Residents of Iju_Ishaga have accused the government of hypocrisy and vainglory.
The residents reside on Popoola and Okunsanya streets where the Dana Plane 0992 crashed on June 3nd 2012 said the government neglected the crash site but hurriedly built a cenotaph two weeks to the first year memorial service.
Narrating their ordeal, the residents stated that government and Dana Airlines have refused to compensate them for the property they lost one year after the ill fated plane crashed and destroyed their homes and means of livelihood.
While the residents expressed joy to be alive, they however stated that their neighbourhood has been neglected by the government.
Mrs. Yemis Popoola who led the protest stated that her street has become impassable due to the crash.
“I have live on Popoola Street for the past ten years but since this crash occurred, our street has become a night mare. The heavy duty trucks to the crash site have destroyed our road. We are surprised that barely two weeks to the remembrance day, the crash site which had been abandoned for long got attention and a cenotaph was erected in two weeks while the road leading to the site was hurriedly constructed in less than one month all because they want to pay one year remembrance. This is not fair to us as our streets are affected and heavy rain will cause a flood in our house. We are appealing to the government to come to our rescue and rehabilitate our streets.
Also Mrs. Bose Samson, another resident urged the government to take residents’ lives seriously. “Government does not need to wait for the people to die before they built good roads and infrastructure. The Dana Plane crash site was filled with thick bush and armed robbers used it for their hideout to terrorise residents. However, we are surprised that just barely a month, government rushed to built a cenotaph and rehabilitated roads leading to the site - this action had left other streets around the crash site to be flooded and it was so bad when it rained the last time that our children could not go to school and some of them would have drown due to poor drainage and the bad roads. We therefore urged the government to fix our roads and make living here a pleasant one.”
Also the women were not left out in the protest as they carried placards with the inscription “The moderate are not yet compensated, please let justice be done”. Others read “Our Roads are always flooded whenever it rains –please we need your help_ Popoola Street.”
Alhaja Ramota Akins a -64 year- old petty trader said she lost her business when the plane crashed and destroyed her house.
“Before the plane crashed that day, I had a grocery shop on number 3 Okunsanya Street but the crash destroyed my shop and part of my house. I have lived in trauma since then due to the shock of the crash but as I am talking to you now, Dana has not compensated me”.
Another resident, Lawal Olatunji, 35 and a father of two said he lost his sight as a result of the smoke from the Dana plane crash.
“I used to use my eyes before the plane crashed although I had operated on the eyes in the past. But when the crash happened, I ran out to see what the loud noise was all about but I was engulfed with thick smoke and my eyes started bringing out water. I was taken to the hospital where it was confirmed that the smoke affected my eyes badly and since then I had become blind. My wife lost her seven months old pregnancy and I lost my cows and other belongings running into millions of naira were destroyed. Despite my appeal and letters to Dana, nothing has been done to alleviate my plight “
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