERIA It was horror at the Agodi Gate section of Ibadan when International Journalist and Clinical Pharmacist Dr Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo was about to exit a transit bus at 6pm on Saturday November 2nd 2013, when a fellow passenger dropped a baby that was about to hit the ground. Omololu-Olunloyo rushed to help the woman and help her put the baby back on her back giving the mother her number when the bus suddenly moved. Her son KJ had already exited the bus waiting below the step of the rear of the bus. He became locked in between the doors and the bus moved.

As illustrated, KJ was dragged from the vendors area of Agodi bus stop to the Wema Bus stop approximately two miles on Iwo road in front of the Agodi police station. During the dragging encounter, the driver refused to stop despite the pleas of several passengers. Several pedestrians and motorists watched in horror as the boy was clinging to the external rear of the bus in fear of being detached from the bus and getting run over by other vehicles.

48 hours prior to this incident, a pregnant woman was killed after being crushed by a smaller passenger bus and car while a police officer was trying to collect a fine from the bus driver. The crowd at the scene mobbed the officer who was whisked away and the mob allegedly almost set the station on fire. The safety concerns at the Agodi axis has been tense since the Yes-O traffic wardens were recalled and less police visible at the intersection with no traffic lights.

The young boy Kayode Joshua who was born and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and lived in Toronto, Canada for the last 5 years where he became a prominent public figure as a child activist, blogger, rapper and singer between 2007-2012 on social media as "KJ the Kid Reporter and Kay Jeezy"

He is the youngest grandchild of the Former Oyo state Governor Victor Omololu Olunloyo who was also a one time Chairman of the Oyo state traffic comittee. Kayode sustained hand, arm and elbow injuries to his left hand and he is left handed. He moved to Nigeria with his mother after their temporary 5-year Canadian Asylum visa expired after fleeing to Canada during the violent 2007 elections in Ibadan Nigeria where media houses were attacked. His mother Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo is the News Director of #HNNAfrica, a small world news organization @HipHossip on Twitter

Omololu-Olunloyo at presstime said she had not been contacted by any Nigerian government or police official nor has seen a police report. Condemning the transportation system as poor with regards to driver training, she said she had contacted the American embassy in Abuja to report the incident since her son was American and she was required to do so.

Several witnesses told police and wrote on social media praising her for bringing the bus to a full stop by taking over the steering wheel from the driver in a desperate attempt, steering it to the front of the police station, changing gears and switching the ignition before exiting the bus, keys in hand to rescue her son covered with heavy dust, terrified and bruised with his shopping bag all ripped apart. No passenger had to go through that.

The case of Kayode Joshua  brought out several conversations on Facebook and Twitter with people saying this was a long standing problem on transit buses in Ibadan and Lagos with people calling drivers and conductors monsters behind the wheel. At one point Kemi yelled at the driver saying she was Governor Olunloyo's daughter and the driver yelled back saying "I don't care if your father was president."

She later handed the seized keys to Sgt Wale Samuels of Agodi Police station who asked the driver of the Ajumose shuttle #083 Adekunle Olayemi and his conductor Kabiru Mohammed to apologize to the mother and son and let them go. They were not arrested or questioned. Only their names and numbers were taken by police after they sat listening to Omololu-Olunloyo's account to police. That account was recorded on her cell phone. There were several people videotaping the horrible incident who are urged to send the videos to her at Radiohossip@gmail.com or Keminications@yahoo.ca

More information will be sent out as Keminications PR gets it. KJ is in fair condition and very emotionally terrified. He told friends he wanted to go back to the United States, a typical reaction of a child new in a foreign country. Omololu-Olunloyo is seeking help with KJ's medical bills and the pain and suffering she and her son experienced.

She has urged people not to make this incident a political issue as it's not. The Governor Abiola Ajimobi created a reliable clean transit initiative and the driving operators just need better sensitivity and safety training operating these giant Daewoo buses. She had spotted posts on Facebook on pages of PDP the opposition party in Oyo state reading "Look at the opression the current government is making us live in."

She thanked all her fans and readers across the globe @HipHossip on twitter for their love and concern for Kayode Joshua who turns 13 on Novermber 12th 2013