June 3rd 2012 will no doubt go down as one of the darkest days in the history of Nigeria’s aviation and air transportation not just because 153 lives were lost in the ill-fated Dana Air Crash incident which happened at Iju Ishaga area of Lagos but also for the number of people who had the “hard luck” of being in their homes when the airplane crash landed.
Families, friends and colleagues of the victims were thrown into a mixture of grief and annoyance ay the incident, grief at the huge potentials of lives lost and anger, based on “information” that the incident was one that needed not to have happened if due precautions had been taken.
More saddening is the fact that, 365 days after the unfortunate incident, not much has been done by way of compensation to all those involved.
Although there were some reactive actions such as the suspension (or is it withdrawal) of Dana’s operating licence and the subsequent removal of the ban placed on the airline, what has been done to ensure that such unfortunate.
On Thursday, 30th May 2012, the Federal Government disclosed that about 30%insurance claims has been paid by Dana Airline to families of those on board the flight but this has raised many questions in my mind that I hoped that these questions would be looked into and the right solutions provided.
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What has been done to the unfortunate occupants of the houses that were crashed into in Iju Ishaga?
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Has any comprehensive report been obtained from the investigations? What actions have been taken based on the reports (if any)?
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If there were predisposing factors that caused the accident, have they been dealt with to ensure a safer airspace for Nigerians?
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Has our emergency response to accidents been improved?
Until and unless answers are provided to these questions and other questions that have risen from the unfortunate incident, it would be safe to say that we (Nigeria) are still a nation of jokers with no regards for human lives.
It has been 365 days from then and this calls for sober reflection even as we choose to remember the 153 lives lost in the crash, the lives lost on ground and the people displaced from their homes.
#DANA153
#WeMustNotForget