Tragedy: The Sad Story Of How An Entire Family Died In A Plane Crash In One Day.
Sunday 12th of June 2012 is one day Nigerians won’t forget in a hurry, an aircraft belonging to Dana airlines and conveying 153 crashed and everybody on board died, I still remember that day vividly because the Super Eagles of Nigeria were playing a football match against Namibia when the news of the crash popped up as breaking news at the bottom of the TV screen, Nigerians felt sad because it is not every day you hear about a plane crash and when such happens, the casualties are always much.
The crash happened in Lagos, lots of Nigerians whose relatives traveled by air were scared that day as they eagerly await the management of Dana airlines to release the name of those that boarded that flight, the names were released and the name on the lips of every Nigerian is the family of Anyone.
Who Is Mr. And Mrs. Collins Anyene?
Mr. Collins Onyeka Anyene is a renowned lawyer in Nigeria who hailed from Anambra state, he had law firms in Lagos and Abuja, he is a devoted Christian and his elder sister is a wife to a former vice president named Alex Ekwueme, those who know Collins described him as hardworking and dedicated, on her part his wife named Maimuna hailed from Zaria and a dedicated Muslim, she graduated from the University of Ibadan. Their union is quite envious because, despite their tribal and religious differences, they still went ahead to get married, their union can be likened to that of Romeo and Juliet because it was reported that both their families were not in support of the union from the beginning but their love conquered on the long run.
Their Children
Their union was blessed with four lovely kids, the eldest was named Kamsi, he was just five years old at the time of the crash, they also had a twin daughter named Kaiyen and Karma while their last baby was a suckling named Noah, he was just five months old, it is very pathetic that the whole of them perished in that ill-fated crash that happened that day, other prominent Nigerians lost their lives in that crash too, but it was the story of this entire family that pierced the very soul of Nigerians and Africans.
What Transpired Before The Crash
The wife of Collins lived in the United States with the kids while Collins whose law firm was thriving in Nigeria visits his family regularly, she had to come down to Nigeria with the kids because she wants to attend the marriage of one of her brothers named Ndako, little did she know that she just embarked on a journey of no return, friends who are close to the family said that she rarely visits Nigeria as she wouldn’t have come over if not for the marriage.
A Sad Day Indeed
On the day of the crash, she had boarded the plane with her husband, four children, her sister, two of her cousins, and her mother in law, making them ten in number, none was able to survive to tell the story of what transpired, exactly seventeen minutes after the plane had taken off from Abuja heading to Lagos, the flight crew noticed an abnormality in the engine, it was reported that the crew acted on impulse without following the procedures associated with such defect, and what followed next was a bang as the aircraft nosedived rapidly into a neighborhood in Lagos known as Iju Ishaga, all 153 people died and 6 others who happened to be at the scene of the crash were not left out, in total, 159 people lost their precious lives that day. It was a gory sight to behold, tears flowed freely as Nigerians wasted no time in tagging it a black Sunday, Nigeria’s president then Goodluck Jonathan declared three days of national mourning.
Controversy After The Crash
As Africans, it is generally believed that we lack maintenance culture, after the crash, questions were asked, people were interested, they want to know what led to the crash and how it happened, during the investigation, it was discovered that the aircraft has outlived its usefulness, that is to say, it was no longer safe for usage, but the said airline went ahead to purchase it to save cost and put the lives of people at risk, although it is now a thing of the past, it is good to visit such issue so we can learn and avoid a repeat in the future.
On the day of their burial, it was a rain of tears, the casket of Collins and his four children were taken to Anambra while that of his wife and two cousins headed for the Northern part of the country, this is just too much for a family to bear, sincerely speaking, I am having goosebumps as I type this, Collins was buried in a beautiful mansion he had erected in his hometown along with his kids, in his village, lots of people described him as a Philanthropist who always listens and solves the problem of his people whenever he is around.
They have died for almost ten years now but we remember them just like yesterday, may their gentle souls continue to rest in the bosom of their maker, we also pray God continues to strengthen the rest family members they left behind, check the video below to know more about the story.
Leave a wish for them in the comment section and remember.
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