The Brevity of Life

The brevity of life.

I am confused. I can't think straight. I can't focus. I am in shock. The more I think of it, the worse it feels.

I have never been in an airplane, not even on a Primary School excursion. Right now, I almost wish I never see the inside of one...

As much as I try to be optimistic for my country, now it takes all my effort to keep from descending into despair... Nothing seems to work around here! Insecurity is rife as ever... Government has taken on businesses it has no business being in, neglecting the more focused regulatory role it should be playing...

It is widely reported that the Dana airplane had been undergoing repairs for weeks. Isn't there a system in place to ensure flight-worthiness of the many planes that fly the Nigerian airspace? Isn't there a responsive authority that the Nigerian staff who knew the plane was faulty could have complained to after the Indian management insisted on flying the plane? Is there a functional Nigerian equivalent of the National Transportation Safety board?

We know what will happen next... Mr. President will order a full-scale inquiry into the cause of the crash... Our flags will fly at half-mast for the next three days... He will ask the Aviation Minister, Princess Oduah to leave no stone unturned... Maybe Dana Airlines will be sanctioned, maybe not... The Distraction Committee will come up with something drastic to take our minds off the incident, like renaming the University of Ibadan... We will forget... And it will happen again...

Someone needs to tell the President that we don't need one-off inquiries... We need a system that works! We need our own NTSB to systematically investigate accidents, publish reports to the public, and make clear-cut policy and safety recommendations!

I know an eight month old baby, who is now fatherless. I know a woman recently married, who is now widowed... Families thrown into mourning... Breadwinners killed... Husbands, wives; fathers, mothers; children, lovers - gone in the twinkle of an eye.

Here this moment, gone the next; fading away like the stars of the morning.

More than ever, I am convinced that the only way to live is with a full consciousness of the brevity of life... There is no use postponing the achievement of our dreams and visions till some time in the future... There's something you want to do and be, do it now... Don't wait till you can sponsor a hundred kids, sponsor the one that you can now...

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my savior..."

Life can be difficult to understand...