One Crash Too Many

by Eze Eluchie

Whilst I commiserate with the families of the victims of Saturday's (15th Dec, 2012) helicopter crash in Bayelsa State, Nigeria (it is always sad to loose loved ones under such tragic circumstances) one cannot but glean into the events which precipitated the accident. The following issues readily come to mind:

1. Why were equipment's of the Nigerian Navy deployed so lavishly towards a private individual’s event?

2. Was the Nigerian Navy paid for the use of its helicopters for a private individual’s event?

3. Of what value to the Nigerian contraption was the funeral of not the President, not the Presidents father, but the father of one of the numerous Assistants in the Office of the Presidency that would warrant the deployment of half of the airworthy helicopters in the fleet of the Nigerian Navy?

4. With two helicopters, out of the 4 air-worthy helicopters in its fleet, deployed towards conveying people to a funeral party, was the Nigerian Navy exposing our territorial waters to sundry intruders?

5. Was the crashed helicopter insured or will fresh budgetary allocations be made for the replacement of the downed equipment?

6. Was the helicopter airworthy, or did someone responsible for its maintenance ' cut corners' as is bound to happen in situations such as ours where corruption and corrupt practices have eaten so deep into the psyche?

7. As our 'dearly beloved Governors’ fly to Abuja tomorrow, one cannot but wonder if their private jets which they will use for the trip are all airworthy?

As we bury the dead, it is earnestly hoped that the string of fatalities in our airspace, to which our rulers seem to have taken to after robbing the public transportation system blind, will bring it to the consciousness of our rulers that life is transient. You may be a President/Governor/Senator or whatsoever today, but be a corpse tomorrow - so do the very best you can, while you have the opportunity to positively impact on your environment.

Picture: Crashed helicopter with pictures of some of those who died in it (Governor Yakowa, General Azazi and the Commanding Navy Pilot)