Tears as family, friends remember Dana crash victim

Emotions ran high on Sunday as hundreds of family and friends of a Dana crash victim, Adekunbi Adebiyi, attended a Christian music concert organised in her honour.

The event, which held at Agip Hall of the Muson Centre, Lagos, was well attended. The gathering was characterised by singing, instrumental performances as well as a powerpoint picture presentation of the deceased’s life and times.

Some of the deceased’s friends were clad in yellow shirts, with the inscription, ‘One year on, KIA (Kunbi Irene Adebiyi) in our hearts.’

Some of the deceased’s friends, who paid tributes to her, described her as a God-fearing and lovable person.

One of them, Olumide Omololu, described her as an ambitious girl who once dreamt of becoming Nigeria’s first female President.

Omololu said, “Kunbi and I grew up together and we were very close. I saw her two months before she died. We were also business partners. She was an entreprenuer.

“She was ahead of her time and always strived for the best and she even told me that she wanted to be the first female president of Nigeria.”

Another friend, Solape Ope, said was one of the last people to speak with the deceased before the plane crash.

She said, “Kunbi was a loving person who never kept malice. She can never be forgotten. Even in death, she is still touching lives.”

Pastor in charge of Trinity House Church, Itua Ighodalo, prayed for the family of the deceased as well as families of all those who lost someone in the crash.

Adebiyi was born in February 9, 1990. She attended Loughborough University in the United Kingdom where she studied Economics and Politics. She also attended Harvard University briefly

She worked at Guaranty Trust Bank, KPMG and was a National Youth Service Corps member attached to Etisalat at the time she died.

The deceased, it was learnt, was the co-founder and president of LBDC, an organisation aimed at alleviating poverty in Nigeria.

Punch

The Federal Government has instituted an annual aviation safety programme in memory of the victims of the June 3, 2012 Dana Air crash.






 To mark the one year remembrance of the crash, which killed over 157 persons in Lagos, the Federal Government said it would unveil a cenotaph in their memory on Monday (today).

The aircraft, marked J9 992, took off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and crashed at Iju Ishaga on the outskirts of Lagos.

 The Ministry of Aviation spokesperson, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said, “The safety week will be observed from June 3, 2013, and will be done every year in honour of those, who lost their lives in one of the most tragic accidents in the history of air transport in Nigeria.”

Dati said the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, would lead the church service for the ceremony, while the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah would be the chief host.

The ceremony, he said, would climax with the unveiling of the cenotaph.

He added that the safety week would start with the evaluation of the actions the ministry had taken to improve safety in the industry.

According to him, there has been the introduction of some safety critical equipment since the Dana Air crash.

Dati said the ministry had given safety and security priority in line with the Technical and Administrative Review Committee’s recommendations.

He said, “In the last one year, there has been improvement in communication, navigation and installation of modern surveillance equipment in all the airports in the country. There have been massive training and human capacity development of Air Traffic Controllers and other technical personnel of all the agencies in the aviation sector.”

Dailypost

The news hit the country like a thunderbolt. It was June 3. A Dana Air plane crashed in Iju-Ishaga, a Lagos suburb. Tears flowed freely. Marriages came to an abrupt end. Children became orphans overnight. The dreams of many were shattered. Hopes also got dimmed. Homes were scattered.
Since then, days turned into weeks and then into months and months into a year.

Mrs Tolulope Ochonogor’s husband, the late Ikechukwu, 35, an ex-staff of FEDEX Red Star Express, an international courier firm, was one of the 153 people who died in the crash.
She said that the last one year has been trying for her.

She said: “I chose to believe God’s promise to me because it was Him who had given me all the courage and strength. The last one year has been emotionally tasking for me and my little son. But I thank God for His grace and presence.

“My family has also been very supportive including my husband’s family too. My church, The Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, and pastors, have not been left out with the spiritual support they all gave me. I must not fail to appreciate my employers who have been very understanding and quite supportive.

But looking back to the last one year, I have chosen to trust God wholeheartedly. And truly, He has not failed me. I am a firm believer in God and I take His words seriously. He never fails His own. In addition to that, I am so grateful to my friends, siblings, the extended family, colleagues at work, you all, media men and women, and indeed all concerned Nigerians. Please, help me to say, God bless you all.

“But my son, Binichukwu, really misses his dad who used to dot on him, but being so young, he has yet to fully grasp the situation. But like I promised at the service of songs last year, I have remained strong for him even though the world of difference between me and the dad remains glaring.”

On the issue of compensation from Dana Air’s management, she said: “No amount of compensation can bring back my late husband. But the airline had tried to fulfil its obligations though there is still some way to go; that is all I can say on that.

“But I have truly missed my husband. And the specific things I have missed in him are so many; such as his love, companionship, mentorship, compassion, intelligence, wit, generosity and kindness. Ikechukwu was a bridge-builder within any environment he found himself. He genuinely loved and gave his best. I am at peace, knowing that he is with the Lord. And I wish to tell you that there is no way his death can affect my travelling by air. You know air transportation is part of our modern existence. It is up to the appropriate regulatory authorities to act responsibly and ensure high level of safety in air travel.”

