In Lagos, service of songs holds for family killed in Dana crash.It was a gloomy evening at the UPDC Estate, Lekki, recently where a service of songs was held in honour of a family wiped out in the recent Dana air crash. The Anyene family lost six members to the incident, including Barrister Onyeka Collins Anyene, his wife, Maimuna and their four children.
Despite the morning downpour that lasted till the late hours of the afternoon, sympathisers, friends, well-wishers and family members gathered to bid the victims farewell. The event was organised by Lagos Business School (LBS) Alumni Association of the Executive MBA Class 6 of 2001-2002.
An air of sadness pervaded the venue just as the songs were carefully chosen to reflect the mood of the evening. Some sympathisers and family members could not hold back tears. To help calm their nerves, an Acapela group rendered two songs entitled, weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning and an Irish song of blessing.
In his exhortation, Revd. M. K. Obiora Anyika prayed God to comfort the family and use the occasion to win souls for His kingdom. Reading from 1 Corinthians 15:12-26, Psalm 39: 4 and Ecclesiastes 1, the cleric took the sober, sombre congregation through the essence of life. “The Bible says, vanity upon vanity. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? David compared his life to a shadow and decided to live one day at a time,” he stated.He urged them not to ask God questions and should not weep as those who do not have hope. Anyika blamed the incident on the decay and corruption in the nation saying: “We should not ask God questions because on a daily basis, standard is dropping. Corruption is high in the nation. Nobody is safe on the air or land. If we have served the nation so well, we wouldn’t be dragged into this mud.”
For the Anyene clan, it was one tragedy too many as the entire Collins Onyeka Anyene family was wiped out. His wife, Maimuna, who hailed from Niger State, also lost her mother, Mrs. Bakisumaidi Mijindadi and two cousins, Ogechi Njoku and Oluchi Onyeyiri.
However, the grief-stricken family was comforted by glowing tributes from friends, business associates, politicians, organisations, alumni and town union members, among others, packaged in a book of tributes and distributed at the venue. In his tribute entitled, My Friend, the Quintessential Collins Is Gone, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal said: “ I have known Collins Onyeka Anyene, fondly referred to as Collins by friends and associates for over 10 years.In fact, Collins has become more or less a part of my family.” He described him as a brilliant, industrious and forthright fellow, who exuded confidence and drive ceaselessly in all things that he did. “An incurable optimist and goal getter, compulsive workaholic, Collins would not go to sleep while his task remained unaccomplished. Indeed, Collins is a bundle of talent and promise gone with the wind. For me, it is still difficult to refer to him in the past tense.
Here was a determined and focused young man, who never had doubts about his objectives and goals. For many who knew him at close range, it was evident that he was a rising sun but alas, this rising sun set before noon.”
Mr. Emeka Etiaba, a former governorship aspirant in Anambra State, in his tribute said: “Much as we feel deep sadness on your demise, we recognise the fact that you were a young man who meant a lot to his friends, siblings, relatives and indeed all that came across you. We thank God that you left good impressions that will stand the test of time. You engraved your virtues in the hearts of many.”
The late Onyeka Collins, a twin, was born on August 16, 1967. He studied law at the University of Jos and later bagged an LLB from the Nigerian Law School in 1990. He obtained his Executive MBA from the Lagos Business School in 2002 and did executive programme courses at Harvard Kennedy School and London School of Economics in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
After his national youth service, he had a stint with Ade Odofin Law Firm before setting up Jus Polis Law Firm. He supported philanthropic causes, provided scholarships to the needy and kept many widows and needy on his payroll. In his vote of thanks, the deceased’s elder brother, Dr. Ben Anyene, thanked God and everyone for supporting the deceased’s family.
According to Dr. Anyene, Onyeka left the United States on May 27, 2012 with his family to attend his brother in-law’s wedding, share some quiet moments and present his children to their grandmother, his mum, who is in her mid 80s. The remains of Anyene and his family will be laid to rest on Friday, July 13, in his home town Ndiowu in Anambra.
May their soul rest in perfect peace.
