Dana Plane Crash: Nigerians Deserve To Know The Truth

As we continue to mourn victims of the ill-fated Dana plane crash, Nigerians have only one straight message to government officials: Tell us the truth. At a press briefing on 3 June in Lagos, where Dana flight 992 crashed, killing over 150 people, the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, did not entertain questions from journalists. Two weeks earlier, Oduah had sent a circular to all aviation chiefs, admonishing them not to talk to the press without her consent.On Wednesday 6 June, Francis Ogboro, a director at Dana Air, who represented the company at a well attended press conference, did not provide answers to basic questions he was asked.
Ogboro did not know how many passengers were on the crashed plane as well the identity of crew members on board. He did not even know that Captain Peter Waxtan was the pilot that flew the plane that day and did not know when he joined the company. He could not also remember the name of Dana insurers and had to apologise several times for his crass ignorance. Ogboro referred journalists to the Dana Air Accident Information Centre at the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 for information. Unfortunately, at the information centre, Dana officials there did not know anything or were not willing to talk. Ogboro, while dismissing allegations that it could have been the same Dana plane that had a hydraulic fault just weeks before the crash, could not remember the number of that particular plane. It was almost a waste of time for the journalists who had wanted to know more so they could inform Nigerians better. At the same press briefing, Ade Ipaye, the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Lagos State, disclosed that only 149 bodies were recovered from the site of the crash. Ipaye did not know why there was a discrepancy in numbers since Dana had claimed there were 152 passengers on board, according to their pre-flight manifest obtained by P.M.NEWS. So many information were missing, fuelling allegations that the plane was faulty and was deliberately used to save costs when it should have been grounded for repairs.
With all this information missing and allegations of negligence against the airline spreading everyday, President Jonathanís assurance that a thorough investigation will be carried out seems like a joke.
Already, while the Aviation Minister says the plane crashed because its two engines packed up, Dana officials are saying that birds entered the wings of the plane, suggesting that this could be one of the causes of the crash. Which versions of these two explanations should Nigerians believe?
Though the black box of the crashed plane has been taken to the United States of America for analysis, we hope the outcome of the report will not be doctored or swept under the carpet as have been the reports involving previous plane crashes such as Sosoliso and Belview airlines.
Nigerians, especially the relatives of the victims, deserve to know what happened to their loved ones and the process begins with telling the truth, carrying them along and providing answers to questions they ask. It is in the interest of our country that the cause or causes of the Dana plane crash must be known and made public so that a similar tragedy could be prevented in future.