D-E-A-T-H: It could have been any one of us...

A Must Read.....then think about it and the life you live!

Kate Henshaw

It is inevitable that we all shuffle off this mortal coil one day and much as we go about our day, hustling and making ends meet, we know in our hearts that not all of us will live to a ripe old age.
Some have a premonition of when they will die, some just pass on in their sleep but when death is caused by
gross negligence and greed of someone or company or government agency then such action is not only criminal, it is a sin that surely will not escape judgement from above.
Last Sunday,  June 3,2012, a Boeing McDonnel Douglas 83 aircraft operated by Dana Airlines ploughed into homes in Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos, burst into flames minutes later killing all 153 passengers on board including some people in their homes. The blackberry messages that went round requested urgent need of emergency services to come to the aid of victims.
That took a while to happen and by the time they arrived the crash site was flooded with tonnes of people who wanted to have a peek at the wreckage and some a morbid action of even stealing from the dead. Getting to the crashed aircraft and maybe commencing rescue was hampered due to the bad access route which made it almost impossible for rescue equipment and vehicles to be moved into the area.
The police were helpless as more people thronged the area. This incident coming at a time when Nigerians were beginning to heave a sigh of relief at the reduction in the pace of aircraft mishaps and the forthcoming changes in our airports which are long overdue.
Needless to say this has thrown up even more pertinent questions and put the microscope on the safety regulations and checks being applied in the aviation industry with regards to the operation of airlines and the age of aircrafts allowed to fly our airspace.
In the past year or so, airlines have increased their tariffs and at one point there was the passenger service charge added to the cost after one must have purchased a ticket to travel by air. I wonder what the PSC is for as I do not feel any service is being offered commensurate with the charge.
It is always a case of fleecing the passengers without offering any service at all . Flights are delayed at will with no explanation or even out rightly cancelled and there is nothing one can do about it. No compensation, no apology, nothing.
Take it or leave it. The airport facilities are nothing to write home about,and even the new MM2 has lost its shine. A visit to the convenience and use of the lifts are unpleasant. The ill fated Dana aircraft was said to be over 22 years old,and how it passed safety regulations, if it did at all despite previous short comings, was allowed into the airspace, is not the fault of the company alone but also that of people who are in charge of regulating and making sure that safety standards are strictly adhered to.
People who are meant to stop bad practices. Who is responsible for this? Who certified them 0k to fly when they were not? It will not surprise me if money changed hands and someone/some people looked the other way. The price for this betrayal is the loss of lives of loved ones who had no inkling of what tragedy would befall them. A whole family wiped out is too hard to comprehend,and it is shocking at the very least.
Barely few days ago, multiple accidents involving petrol tankers claimed two lives with the attendant material loss at the Lagos Ibadan Express Way. Repeated occurrence of such accidents is due to the deplorable shape of the road in question which has swallowed billions of Naira in supposed contracts awarded to reconstruct it. Why do we keep doing this to fellow citizens? Why has life suddenly become nothing more than fodder? How many times will a contractor be awarded a job and not do it without repercussion, no one deems it fit to make sure that work is actually carried out? There has been too much blood letting in this country, and living in Nigeria is now becoming a huge risk for it is not just the mode of travel one chooses as you can be in your home and disaster will strike all the same.
I flew the Dana Aircraft flight 993 on Sunday, June 3, 2012 to Abuja. It was meant to depart at 12:06pm but we did not take off till about 12:45pm. The aircraft landed about 55mins later. I had wanted to return with it to Lagos but was delayed and could not meet up.
I bought a First Nation ticket instead and when I arrived at the airport, I learnt of the crash. I was in total shock, weak and numb thinking that could have been me. There is no amount of weeping that will make this right. This was not an act of God. It was brought about by human negligence.
If we do the right thing, put down the necessary standards and checks that are needed,we would avert  heartbreaking mishaps and spare ourselves untold hardship. In closing, I ask this question, will we ever get there? Will we ever make it out of this black hole as a nation? Will we ever hear the sound of the cock crow heralding a new dawn?
I pray the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace,and the Lord gives those who have lost friends, family, colleagues the fortitude to bear these great loss.

-Kate Henshaw

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