6th June, 2012
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has disclosed that five of its members, including a manager with the institute, were involved in the plane crash which occurred at the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos on Sunday.
The name of the member of the institute’s management was given as Mrs. and according to ICAN, she was a Senior Manager at the ICAN Abuja Liaison office of the institute.
The professional body which described the crash of the aircraft belonging to Dana Air as well as the loss of its members as unfortunate, also gave the names of the other five victims as Mr. Awodogan Olusanmi with membership number 25222, Mr. Komolafe Olugbenga with membership number 7388, Mrs. Ogechi Onyeagocha with membership number 6601, Mr. Peter Anosike with membership number 10880, and Mr. Yusuf Ibrahim with membership number 4179.
On that fateful Sunday, Mrs. Las was on her way to Lagos for the institute’s monthly management meeting which was to hold Monday morning. Since the confirmation of her demise, the Institute has been grief stricken, with most of the staff expressing astonishment over the incident.
President of the Institute, Mr. Doyin Owolabi, who had been mourning the loss of the six members of the institute since the incident, also lamented the cruel fate that befell the gentle and hard-working Lilian.
“It is indeed painful; I still remember her usual smiles as she attended to official duties without complaining.
“I remember her broad smiles of congratulations at my investiture on Wednesday. Oh death! Where is your sting?”
He lamented that the incident was painful, “but because we are children of the living God, it (death) has no dominion over us. It is a debt to be paid by all, but as humans, we pray for old age.
“Lilian was a child of God, so she’s not dead, but rests with the Lord, where we shall all meet to part no more. May God continue to shine His Light on her gentle soul and the souls of all the other departed faithful.”
Reacting to the news, a Council member of the institute, Mrs. Ngozi Monica Okonkwo, described Lilian as an amiable human being one could not resist.
She said nobody would have imagined she would go so soon as she was full of life few days ago when she came to Lagos for the investiture ceremony of the 48th ICAN President last Wednesday.
“Lilian was very amiable, unassuming, ever-cheerful. She was a dear friend. May her soul rest in perfect peace,” she stated.
The Registrar/Chief Executive of ICAN, Mr. Olutoyin Adepate, who spoke about the other five members, said the news of their involvement was most distressing to everybody.
“The news came to all of us as a shock, but the incident was beyond our control.
“While we pray to God for the repose of the souls of those involved in the crash, we sympathise with their families and all Nigerians, also praying that God will grant them the fortitude to bear this great loss and the consequential pain, stem the tide of calamities and restore peace to our beloved land,” he said.
On his part, the Deputy Registrar (Technical) of the institute, Mr. Abel Asein, did not only lament Lilian’s untimely passage but also described the accident that killed her as avoidable.”
He said: “This ‘flight unto death’ is sad, painful, yet avoidable.
He said he was pained at the incident which took the life of the management staff, adding that she was “harmless, easy going and always full of smiles, even in challenging times.
“You were always willing, at short notice, to take correspondences to various government departments with impressive feedback. Oh! I say Lilian, soldier of Christ, we cannot mourn you enough. Please, rest in peace in your new abode with the saints”. Mr. Asein condemned how disastrous situations are handled in the country and prayed for God’s intervention in Nigeria’s affairs.
—Eromosele Ebhomele