Chidi Ochonogor, younger brother to the late Ikechukwu, said: “The absence of my late brother in the last one year has left a great vacuum that cannot be explained in words. Just think about what it would be like to have a son, brother and friend for 35 years and then abruptly, he is no longer around. It is more of a psychological trauma because people who have had loved ones stay out of the country without seeing them for years still have peace and joy knowing they are somewhere doing fine. But in our own case, when you don’t see someone knowing his life on earth has come to end, the feeling is entirely different.

“But, we thank God for his wife and his little son, who is very much my right hand man now. We are still more together as a closely knit family all under God’s care. And you know that little children can be so amazing. Binichukwu clocked three years of age exactly six months after his dad’s passage. We often think they know little, but they know quite much. On July 2, 2012, precisely one month after his dad’s death, he cried seriously asking for the first time for his ‘gaggy’ as he called his father.”

The Nation

Dana memorial event – Live updates


1203: The event has come to an end.

1058: Christian and Muslim prayers being said. Family members of victims are recounting their ordeal. Most are blaming the crash on government neglect of the aviation industry. One person who refuses to identify himself says, “the crash was not an act of God”

1051: The Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah is absent from this service. She sent a representative. We will let you know why she could not make it once we know.

1035: The programme to mark the first anniversary of the Dana Air crash commences.

1020: The governor and his wife have just arrived at the arcade.

0958: Members of the Lagos State Executive Council have just arrived at the venue.

0944: There is a marble plaque with the names of victims of the crash.


The arcade has a plaque showing the names of the victims.

153 wreaths have been laid in honour of the victims.
0925: About 155 wreaths were placed in the Cenotaph in honour of the victims

0919: The mood is tense as all is now set for the one year memorial service in honour of the victims of the 2012 Dana crash. More than twenty  Wreaths have been placed at the Cenotaph in honour of the victims at Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State. Governor Raji Fashola is yet to arrive. Family members of the victims are arriving the venue.

http://telegraphng.com/2013/06/dana-memorial-event-live-updates/

 

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan Monday assured Nigerians that his administration was working hard to ensure that the aviation sector was safe to avoid a reoccurrence of the Dana air crash which claimed lives of about 153 Nigerians in Lagos last year.

The President gave the assurance while unveiling the Cenotaph in memory of the victims of the air disaster that occurred on 3rd June, 2013, at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

Accompanied by the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, Jonathan who was in a gloomy mood after laying wreaths on the cenotaph said, “Let me reiterate our resolve to maintain maximum vigilance to safety regulations of our aviation industry.

Vanguard

The Ogun State Executive Council yesterday observed a minute silence in memory of the victims of the 2012 ill-fated Dana plane crash, which claimed the lives of 153 passengers and crew on board.153 passengers flying in the ill-fated flight perished during an air disaster at Iju-Shaga, outskirt of Lagos.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who called for the observance of the one minute silence during the state Executive Council meeting, said the Ogun State government particularly wants to reach out to the management of German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) who lost two of their staff, Walter Hunner and Olumide Coker in the crash.


 
Governor Amosun thanked the organisation for keeping faith with the State by opening a branch of their office despite the challenges occasioned by the crash.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Millenium Development Goal, Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello commended the organisation for their magnanimity in going ahead with the opening of their office complex in the state, just a week after the ill-fated crash.

She expressed gratitude on behalf of the State Government for the spirit of commitment in partnering with the state.

Controversy has continued to trail the list of victims of the ill-fated Dana plane, engraved on the tombstone at the cenotaph located at the Iju-Ishaga site of the crash, Lagos, unveiled on Monday by Governor Babatunde Fashola.

 


The unveiling was part of activities marking one year remembrance of victims of the crash on June 3, 2012, at Iju, Ifako-Ijaye Local Council Development Area, LCDA.

Investigation revealed that the names of three of the ground victims are not on the cenotaph.
Also, 156 names appeared on the cenotaph against 157 names read out by Governor Fashola, while delivering his speech before the unveiling.

Mr. Gbenga Eguntola, counsel to 30 victims including 18 ground victims, who spoke to Vanguard, confirmed that apart from only 156 names appearing on the tomb, some names were wrongly included.
Eguntola said: “The construction of the cenotaph was a shoddy job. To further tell you that it was a shoddy job, 156 names were pasted on the tomb as against 157, which the governor read while delivering his speech.

“The missing names are Paul Ebodage, Mrs. Habibat Yusuf and her husband, Mr. Muhammed Yusuf.
“They all died on the ground and their names did not reflect on the list pasted on memorial tombstone.
“The state government failed to follow the proper manifest, which they could have obtained from the management of the airline or solicitors handling the case for the victims’ relatives.

“It is an injustice to the soul of those who died in the ill-fated flight. We believe that justice should be done on such a sensitive case like this.

“I do not know what was responsible for this. Since last year, we have been engaging the management of Dana to include their names on the list.”

Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr. Wale Ahmed, could not be reached for comments. An SMS sent to his phone was unreplied at press time.

But the operators of the airline said that in the absence of the death certificate, they cannot actually determine whether those people actually died in the crash. Unfortunately, the DNA test was inconclusive. These people’s bodies were completely incinerated. Families went to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, for the DNA test but they could not get matching sample to compare with the samples collected from family members.”

“We need to get justice for the injured and deceased and their family members. Their memories cannot be wiped away easily because a lot of things are a stake. We will make sure that at the end of the day, the injured and the deceased are given their due honour.”

Vanguard