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Friday, June 3, 2016 is exactly a year after Ghana experienced a great loss on what has become a term on the lips of several Ghanaians as the 'Black Wednesday'.

Mothers wept for their sons.
Fathers wept for their daughters.
Sons and daughters wept for their parents.
Families wept for their relatives.
Mother Ghana wept for her children.

The nation's tears turned into a stream of blood.
Hundreds of precious souls were submerged in an angry flow of water.
The souls were doused in wicked flames.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015, was a nightmare to the nation. It was an eye sore.
We woke up to the scare of casualties dispersed at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle; the GOIL fuel station to be specific.

We monitored the air waves for a survivor.
We prayed for divine help.
We asked for divine mercies.
We hoped never to see it again.

Today I write not to escalate the pains in the hearts of the victims or deceased families.
Neither do I write to revive what has been buried in memory.

But I write to pay homage to the victims.
I write to pay tribute to the families.
I write to ask our Almighty Maker to keep the lost souls in His bosom.

It is exactly a year ago when this incident shocked the world but I'm wondering have we, as a country, learned any lessons.

Have we indeed learned our lessons?
Have we put measures in place to avert any future occurrence?

It is very patriotic and philanthropic to see our country's leaders donate sums of money and various items to the victims and the families that lost their loved ones in the June 3 tragedy.

Recently, the Accra Mayor gave the victims an amount of GHC 10,000 each which in my view is a laudable effort to put smiles and give back hope to the affected ones.

But the ultimate question once again is what lessons are we learning? Or better still have we learned our lessons at all?

Let not nobody think that I'm envious or jealous of anybody's progress and so as the villain that I am will put this piece together to collapse someone's business or big dreams.

In my candid opinion, we have learned little or no lessons at all from the June 3 disaster.
We have just buried the past but have made no attempts to lock it up with shackles.
We have suddenly forgotten and are probably waiting for the next disaster to strike any radius near the incident area.

No wonder President John Dramani Mahama said Ghanaians have short memory.
On this particular issue, I side with the President that indeed we have a short memory.

June 3 disaster claimed over 100 lives when a GOIL fuel station near the GCB Bank towers at Circle in Accra was gutted by fire.

A fuel tanker exploded amidst severe floods. The lives were lost when hundreds of people run for shelter at the fuel station due to the flooding that has engulfed the entire Circle.

I will skip directly to the reasons I think we, as Ghanaians, have short memory.
I think our leaders are much more enthused about having disasters so they can display their acts of generosity for a return of utmost praises from the masses.

I believe our leaders take pride and much delight in disasters so they can have the opportunity to console the victims; probably for their own gains or doing the bidding of a superior for sycophantic purposes.

There is no doubt that the June 3 disaster was caused by an explosion, whether a fuel tanker explosion or not; the disaster had occurred due to a sudden unexpected explosion.

As a media practitioner, I recall interviewing a victim as he narrated how the incident occurred and how he managed to escape the fire consumption. He told me that he heard a big blast, something like an atomic bomb, and then suddenly saw the flames chasing after him till he miraculously dived into the safety net of the Almighty God.

I further followed reports by my colleagues as they unfolded the mystery to Ghanaians. It was apparent and paramount that all the victims heard an explosion and smelled petrol, which caused the flood waters to boil as the fire run over the surface and beneath to consume a lot of people around the vicinity.

It is also obvious that petrol leaked from a fuel tank, caused the fire outbreak and further acted as an auxiliary to the disaster. Another facilitator to the fire outbreak was the fuel station. It is also very evident that many people were consumed in the fire due to the flooding that had swallowed up the drainage systems at Circle.

In my estimation, these four basic elements played key roles in the June 3 disaster – Petrol, Fuel station, Explosion and Flood.

Has anything changed since June 3 last year?

Of course, Yes. A lot of things have changed since the disaster struck. One of the things is the idea of dredging the Odaw River. So, the disaster may not be all bad you know! It got our leaders thinking!!

Dredge Masters, a subsidiary of Zoomlion Company Limited, immediately begun a good work on the Odaw River. The dredging exercise at Alajo-Caprice, Odaw River and the Korle Lagoon respectively was aimed at directing the flow of water, thus reducing the incidents of flooding and the loss of life and property.

Another thing that we have changed is the fact the sun has recently showed the nation her mercy by extending her rays over Circle. So, we have indeed changed something since the disaster last year.

However, we were all witnesses to the heavy downpour a month ago that turned Circle into the Pacific Ocean.

It therefore leaves me with the question again; what are the lessons that we have learned as a country?

I attempt to outline some of the lessons that we have learned so far in my concluding texts below;

1. We have learned to allow the establishment of another fuel station directly opposite the defunct GOIL fuel station that resulted in last year’s disaster.
2. We have further learned to allow the fuel station to refill its fuel tank with petrol.
3. We have allowed the fuel station to supply cars with fuel around the same threatening area.
4. Vienna City night club and game center at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle was gutted by fire in March this year. The club went into flames and little could be done to control the rage of the fire. The good news is that it didn't cause another June 3 disaster.

This night club is right adjacent the fuel station that I'm talking about. I have decided to leave the name of the fuel station out of my write-up because I take no glory in crippling somebody's business; like I said earlier. An eyewitness can however drive to see it for him or herself.

The other joy I want to express is the mercies of the fire not extending to the fuel station. A good lesson learnt, right!

5. Another significant lesson that I believe the country has learned is the fact that the recent rains caused floods at Circle. This is however not anything new because I know a lot of commuters at Circle were not surprised at the flooding. They would have rather been surprised if there were no flooding at Circle.

6. Finally a bigger lesson learnt is the fuel station itself being allowed to operate and be situated nowhere else other than the exact location of the June 3 disaster.

I don’t want to be an Angel of doom neither do I want to be a celebrant of disasters but like a prophet, I foresee another June 3 disaster if the fuel station is not relocated.

I foresee another hundreds swimming in a pool of fire if the fuel station authorities are not talked to by the authorities of the State.

I may be shallow at this stage in thinking that the Kwame Nkrumah Circle is not yet free from another fire disaster provided the fuel station remains there, coupled with challenges with establishing proper drainage systems at the area.

But as a Ghanaian, whether concerned or unconcerned, I humbly forewarn State authorities that a wounded snake can still bite if the head is not cut off.

There are still floods at Circle and there is still a fuel station right at the place where June 3 disaster occurred. Let us not wait for the lightening to strike!