Tragic exit

Editorial

There is a tinge of irony in the manner Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, died. As a combat pilot, she operated in the war zone much of her short but eventful career in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

She had thus walked through the scriptural valley of the shadow of death many times and came out unscathed.

She had many times undertaken ghoulish, hair-raising expeditions to the enemies’ territories, manoeuvred her metal fighter bird in deft acrobatics and returned to base unhurt; only for her to end it all in a freak car accident. What a tragic irony!

The 24-year-old combat pilot was said to have been hit at the NAF Base in Kaduna on July 14, by a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) driven by a former classmate who had wanted to greet her.

The ex-classmate, identified as Mr Nehemiah Adejoh, was reversing the car to exchange pleasantries with her when he  inadvertently hit her.

The impact caused her to fall down and hit her head on the tarmac, sustaining serious injuries in the process. She eventually died at the 461 NAF Hospital, Kaduna, where she was receiving treatment.

The late Flying Officer Arotile hailed from Ijumu area of Kogi State, but was born in Kaduna on December 13, 1995, to Mr and Mrs Akintunde Arotile.

She attended Air Force Primary School, Kaduna, from 2000 to 2005 and the Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna, from 2005 to 2011.

She then proceeded to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, as a member of the 64 Regular Course on September 22, 2012.

She obtained her Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Mathematics from NDA and was consequently commissioned into the NAF as a pilot officer on September 16, 2017.

Arotile was winged as the first female combat helicopter pilot in the NAF on October 15, 2019, after completing her flying training in South Africa.

That recognition shot her into stardom, having operated in a terrain considered as a men’s territory. And she made a success of it.

She joined the military out of sheer passion. She had nursed that ambition from childhood. “I joined the military,” she was quoted as saying, “simply out of passion.

Being a military personnel has been a long time ambition; the carriage and what it stands for are simply exceptional.” And true to her words, that passion was to later ennoble her gritty doggedness to excel as a combat pilot.

Young, brave and intelligent, Arotile gave her all to the profession she had loved so much from childhood. It was as if she was racing against time; she packed so much value within so brief a spell.

Her death was certainly a tragic loss to the military and the nation, especially at this time when exceptional hands are needed to tame a band of egregious insurgents and bandits who have been despoiling many parts of the country.

The flurry of tributes that have been paid to the late 24-year-old combat pilot depict the depth of the loss.

First, her Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, said Arotile’s brief life impacted on the nation immensely. A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said, inter alia: “President Muhammadu Buhari received with deep pain the passing of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, condoling with the family on the loss of such a promising officer, whose stay on earth impacted greatly on the nation, especially in peace and security.

“The President salutes Arotile’s bravery in the field to protect the country from the onslaught of bandits and terrorists, assuring that her memory will be indelible and her efforts remembered.”

The NAF, in its own tribute, said the late Arotile “contributed well to destroying bandits in the north central states and other criminal elements by flying several combat missions under Operation GAMA AIKI in Minna, Niger State”.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, in an emotion-laden tribute, said: “I was heart-broken when I received the sad news. Tolulope, who was winged in October, 2019 as the first female combat helicopter pilot, was one of the shinning young stars.

“She was a very intelligent, disciplined, confident and courageous young officer who added value wherever she served.

As a squadron pilot in Operation GAMA AIKI in Minna, Niger State, she flew her quota of anti-banditry combat missions to ensure a safer, more secure Nigeria”.

Expectedly, her death has generated suspicion and calls for a probe of the circumstances of her death. Her family, the Yoruba World Congress(YWC) as well as Human Writers Association of Nigeria(HURIWA), among others, all suspected foul play and demanded a thorough investigation to clear the air over the manner of her death. This is quite understandable given the sudden, tragic end to a promising career.

However, it would seem to us that the report of the preliminary investigation into Arotile’s death, released on July 19 by NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, seems credible. But NAF should hand over the civil aspect of the case to the police as promised.

The suspects, especially Adejoh, who drove the car that killed Arotile without a valid driver’s licence, must be prosecuted.