The story of Joe Blankson who lost his life after rescuing 13 People in a boat accident
On Saturday, July 28, 2018, Joe Blankson boarded a boat with his sister from Abonnema Wharf for Bakana. It was for the funeral service of a family member. Also in the boat were 23 other passengers, including the driver.
Earlier in the day, there had been a heavy downpour for several hours, raising the water level. It also allowed heavy objects that would otherwise have been lodged beneath the river to rise to the surface and flow rapidly with the current. The water was also not clear as a result of the debris in it. It was one of these objects that the boat stuck, and it capsized.
The 38-year old Joe, who was a strong swimmer, went into action immediately. From the location of where the boat had capsized, it was clear that it would take a while before rescue arrived. The fact that there had been heavy rain also lowered the chances of getting other people to come and rescue the already distressed passengers. One after the other, Joe began the tedious effort of taking each person from the capsized boat to the river bank. It was during his attempt to rescue the 14th person that the already exhausted Joe drowned. By then, other boat drivers had gotten there to save the rest of the passengers. Of the 25 passengers, only one person died: Joe Blankson.
Joe Blankson was born on October 29, 1979, in Bakana, Rivers State. He was the second of five children. According to his mother in an interview with Punch, he was obedient, cheerful and friendly to everyone, traits he carried on with him throughout his life till the day he died.
According to his wife, Mercy Joe-Blankson, the two met in 2012 during their mandatory National Youth Service Corps.
“I met him during NYSC at Obubra in 2012, and we got married the following year after our service. He was my best friend and protector. I felt safe with him. He brought me to Rivers State, and now it is crazy that I am in the state without him.”
The couple had three children: Owen, Ibilolia and Olodesoebifa. Tragedy, however, struck on December 25, 2016. According to Mercy, her mother-in-law had asked that they prepare Christmas food for up to 30 guests as there was a plan to go to the hospital to go and see Joe’s father, who was ill. Because of that, she had to light a kerosene stove outside the house in addition to the gas cooker that was being used in the kitchen.
For reasons unknown, the kerosene stove exploded and one-year-old Olodesoebifa who had gotten close to it, suffered severe burns, which ultimately led to her death.
“My husband got a call and left the house. Not long after he left the house, I went into the kitchen to check the pot. That was when I heard a scream in the compound and rushed out to see what happened. I saw my daughter on the floor burning.
“I immediately poured water on her to quench the fire and rushed her to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital. Owen too was affected.”
“It was a family friend that made arrangements for our children to be transferred to a private surgeon, where my son survived, but my daughter died five days after on December 31, 2016, and the pain I suffered was unbearable.”
Another tragedy struck the family a year later when Joe’s father, who was in the hospital for eight weeks receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, died. During that period, Joe was struggling to get a job. Despite this, he remained cheerful and always willing to help others.
“He was a very kind person and always ready to show kindness to others, even if it would cause him pain,” his mother said. “He was not rich but usually driven by a passion to show kindness whenever there was an opportunity to do so. If you call him a humanitarian, you will not be wrong.”
Conversation with Mercy Joe-Blankson
“I got a call from my mother-in-law on that fateful day,” Mercy told Neusroom. “She asked me if I had heard from my husband and I told her I did earlier in the day but that he was supposed to go to the village for a burial. That was when she told me the boat he was in capsized and that he was missing. We finally confirmed that he had died after rescuing 13 people involved in the accident.”
She described him as a selfless, cheerful and kind person who always tried to make peace with everyone he came in contact with.
“Today marks three years that he died and I still miss him. He was a great husband and a selfless person who was willing to do anything for other people.”
After Joe’s demise, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State announced that he had opened an endowment fund for Joe’s family. No money has been paid to the family, according to Mercy.
“All the promises that were made by the Rivers state government and several people, none were fulfilled. Only one anonymous donor paid the school fees of my children for two terms.”
Widows Hub Africa
After Joe’s demise, Mercy said she decided to start a foundation to help widows.
“I decided to use my pain and experience to start a foundation to help and motivate other widows by giving them a voice and encouraging them that they can be successful with or without their husbands. Their husband’s death should not stop them from achieving what they want to achieve.
“Widows Hub Africa has provided empowerment for other women ”, she told Neusroom. “Funding has, however, limited the scope of what we can achieve. One foundation cannot take care of all the widows. We need more.
“In my own case, my husband died as a hero, so many people know about him and me. Now imagine other women who have nobody.”
She added that with adequate funding, the lives of many widows would be positively affected and reduce begging.”
Joe Blankson Foundation
Mercy said the circumstances surrounding the death made her start another foundation in his honour to encourage and teach more people to learn to swim.
“I am Igbo and grew up in Bauchi before going to school in the north before serving in Calabar before the marriage took me to Rivers State. I would never have imagined that I would be staying in a riverine area. To get to my husband’s area, we need to pass through water. This is why swimming should be a compulsory skill because one may never know where marriage or job will take one too.
The major thing is to prevent what happened to my husband from happening to anyone else. If other people in the boat accident could swim very well, the story would have been different by now.
By tradition, Joe was buried close to the river where he died saving the lives of others.”
