3 Days of National Mourning, Flag Flying at Half Mast ... So, What?

Flags at the Presidential Villa yesterday. Photo: NAN

     “The death that kills one’s peer is only being proverbial to one” – Yoruba Proverb

By: Olusesan Ogunyooye (@sesansoulmate)

I most certainly value human lives. I most definitely understand that the grieve of the bereaved is better imagined than experience. My heart still breaks, it still bleeds at the thought of beautiful lives, promising future; the dreams of fellow Nigerians (and some expatriates) that were avoidably aborted on the flight to death last Sunday. The sight of the scenes still cuts my heart so poignantly.

But forgive me if this sounds callous and inhuman to you: I done no mourning! Even though I saw several flags at half mast; in my mind, I hoist them to fly full mast like every other day. Yes! Please tell the president I rebelled in my mind.

Don’t think I am a younger brother of Lucifer; but I, like most Nigerians, mourn every day. We mourn when doctors and government callously and egotistically slaughter our loved ones on the altar of self aggrandizement. We mourn when our friends, wives, husbands, families ingloriously die like hogs on the death traps (roads) set by states and Federal government. We mourn when bombs sound in our churches, mosques and public places; tearing fleshes of our brothers and bread winners to shred and roasting them as though Lucifer was billed to feast on them. We still mourn our Corp members – compatriots – who were slaughtered like chickens last April – even chickens die with some dignity at Christmas.

We mourn as the smoke and jarring noise of generators kill us by instalment. We mourn when our friends take solace in suicide because live below a dollar per day is for them; the end of the end. We mourn when our little sisters, beautiful daughters; innocent, sinless girls were rapped and their dignity stolen on the jungle on Nigerian road. We mourn when almost periodically political killings snatched our better leaders.  We are mourners mourning the mourners.

And in all these, no one is ever, ever held responsible – things do remain the same; much worse, not any better.

We mourn every day. The difference is that it touches individuals at different times and angles. So for me, mourning is a constant lexicon in the Nigerian dictionary – it gains semantic widening as each day passes by. A nation in delirium, in comatose – A nation of mourners!

For me, this national mourning and flags flying at half mast is a face-saving act before international community. If it had been a road accident, NEMA and the Road Safety Corps would have ‘packed’ them off the road to ease flow of traffic and life goes on. Trust me, People who die daily on Nigerian roads or public facilities are more than 153; and for me, no life is more valuable than the other. Thus, if we have to declare 3 days mourning and fly flags at half mast for all these souls, I don’t think Nigeria’s flag will ever fly at full mast again.

Another reason I, like some Nigerians, will not mourn is because we are sincerely tired of rhetoric. The words of government are too empty that a pinch of salt weighs far too much. If I were too young to understand other crashes, the 2005 Bellview crash somewhere in Ota is still very vivid in my memory. There were lots of promises to the bereaved family, the government threatened sanctions and so on; but what came out of it? Bellview did not survive the incident not because it was seriously sanctioned. It was simply an image and reputation problem that killed Bellview. I’m not sure if the family got the compensation till date.

Another of these arrays of beautiful lies by government was on the post election crisis in the north. Fine corp members were killed. They were given a ‘national’ burial and compensated their parents with N5 million. But one year after, the flag is flying at full mast and their killers are only in the imagination of our authorities. The employment promised their siblings as at the one remembrance of the gallant corp members were never offered. That is Nigeria for you – A nation of talkers.

Everyone knows there is an endless list of these deaths and promises from the government, so let me not bore you with a chronicle of deaths, tears and blood because the nation is ‘mourning’.

Let me say that I am not against the mourning period, maybe it was the right thing to do; but of course, grossly insufficient. The senate’s order to stand-down all of DANA air line activities is like leaving the sickness and attacking the symptoms. It is the aviation industry that needs to be wringed. Not DANA or any other carrier. DANA is just a case; there are many aircrafts on the hangers which are disasters waiting to happen.

Finally, there is only one way to mourn. Not the dark goggles by government officials, not the black apparels, not the empty promises from aviation authorities. Not the flag flying at half mast. Not three days of ‘national’ mourning. The only way is to ensure that the investigation is fruitful. That the culprits either from government or private sector are indicted and prosecuted. The file must not gather dust as so many did. The outcome of the investigation cannot be allowed to extenuate with ‘commiteeneering’ and ‘white-papering’ of the matter. Actions; decisive ones at that; must be taken. Except these are done and justice is delivered to the helpless bereaved; Nigeria in my mind, is still a nation of mourners – it is just a matter of time for the tide to go round.

“A wind that enters the house and removes clothe from the bedroom; the man wearing his should be careful” – Yoruba Proverb.

@sesansoulmate