June 3rd 2012 will be
one of many days that stirs feelings of unimaginable grief and sorrow in the
hearts of many.
Nigeria is a country that has, in
recent times, become all too familiar with the spate of tragic and catastrophic
events. Bomb attacks, ghastly road traffic accidents and now, another plane
crash.
Many will find it difficult to
come to terms with this reality. The bereaved may never be able to live life as
they have previously known. What is it that makes death from the June 3rd
Dana Air Plane crash different from death by any other means? Why is it that
the bereaved will find it difficult coping with this tragic loss? The most
likely answer would be because the blood of the deceased is in the hands of our
leaders.
It may seem redundant to lay
blame on who was responsible for what, and who wasn’t doing his/her job
properly that may have led to the crash; however, the reality is that the crash
could have been any other airline. This is because the policies and regulations
put in place by the relevant authorities were not followed (and are hardly ever
followed) to ensure the safety of the lives of air travelers. The Dana
passengers, on that tragically fateful flight, were just the unlucky victims of
a broken system.
One need not be an aviation
expert or aerospace engineer to deduce that faulty airplanes have no business
flying in the sky. A popular Nigerian comical truism goes “there’s no parking
space in the sky”; indeed there isn’t. This leads one to speculate what could
have been done to avert this disaster and many others waiting to happen. There
are a million and one things that could have been put in place to ensure
passenger safety – but none of them matter to the families of the deceased
right now, as grief and pain are the only languages they understand.
Human life is increasingly
beginning to lose value in a capitalist world, where money is our god and
financial security is put before all else. But when one loses a loved one(s) in
so tragic a manner, the pain and hatred cuts deep beyond description, and all
the money and compensation in the world would never bring back the dead or take
us back in time to tell the passengers not to board that ill-fated flight.
Nigeria is a nation on the edge. On
the verge of total failure and collapse. Our leaders have conceded defeat and
have allowed the nation spiral down into despondency and squalor; a haven for
corruption, mismanagement and unaccountability.
Act as you please, make your money and go home - should be our new
motto, because after June 3rd, one may find it difficult to see the Unity in a nation where Islamic
fundamentalist have resolved to wipe out selected groups in a country they all
share; Faith in a nation where
opportunities are out of the reach of the underprivileged; Peace in a nation at war with itself; and Progress where more people descend into squalid impoverishment on a daily basis due
to corruption.
As we mourn the loss of the
innocent lives of that air tragedy (and all the other tragedies that occurred
that week and in the past year), we must also remember to mourn the loss of the
Nigeria of our dreams. A nation that was to be the envy of the West. The model
for Africa, a beacon of economic and social progress marked with outstanding
increase in living standards and quality of life. A nation that made us proud.
That imaginary Nigeria where people boarded an aircraft and landed safely on
the tarmac to meet the warm embrace of their loved ones.
We must mourn, all day, everyday;
until change comes.
To the departed…..R.I.P
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