The tears have refused to dry while the anguish remains strong over the death on Sunday of a generation of Nigeria’s top Army Generals in a plane crash in Benue State. As directed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, flags were yesterday flown at half mast across the country in honour of the departed while the bereaved relations continued to mourn their loved ones.

At the National Assembly yesterday, legislators mourned the victims and described the crash as a national tragedy. The Senate observed a minute silence for all those who lost their lives in the crash while the House of Representatives suspended its plenary session as a mark of respect for the fallen military personnel.

The Upper Chamber asked the Ministry of Defence to ensure adequate funding of the Nigerian Air Force to enable it to acquire functional aircraft, search and rescue equipment and all those tools the Air Force needed to bring its aircraft to international standards. Adopting a motion through which it mourned the death of the high-ranking military officers, the Senate at its yesterday session resolved to send a condolence message to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Minister of Defence, Musa Kwankwaso over the plane crash.

via guardian news

The Senate also resolved to send a condolence message to the families of the bereaved persons aboard the crashed aircraft. The motion, which was sponsored by Senator Ben Obi and supported by four other Senators, however, introduced a sharp disagreement to the House on whether or not the Senate should adjourn sitting in honour of the dead victims of the air crash. Some Senators had suggested an amendment to the Ben Obi’s motion to the effect that the Upper House ought to suspend sitting for at least one day as a way of mourning the deceased. Those in this category include Senators David Mark, Tawar Wada, Tunde Ogbeha, Fidelis Okoro, and Victor Oyofo. But another group led by the Senate leader, Dalhatu Tafida, was of the view that the suggestion, if accepted, would breach the tradition of the Senate. According to Tafida, the Senate has a tradition of adjourning sittings only when it has lost one of its members, and has never done so for any person who was not a member of the Senate. The Senate President, Ken Nnamani, simply put the question on the suggestion based on this explanation and ruled against those who wanted the Senate to adjourn sitting to honour the deceased. Before the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari hit the gravel on his desk to signal the end of the session in honour of the crash victims, the chamber had agreed that the unfortunate incident be investigated. When the sitting began, the Speaker drew the attention of members to the tragedy, noting that the nation had lost a generation of seasoned military officers that would be difficult to replace. Nkechi Nwogwu (PDP) from Abia State moved a motion that the incident be investigated thoroughly so as to forestall future occurrence, stressing that the investigation should be able to uncover the real cause of the tragedy. Ike Chinwo, also of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, seconded the motion while the Deputy Speaker Austin Opara reinforced the need to carry out the investigation describing the disaster as irreparable loss not just to the immediate families but the country at large. Without further debate on the matter, the Speaker mandated the Committee on Air Force to do exactly as the House had agreed. Briefing journalists after the session, the chairmen of the committees on Army, Air Force, and Defence, Ado Dogo, Setonji Kosedo and Wole Oke, who were led by the chairman of the committee on media and publicity, Abike Dabiri, said the aircraft that crashed was in perfect order. According to them, the House Committee on Airforce recently used the same aircraft for inspection of the facilities of the force. Kosedo said: “We are here to express our feelings and brief the press on the way forward. I will not want to emphasise the cause of the crash. This aircraft was used by the committee on airforce not too long ago for our tour of the airforce facilities and I am trying to say in essence that this aircraft was air worthy. “Whatever the cause of the crash, the investigation going on will reveal. However, I will not want to ignore the fact that after the tour of the committee, so many things were revealed.” He further said that the Nigerian Air Force had some of the best personnel in the world but it was discovered during the tour that the force was largely incapacitated. The lawmaker commended the government for the efforts put in so far to address the situation but noted that it was still a far cry from what the force needed to reposition. The chairman appealed to government to take a second look at the funding of the force. Describing the death of the officers as a great loss, Oke said in the last three years, he had interacted with the officers that died in the crash and they were wonderful and dutiful professionals who would be greatly missed by the nation. He added that the committee would put the necessary machinery in place to ensure improvement in the facilities of the armed forces. The chairman of the committee on army, Ado Dogo, said it was unfortunate that such high caliber officers died, adding that the nation had suffered a serious setback. Dabiri told journalists that the leadership of the House was in Aso Rock yesterday to commiserate with the President over the loss.

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