The news hit the country like a thunderbolt. It was June 3. A Dana Air plane crashed in Iju-Ishaga, a Lagos suburb. Tears flowed freely. Marriages came to an abrupt end. Children became orphans overnight. The dreams of many were shattered. Hopes also got dimmed. Homes were scattered.
Since then, days turned into weeks and then into months and months into a year.
Mrs Tolulope Ochonogor’s husband, the late Ikechukwu, 35, an ex-staff of FEDEX Red Star Express, an international courier firm, was one of the 153 people who died in the crash.
She told The Nation that the last one year has been trying for her.
She said: “I chose to believe God’s promise to me because it was Him who had given me all the courage and strength. The last one year has been emotionally tasking for me and my little son. But I thank God for His grace and presence.
“My family has also been very supportive including my husband’s family too. My church, The Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, and pastors, have not been left out with the spiritual support they all gave me. I must not fail to appreciate my employers who have been very understanding and quite supportive. But looking back to the last one year, I have chosen to trust God wholeheartedly. And truly, He has not failed me. I am a firm believer in God and I take His words seriously. He never fails His own. In addition to that, I am so grateful to my friends, siblings, the extended family, colleagues at work, you all, media men and women, and indeed all concerned Nigerians. Please, help me to say, God bless you all.
“But my son, Binichukwu, really misses his dad who used to dot on him, but being so young, he has yet to fully grasp the situation. But like I promised at the service of songs last year, I have remained strong for him even though the world of difference between me and the dad remains glaring.”
On the issue of compensation from Dana Air’s management, she said: “No amount of compensation can bring back my late husband. But the airline had tried to fulfil its obligations though there is still some way to go; that is all I can say on that.
“But I have truly missed my husband. And the specific things I have missed in him are so many; such as his love, companionship, mentorship, compassion, intelligence, wit, generosity and kindness. Ikechukwu was a bridge-builder within any environment he found himself. He genuinely loved and gave his best. I am at peace, knowing that he is with the Lord. And I wish to tell you that there is no way his death can affect my travelling by air. You know air transportation is part of our modern existence. It is up to the appropriate regulatory authorities to act responsibly and ensure high level of safety in air travel.”
Chidi Ochonogor, younger brother to the late Ikechukwu, said: “The absence of my late brother in the last one year has left a great vacuum that cannot be explained in words. Just think about what it would be like to have a son, brother and friend for 35 years and then abruptly, he is no longer around. It is more of a psychological trauma because people who have had loved ones stay out of the country without seeing them for years still have peace and joy knowing they are somewhere doing fine. But in our own case, when you don’t see someone knowing his life on earth has come to end, the feeling is entirely different.
“But, we thank God for his wife and his little son, who is very much my right hand man now. We are still more together as a closely knit family all under God’s care. And you know that little children can be so amazing. Binichukwu clocked three years of age exactly six months after his dad’s passage. We often think they know little, but they know quite much. On July 2, 2012, precisely one month after his dad’s death, he cried seriously asking for the first time for his ‘gaggy’ as he called his father.”
