Together We Mourn – Dark Sunday
I came across this piece on Fela Durotoye’s Facebook Page and I feel it is important to share his words below. Before I do, let me state that it’s absolutely difficult (if not impossible) to express the pain we feel as individuals and as a nation. Together we mourn. But we must not forget the raw pain those personally impacted are currently experiencing and the need to pay our respect. Words fail us. Indeed, words fail us.
The Lord is near the broken-hearted, He comforts those that mourn.
“Sunday the 3rd of June, 2012 will undoubtedly go down in our nation’s history as The Dark Sunday, the day our nation was cast into mourning over the regrettable loss of precious souls in the Bauchi bombing of the Winners chapel (where 12 people died) & the Dana-Air crash in Iju-Agege Lagos where at least 153 people lost their lives.
We mourn with the family & friends of the dearly departed. Our hearts are with indescribable pain as we hear the personal stories of the passengers on board & their families.
Most times comfort can be found in words. But on rare occasions like this, comfort may not be found in words but perhaps only in the sounds of silence.
The human angle of these events tell mind-bugling stories such as that of Rev. Ayodeji Cole, the senior pastor of TREM Abuja who was on board the ill-fated plane with his wife, leaving their 3 children orphaned (the oldest; 10 years old). I particularly feel this loss, as I also have 3 boys (and the oldest of my sons is also 10 years old). How do you tell these little children that daddy and mummy are never coming back?
How do you console the wife and daughter of the young, dynamic and ever-vibrant Pst. Akin Olumodeji, who was one of my very best buddies in House on the Rock (The Refuge), Abuja? Words fail me.
What do you say to the 3 year old son of Nadin Chidiak, a single mother whose son had spent the weekend in my brother’s house. My brother and sister-in-law have been starring at Nadin’s 3 year old son Bryan, with no clue as to how to break the news to him? Not that he would understand anyway. He’s only 3!!!!
What do you say to Ndako, a young and brilliant man I recently met, who lost his mother, sister, brother-in-law, their kids & nanny as they were flying down to Lagos for his wedding next weekend? Hmmm.
How do you console Titi Aikhomu, who lost her husband, Ehimen, my old-time buddy? How do you console his parents (Admiral Augustus Aikhomu) who watched Ehimen battle and overcome several crises as he grew up living with sickle cell.
What do you say to Rear Admiral Mike Aigbe who lost his wife, daughter and son-in-law in the twinkle of an eye?
How do you console the grand-mother who was patiently waiting at home for her son, his wife & 3 children on-board?
What do I say to Onyinye (nee Okwuofo), (a former member of Eden Unilag and one of the founding beauty reps of Tara Orekelewa), who refuses to believe that her husband is gone, and keeps dialing his phone, hoping he will pick up this time?
How do you console the 2 children who were sent on an errand to buy cooking ingredients for the family dinner they will never again have, as their entire family perished in the building that the plane collided with?
Our deepest condolences go to the management & staff of Mainstream Bank who lost their director Mr. Shehu Sa’ad on the flight, and to the NNPC on the loss of their ever articulate spokesman Mr. Levi Ajanuma. To the management and staff of Fate Foundation for the loss of Mrs. Tosin Anibaba. As you can only imagine, their families must be going through unfanthomable pain.
There are just too many stories to share.
We may never be able to find the right words to console the bereaved but we pray for God’s comfort for the families of the dearly departed and our nation as a whole. I ask us all to find a way to honour the souls of the dead today, through our facebook, twitter and BB profile pictures and posts. I expect all flags to be flown at half-mast throughout our land and in every Nigerian outpost around the world (in every Nigerian Embassy or High Commission).
If you wish, you may use this platform to honour the departed, mourn the loss or console the bereaved. But please be careful of any inappropriate comment.
May the souls of our precious brothers and sisters departed, rest in perfect peace. Amen.
FD”
Source: Fela Durotoye Facebook Page
About Joseph Iregbu
From a homeless, near-school-dropout to living a story worth telling. Purpose is my passion. What's your story?
i didn’t know any of these people personally and i’m not even based in nigeria, but distance does not defy the impact of death, i can only mourn sorrowfully with Nigeria, particularly the families of the dearly departed, i pray their souls are with God, for us who are left behind, it is time to build an intimate relationship with our Maker, only He can comfort those mourning today, and with Him, we are ready to go when HE calls us home.
Nigeria, I weep for you today, and wish that those who mourn find consolation in God’s bossom.
ANd use this opportunity to say seek God now, while He may still be found, so that we are ready when he calls. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Alas, nothing!