Guardian

It was a year on Monday whn the Dana Air plane crashed. Mr. Emmaunel Abugu, a brother to Dr. Ike Abugu, one of the victims of the crash, spoke with VICTOR OLUSHOLA  on how the family has been bearing the irreparable loss.

WHEN you heard about the death of your brother in the Dana Air crash, how did you feel?

I felt shattered and the shock was indescribable. The shock has not gone totally because my brother was a great pillar of our family. Being the first born of the family, everybody looked up to him. But unfortunately, he boarded the plane, never to return again. It is one of the low moments of my life. We are trying to get over it, but the memory will not fade away soon. We are Christians, so we leave everything in the hands of God.

Can you remember your last moments with him?

I do not really want to go into the detail of that. You know he used to travel to Abuja often. Life is a mystery…

What do you miss most about him?

I miss his humour and leadership role in the family. His was a highly respected gentleman who held the family together. May God give us the strength to put what happed behind us. As for his children and wife, God knows how He would take care of them.

How has the family been coping without your brother?

As a family, we cannot continue to complain. We are looking up to God and doing our best to ensure that we take care of the family. It has been tough, but we thank God.

Have you been compensated by the management of the Dane Airlines?

My anger about Dana and the aviation industry in this country is such that I just will like to reserve my comment about them. But it is shocking to hear that the same airline has been granted license to continue in business. This kind of thing will never happen in more civilized countries. It is only in Nigeria that a tragedy of this magnitude will happen and the airline is back in the air.

We should try to get things right in this country. In my opinion, what Dana did was mass murder. They flew an aircraft that was not fit to fly.

To answer your question directly, Dana only paid $30,000, the balance of $70,000 is yet to be paid. But there is no amount of money that could be paid to compensate lives.  I don’t want to dwell on the money because Dr. Ike Abugu’s life cannot be quantified monetarily.

The fact here is that they killed people and they should not be in business in Nigeria again. It is really sad that things like this are happening in Nigeria. I do not know the kind of country we  are living in.

What do you think could be done to ensure that such a disaster will not occur again?

I am not an aviation expert but the entire aviation sector needs a total overhaul. We all travel out of this country. Overseas, if an airplane is adjudged to have any technical problem, it will be grounded. The aircraft will not be allowed to fly until it is certified okay. The same thing ought to be applicable in Nigeria.

We have an aviation ministry so they should know what to do. But people do things in this country as if nothing ever happened. Dana Airlines’ license was even granted during the time when most of the victims have not been buried. It is so painful and it means that anybody could come some day and bring one junk into the country and start flying.

The media should address this issue very well. The owners of Dana are not Nigerians and they know such cannot happen in their country. Dana should have no business remaining in this country flying those rickety aircrafts.

What would you tell other families who lost their loved ones?

I will tell them to look up to God and they should remember that God is the author of life and He alone will wipe off their tears. God will also grant them the fortitude to bear their losses.