Dana: Minister in tears, says no compensation yet for family
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Adaku Onwwuliri, broke down in tears yesterday for her late husband.
She said that her family had not been compensated by the management of Dana Airline.
Viola Adaku is the widow of the former Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Prof. Celestine Onwuliri, who died in June 3, 2012 Dana air crash which occurred at the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State.
She spoke amid tears shortly after a one year remembrance service in honour of her late husband at the Good Shepherd Catholic Chaplaincy on UNJOS campus.
The minister urged the airline management to reach out to other Nigerians who were affected in the crash.
Stressing that the incident threw her family into a serious challenge, the minister said: “We have no link with Dana Airline management, we have not seen the management and we have no contact with them, so that is how it has been. I just hope that they will reach to other Nigerians that were involved.
“From the day of the incident on June 3, 2012, we have been feeling bad and the pain is still there.
“We thank Nigerians, the President and the First Lady and others for their support and condolence. Though we are still in pain, we appreciate the support of Nigerians and thank God for His enablement that has kept us up till today.”
Praising her late husband for his contribution to the development of education, she said: “I want Nigerians to remember him for his kindness, patriotism, hard work and for the expansion of the educational sector. I want them also to remember him as a religious person and as a great family man who loves his wife, children and indeed anybody that came across him.”
The minister, however, urged members of the Nigeria’s academic community to embrace discipline as their watchword and contribute to the development of education.
She also urged them to embrace research activities rather than creating more confusion by writing petitions that would compound the nation’s education challenges.
The minister said: “Some of the nation’s professors are causing confusion. They write petitions and with due respect, some of them will not allow girls to rest …. go and do research and leave the girls alone. People should be careful, people should be conscious, people should be disciplined and let the female students be.”
UNIJOS Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Hayward Babale Mafuyai, urged the nation’s scholars to build on the intellectual achievements of the late Prof. Onwuliri.
He said: “As a distinguished scholar and academic, references will continually to be made to his works. His lectures are part of the fabric that makes up many zoologists practicing their professions around Nigeria and beyond.
“His publications are a reference point for parasitologists to build upon and make further breakthrough in the future. There are also 24 PhD holders who owe the publication of sound PhD theses to him. His finger prints continue to shape and mould academic life, scientific work and research.”
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