Tears of sorrow flowed down the cheeks of relatives of the victims of the ill-fated Dana Air plane crash as Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola unveiled a cenotaph to mark the first anniversary of the tragic incident yesterday.
The unveiling of the cenotaph took a dramatic twist when the ground victims of the crash took the centre stage to protest the non-payment of the compensation initially accepted by the management of Dana Air.
Amid the commotion, the relatives of the victims of the 153 passengers on board demanded the detailed technical reports of the cause of the crash to enable all the concerned stakeholders to guard against a recurrence of the incident.
They called on the relevant authorities, especially those in the aviation sector, to, as a matter of urgency, critically address the sharp practices in the sector, saying that only when this is done that their relatives would not have died in vain.
Before unveiling the memorial cenotaph, Fashola
described the tragic incident as one crash too many, saying the incident brought untold hardship to various families across the world.
The governor added that the state government did all it could -- from the management of the disaster scene to the identification of the remains of the victims through DNA test which cost N22m.
He said: “We had experienced a tragic accident whose cause remains yet unknown. But while the cause was at the time unknown, our collective tragedy was immediately unfolding. Many nations and their nationalities from India, China, the United States and Nigeria were united by a common grief: the loss of their loved ones. It was an accident that took place in Lagos. But its impact and reach were beyond our borders. Men and women, Muslims and Christians, Hindus and atheists became joined by a common pain. It was a horrific day.
“A year may seem like a long time, but for the families and friends of the men, women and children we lost, that day does not feel like history. The memories of that day are probably as fresh as they are painful, particularly today when you are forced to confront the thoughts you may have pushed to the innermost recesses of your minds, just to enable you get from one day to the next.
“What does one say at a time like this? What does one say when words will never be enough? Many of us cannot even begin to imagine how great your suffering must have been this last one year. We can only empathise with you, in the vain hope that our empathy will bring some relief. We can only utter words we know will never fill the voids but which we nonetheless pray will bring some comfort.”
Taking time to recall the stories of families of victims of the airline, he also remembered the ground victims of the crash who were killed by the flight they never boarded.
He charged the decision makers, especially those in the aviation sector to place priority on the safety of lives of the people rather than profit, saying the worst tragedy to befall the nation is to forget the pains of the crash.
“It will be more important for all who have authority and responsibility to act with a preventive purpose to ensure that it does not happen. The watchword for decision-making must be safety and not profit,” he added.
On the cenotaph, Fashola said, “This monument will stand as a permanent memorial to these family men, women and children; and we will cherish each of their stories - stories of potential and of fulfilment, stories of true heroes.”
Aviation minister Stella Oduah, who was represented by the permanent secretary of the ministry, George Affam, assured that the federal government would put in place measures to forestall a recurrence, saying that government was working with Dana Air management to ensure compensation issues were amicably resolved.
Dr Ben Ayene, who lost six relatives to the crash, decried the delay in the technical report of the cause of the crash, even as he bemoaned the continuous operation of the airline in spite of the National Assembly’s order.
Ayene commended the Lagos State government for sponsoring the DNA testes carried out on the bodies of the victims.
He flayed the management of Dana Air for playing politics with the plight of the relatives, saying the Federal Ministry of Aviation had not been pro-active in designing measures to forestall another incident.
The director of human resources, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Chizoba Mojekwu, who lost a cousin and eight colleagues from the CBN, urged the federal government to do everything possible to avert a future occurrence of a crash.
The ceremony attracted members of the Lagos State Executive Council, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, traditional rulers and the relatives of the ground victims of the crash.
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