The Nation Newspaper

Tag: memorial service

  • 25 years after: Heartland holds Memorial Service for Crash Victims

     

    The popular saying that blood is thicker than water came to the fore Wednesday as Heartland of Owerri went back memory lane to remember and pray for their players who died in Oriental plane crash in 1994.

    The Nazi Millionaires organised a memorial service to honour the dead on one hand and celebrate with the survivors on the other.

    Heartland who hope to record impressive run in the premier league this season following beef up in management and renewed interest by new state Governor Emeka Ihedioha, took to the social media to recall the ugly incident stating “25 years on. We remember the 18th September 1994 Oriental Plane Crash at Tamanrasset Algeria which left a painful dent”

    The club further recalls that “On this day 25 years ago, at exactly 7:45 am, the dark clouds gathered, a “Big Bang” a moment of confusion, shouts, screams and people moaning in pains.

    That was how the saddest day in the history of Heartland came calling. Today a fire brigade alarm is expected to sound at 7:45 am to mark the events of that tragic day of sorrow and pains in a symbolic gesture of paying tribute to the five victims of the Oriental Airline that crashed into a fire brigade building at the Agenat Airport Tamanrasset Algeria.

    Down Memory land: The ill-fated oriental airline plane

    The ill-fated flight of September 18, 1994 had players and officials of the then Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland of Owerri) who were in a quest for continental honours.

    A year before, the Zambian National team perished in similar circumstance but the case of the Iwuanyanwu Nationale players was different as many miraculously survived the crash”

    The dead players were midfielder, Eghomwanre ‘Omale’ Aimanmwosa, and goalkeeper Uche Ikeogu.

    Also dead were the pilot who was identified as Captain Amaechi; the co-pilot, Captain Chinedu Ogbonna and an air steward, Obiageli Ezeh.

    Badly injured were Okon Ating and 20 others. Among the lucky survivors are former Nigerian skippers, Christian Chukwu, former National Sports Commission director, Steve Olarinoye Bola Oyeyode of the Nigeria Football Federation and Chief Amanze Uchegbulam former NFF 1st Vice president.

     

     

     

     

  • Memorial service for Madam Ayeni

    It was a nostalgic session of sweet memories as relations, well-wishers and children gathered recently to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Madam Rebecca Adunni Adetola Ayeni who passed on on January 4, 1987.

    On the occasion, which took place at the Ikoyi residence of his son, Femi Ayeni, guests and family members paid a torrent of tributes, eulogizing the sterling virtues of the big-time textile dealer and a friend and contemporary of Madam Bisoye Tejuosho, the late Iyalode of Egbaland.

    Mr. Demola Johnson, a retired director of  the INEC and nephew of Madam Ayeni, described her as a notable philanthropist and pillar of the extended family whose passage thirty years ago left a vacuum difficult to fill.

    Femi Ayeni, the last of eight children and organizer of the popular “Who wants To Be A Millionaire”, said thus in his tribute: “She’s a mother in a million; irreplaceable; we feel her absence every passing day.

    She was born on September 20, 1917 to Pa Ojuade Johnson, a prince of an Iwo royal family, and Madam Victoria Adeyoola Johnson from the Jagun Olukosi Compound in Ede –a clan of distinguished warriors.

    At a stage in her life, she suffered a devastating blow, following the death of her husband, Mr. Francis Ayeni, a Nigerian Railway official, who hailed from Ijeshaland. With courage and support of God, Madam Ayeni rose to the occasion to nurture  her children to positions of enviable eminence in their various fields of endeavour.

    The children are Mrs Violet Olufunmilayo Olafimihan, Mrs Kofoworola Adeshiyun, Mrs Omolola Agbeti, Mrs Jolaolu Ajayi, Mrs Grace Fehintola Oluwasanmi; Mrs Folashade Mejule, Dr. Francis Akinlawon Ayeni and Olufemi Ayeni.

  • Collapsed building: Synagogue church to honour victims

    Collapsed building: Synagogue church to honour victims

    Prophet Temitope Joshua of the Synagogue, Church of All Nation (SCOAN), said the Church would hold a memorial service for victims of the September 2014 collapsed building that occurred in the Church.

    A statement issued by the Church on Saturday in Lagos said the memorial service would hold in Lagos and South Africa.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that 116 persons, including 84 South Africans, were killed when the six storey building belonging to the Church collapsed on Sept. 12, 2014.

    The statement stated that some delegates from the church in Nigeria would attend the memorial service in South Africa.
    The statement quoted T.B. Joshua as saying “the deceased, mostly South Africans, were on an appointment with God when they met their death and therefore they did not die in vain.

    Joshua recalled that the coroner had passed its verdict calling for the prosecution of the contractors that handled the building of the collapsed structure.

    He, however, urged government to focus more on what led to the tragedy adding that the building collapsed questioned the security consciousness of the government.

  • Collapsed building: Synagogue holds memorial service for victims

    Collapsed building: Synagogue holds memorial service for victims

    The Synagogue  Church of All Nations (SCOAN) will today hold a memorial service for the victims of the September 12, 2014 collapsed building on the premises of the church at Ikotun, Lagos,  as part of the activities marking the first anniversary of the incident.

    A similar service will also hold in South Africa, the home country of most of the victims   declared by the the church as Martyrs of Faith.

    A statement from the church issued in Lagos yesterday said  the  founder of the church, Pastor T.B. Joshua, will lead the  service in Nigeria, while  a delegation of the church is already in South Africa for that of the country.

    It added that the entire SCOAN family, all over the world, would pray for the repose of the dead.

    Meanwhile, in spite of the verdict of the Lagos coroner court delievered June this year, and which suggested the prosecution of the contractors that handled the building of the collapsed structure, the church is still insisting that the building collapse was caused by human factors other than bad foundation as pronounced by the coroner.

    Relying on the evidence provided by some witnesses, the church urged government to focus on the real issues that led to the tragedy.

    The Lagos State government had inaugurated the Coroner’s Inquest under the state’s Coroner’s System Law No.7 of 2007  to investigate the causes and circumstances resulting in the death of 116 people following the building collapse.

    Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) , in a statement signed by its Co-ordinator, Zone D, Sunday Asefon, has expressed sadness over the incident and warned that the death of the victims  should not be politicised.

    The student body  expressed its sympathy for the families of the deceased, noting that the disaster broke the hearts of many Nigerians and foreigners.

    The NANS also joined the United States of America to remember the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on  the World Trade Centre where about 3,000 nationals  of various countries were killed.

    It called on the world leaders to step up actions against terrorism in order to check senseless killing and maiming of innocent citizens .

  • Aisha Falode holds memorial service for late son

    Aisha Falode holds memorial service for late son

    It has been a year since the only son of popular female sportscaster, Aisha Falode,  Oluwadamilola Toba aka Tyler Fray, plunged to his death on Saturday, February 15, 2014. On Sunday, February 15, 2015, the grieving mother held a thanksgiving memorial service to commemorate the death of her son. Toba was murdered in Dubai, when he was allegedly pushed down from a high building by a Saudi billionaire’s son, Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser.  Initially, it was reported that 19-year-old Toba died in an auto crash, But his mother, alongside the family lawyer, Barrister Festus Keyamo, embarked on a fact-finding journey to Dubai and discovered that the late rapper was thrown down from a high tower to his death after a heated argument with the said Faisal. As Aisha remembers her late son, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, activist Dr Okei Odumakin and others attended the memorial service and paid their respects. The late Toba was buried at the Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi, Lagos on Monday, March 3, 2014 after a funeral service at Trinity House Church, Oniru, Victoria Island Lagos.