Relief materials donated by Dana airline create confusion

Some elief materials donated to the victims on Friday

Relief materials brought by the management of Dana Airlines to alleviate the plight of displaced residents of the crash site caused confusion on Friday.

While the Dana delegation wanted to hand over the materials to the village head for proper distribution, some of the victims insisted that they would get them directly to serve the purpose they were meant for.

The materials, which included mattresses, pillows, bed sheets, beverages, noodles, soaps, blankets, buckets and cutleries, were brought by three directors of the airline.

The Dana delegation included Head of Corporate Communication, Tony Usidamen; Head of Administration, Anand Bangarsamy; two directors, Gautam Hathiramani and Francis Ogboro; and Jagjit Sundaram of cabin services.

The confusion arose over a list of displaced persons prepared by the Community Development Association of the area, which was represented by the chairman, Adewale Oriowo.

But another resident, Chike Okwuosa, who claimed to be the host of most of the displaced persons, said he did not believe in any list prepared by anybody.

While the Dana delegation wanted to take the relief materials to the village chief for onward distribution to the victims, Okwuosa insisted that the victims, most of whom he said were on ground, should get the materials to avoid a situation where those who were not affected getting everything.

This caused a  disagreement and shouting match before it was resolved that the CDA should be left to handle the distribution.

Okwuosa, who said he was not a victim, but a concerned neighbour, told SATURDAY PUNCH that he was only trying to make sure that the distribution of the materials was not mired in controversy.

“By God’s grace, I am not a victim, but I have been accommodating some of these people who have lost everything they have. I want Dana to give whatever they brought as relief materials to those that are directly affected, not to some people on a list that I don’t know anything about.

“I am not aware of any official list except those that are here. The Dana people say they want to take the materials to the village head, I don’t believe in such an arrangement because I cannot guarantee what will happen to them,” he said. 

 But the CDA chairman argued that the association had been working so hard to coordinate the victims and that it would be proper for Dana to work with it to accommodate everyone that was affected.

The chairman told SATURDAY PUNCH that in all, 38 persons were directly affected.

After a prolonged deliberation, the Dana delegation resolved that the materials should be left in the care of the CDA to avoid confusion, with a promise that it would be a continuous exercise.

Ogboro, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, commiserated with the victims and promised that more materials would be brought to alleviate the suffering of the displaced persons.

Oriowo and Okwuosa later told SATURDAY PUNCH that the issue of the list had been resolved and they promised that justice would be done to the materials.

Some of the victims, who spoke with our correspondent, expressed appreciation that the airline management had solved a part of their problems.

But a resident, who owned a building beside the crash site, Grace Adekunle, appealed to the management of the airline and the state government to come to her assistance in renovating her nine-bedroom apartment.

Adekunle, who said she was a widow, told SATURDAY PUNCH that she was returning from Ijebu-Epe on the day of the incident. She said she travelled for the wedding of one of her children.

“I thank God that we are alive but I appeal to Governor Babatunde Fashola and Dana to help me in renovating the house.

“That is the grave of my husband there; this is my only source of livelihood as a widow but if you go inside, you will notice that the building is useless.

“Nobody can sleep inside again because it can fall anytime. So many people have come here to say so many things but I am praying that they fulfil their promises of taking care of the buildings affected by the accident,” she said.