December 10, 2005: My Dad's Angle...

Mom called and told me to be strong. She said that God had given us sixteen beautiful years with Kechi and we would always be grateful to Him. She assured me that she and my brother, Chinedu, would leave Lagos that night for Port Harcourt to be with me. I heard her but I was not fooled. I knew my Mom was trying to sound strong for me. Kechi occupied a special place in their hearts because she was their first grandchild.

Dad called me and asked me if there were any survivors. I had actually heard two guys talking on that fateful walk from the tarmac and they were saying that some people were alive and had been rushed to hospitals. One of the men said that there was one particular woman he hoped would survive. I asked him what the woman looked like and he said she was big but could not go into detail. I did not dare to even go there. I mean, what were the odds?

I told Dad what I had overheard and that they said the survivors were adults. My Dad said to me that Kechi could be mistaken for an adult. He then went on to state very clearly,

“If there are any survivors in that plane, then Kechi is one of them”.

I thought to myself that my Dad was in denial and this was the way he could handle the trauma. I was quite worried about him and Mom and asked him how Mom was doing. He confirmed my fears. Mom was totally gone. He was worried about how she was taking the news.

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It was the strangest call I have ever received. An urgent pleading call from Ijeoma urging, 'Daddy! Daddy! Daddy, pray, pray, pray!’

I asked her, Pray for what? What's the matter?’

She said, 'Oh Daddy, please pray, there is a plane crash and Kechi is on that flight!'

'How do you know she was on that flight?’

'Daddy I am sure, I spoke to her in the plane before they took off'

'Okay Ije calm down, there must be survivors, and if only one person survives, that one person will be Kechi'.

'Oh Daddy, it is a terrible sight, Kechi is gone'.

'Impossible ' I thundered, 'Kechi cannot die' Are there no survivors at all?

Ije responded in a broken tone, 'Yes Daddy, they said they carried out three women to a hospital'.

'Then one of those women is Kechi', I hollered.

But Ije replied, 'Daddy they said three women, not girls!’

'Kechi is a big girl and can be mistaken for a woman. She is one of the three,' I insisted. 

Meanwhile hell was let loose in my house. Uncontrollable weeping and lamentation rent the air. Family members were rolling themselves on the floor crying like little babies! My telling them that all hope was not lost fell on deaf and hopeless ears. I left the wailing crowd in the living room and went to my bedroom upstairs to pray.

Then Ijeoma called again. This time excitedly with the news 'Kechi is alive!!' The expression of joy that rent the air was only comparable to the wailing that preceded it. Wow! That joy was palpable. What was hidden from the joy-drenched family was that this was the beginning of a long repair and healing process.

But we give all the glory to God.

…….Account of that day by my Dad, Chris Duru...

To be continued...