VIDEO: ‘This Wasn’t The Plan’ — Grief-Stricken Wife Of Late Pilot Olufade Wails
Palpable sorrow and misery hung in the air during the funeral of 11 Nigerian military officers who died in an aircraft that crashed on Friday in Kaduna State. All passengers aboard the ill-fated aircraft perished, including the country’s Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru.
The atmosphere at the funeral ground on Saturday looked heavy with unspoken words even though the sun shone brightly.
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“This was not the plan,” the young wife of FLT LT Olufade Ayodimeji Alfred, the pilot who flew the doomed aircraft, could be heard saying and wailing as the remains of her late husband was being reposed.
Grief lingered all over her face and one could feel the heaviness of sorrow weighted on her as she held Alfred’s portrait close to her chest.
She apparently did not foresee herself becoming a widow barely three months after marrying Alfred.
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The late pilot’s father, George Olufade, told THE WHISTLER at the funeral ground that he had already taken solace in God, but prayed for God to console his only son’s wife and family.
“…as a Christian, God gives and God takes, glory be to his name. I only pray for God to console the wife, console my wife, console my entire family and hold us strong because his name is double happiness — Ayo tun dimeji. He is my only son,” he said struggling to hold his tears.
Mr Olufade revealed that his late son had always called him to seek his prayers whenever he was to fly an aircraft, but said the last trip that claimed his life was different.
“Each time he is flying, he tells me, “daddy I am going to fly, bend down and start praying,” but this last one, he didn’t tell me but God knows better. It has not been my prayers that kept him. He (God) gave me Ayodimeji and he is taking him,” Olufade had said while seated in a Siena bus awaiting the arrival of his son’s remains at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja. He and his wife appeared in all-white attire, as they received condolences from families around.
His son was flying the Chief of Army Staff and 10 others to Kaduna State when the Beachcraft 350 ilitary Aircraft crashed close to the state’s airport, with no survivor.
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Others who died in the crash were Brigadier Generals Ahmed Kuliya, O Olayinka, and MI Abdulkadir; Majors N Hamza, LA Hayat; Sergeants O Adesina, and Umar; as well as Aircraftman OM Oyedepo and Flt Lt TO Asaniyi.
The late Alfred was born on February 19, 1992, and hailed from Ijumu Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi State. He joined the Nigerian Airforce on August 15, 2009 and reached the rank of FL-LT.
The 29-year-old had tied the knot with his heartthrob on February 13, 2021.
Alfred’s father said he was, “the only accounting student in 61 Regular Course Airforce and the only Airforce officer from my state. He is a special child and we thank God for everything. Even among his set, he was the youngest, he joined at the age of 17.”
Mr Olufade criticized the military’s use of dilapidated and overstressed aircraft, suggesting that it could be the cause of the crash among other possible factors.
He said, “My advice is that they [the military] should take care of their planes. Most of these things are not taken care of. They are outdated and they overstress so many pilots. Sometimes five-eight places they fly a day. They need to take care of their planes. They need to buy new ones before they lose all their brilliant pilots”.
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Olufade said his son had always complained about the aircraft: “He did, always. That’s why he said we should put him in prayer. The majority of them are not okay. The other one that crashed, he flew it three weeks before it crashed up to 10 o’clock in the midnight. Maiduguri this… each time they stay three months in Maiduguri.
“…Are we not in Nigeria, you don’t need to be told. Everything is upside down. It is only Christ that can savage us. The earlier we grab the bull by the horn, the better” the father said while the wife added, “Now these ones will be the sacrificial lamb after they promise to buy new ones; They did not buy any new”.
Meanwhile, the latest incident brings to at least 18 military officers the country has lost to plane crashes in the last three months.
On February 21, 2021, the Beechcraft King Air B350i conveying seven officers returning to Abuja had crashed due to alleged engine failure.
Exactly three months after, on May 21, 2021, the military lost another 11 of its own, this time with the COAS involved.
The Defence Headquarters had issued a statement saying, “The unfortunate incident occurred after landing at the Kaduna International Airport due to inclement weather. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Lucky Irabor has therefore directed that an Accident Investigation Board be constituted to unravel the immediate and remote cause(s) of the unfortunate accident”.
