Barely 72 hours after we celebrated the 53rd Independence day Anniversary of this great country, my desires for her have even burned brighter (check out
The Nigeria I Desire ).
In the wee hours of Thursday, the 3rd of October 2013, Another tragedy struck in Lagos when a chartered aircraft carrying the remains of a former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, 20 passengers and crew crashed less than a minute after take-off from the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja. (for full news, click
here). With all due respect to the dead, i'm in fact, a very pained citizen!
With the mentality of my dear people, let me lament firstly on the fact that 'pesin don die,but u stil wan kill am again'. Please, let sleeping dogs lie, (rather let late people, rest in peace). May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace! (somebody shout amen!!)
Secondly, in fact i'm angry at this country, Our aviation sector has been so poisoned, flying on a plane is like a suicide mission. At the airport, you would meet Nigerians of all religions, practicing their mode of worship, so as to ensure a safe journey, this, am sure only happens in Nigeria. Even after your flight has been delayed for over 6 hours for 'maintenance reasons', you are still not ensured a safe flight and landing. I can only but pity the crew members who know the risk of their jobs, but have no choice.
I share a personal experience with gratitude to God in my heart, I recently boarded a Nigerian local aircraft in Lagos bound for the capital city of Abuja, not only was the flight delayed for 7 hours, we finally took off, and we got to Abuja and couldn't land. According to the co-pilot, 'rain was falling' in Abuja. We hovered in the air for over 2 hours, in fear and panic for the unknown. We all thought it was over, until the pilot announced that we were turning back to Lagos. My dear readers, i pray you would never experience such panic in your life. I heard fellow passengers say their last prayers!, children crying, mothers cursing, everyone afraid!. But with the Mighty Hands of the God of this country, the Almighty One, We landed back in Lagos safely and who can imagine that the aviation fuel in the plane finished as were were almost taxing to a stop, in fact i can say the plane taxied, and halted not because of the decreasing acceleration, but because the fuel finished (Somebody Shout Alleluia!!!). The rest remains a story for another day..
The more annoying thing is that our dear leaders know, and they are, as usual 'On top of the situation, in their private air crafts and jets, while those who voted them into power die every time in plane crashes. Now private air crafts are crashing, who knows the next trend of safe transportation?
The most annoying thing about this country is the fact that, even in death, all men are not treated equally. The names of 'dignitaries' flood the headlines of the newspapers, but the names of crew members and 'laymen' are almost omitted. They are people's loved ones, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, best friends too! A manifest is written and names of dignitaries are topping the list in bold letters, and the 'rest' are written as footnotes. Condolence messages and visits flood the house of these 'dignitaries' while the loved ones of the 'others' are left to mourn alone with no support.
This is a sincere cry of plea. Please this should stop!.. All men are equal in the sight of God. They deserve to be treated equally, If you think all fingers are not equal, try cutting off your thumb and see if you can still hold anything well.
With a deep and sincere heart, My condolences go to all who have lost their loved ones in plane crashes, May their Gentle Souls, Rest in God's ever welcoming Bosom! Amen...
And also to the loved ones of the #ALUU4, May they find peace in God's hands!