Adebayo
Lateef, the Managing Director of Thursmay Educational Services, the
company that warehoused books on 8/10, Popoola Street, Iju Ishaga, Lagos
State, where the Dana plane crashed into on June 3, has said the
company was on the brink of shutting down.
Lateef, who spoke at a press conference in Lagos on Friday, put the cost of the books in the warehouse at over N250m.
Dana’s failure to pay compensation,
according to him, is taking a heavy toll on the company as all its
employees had already been placed on half salaries.
He said the company took loans from
financial institutions to get the books developed and printed in advance
in Malaysia to meet up with the anticipated demand of 2012/2013
academic session.
He said, “The books we stored in the
warehouse of Mr. Daniel Omowumi were 20,000 copies each of 21 titles and
we only took 500 copies each of all the stock as demonstration and
sample to go round all schools in every nook and cranny of the country
before the unfortunate plane crash occurred.
“In financing the importation and
printing of the books, our company took a secured loan from financial
institutions which are supposed to be liquidated by the end of
September. Unfortunately, Dana Air has yet to do anything as regards
compensation and this is having an adverse effect on the operations of
the company.
“A lot of things are at stake here
because without the compensation from Dana Air, the property of some of
the directors of the company will be taken over. The job of our
employees and the life of the company are at great risk.”
Omowumi, who owns the compound which
houses the warehouse, a furniture factory, fish ponds, a six-bedroom
duplex, and a four-bedroom bungalow that were destroyed during the
crash, berated the airline for allegedly playing down the issue.
He said he had submitted details of his
destroyed properties to the management of the airline while those who
stored goods in his warehouse had also submitted a letter of claims but
had yet to get response.
While lamenting the development, Omowumi
said he and his nuclear family had been squatting in a church and
living at the mercy of the congregation, friends and sympathisers.
On the N500, 000 compensation offered
him by the airline, the Living Faith Church pastor wondered what aspect
of his loss such a meagre amount would take care of.
He said, “How would Dana Air destroy all
that I have worked for in my life and yet turn deaf ears to my plight
and my homeless family? Besides, it is insulting for Dana to offer me a
N500, 000 relief for the huge loses I incurred as a result of that
crash.
“I wonder if that would address my
homelessness, get my properties replaced or address my joblessness. My
children have resumed for a new academic session and I’m no longer in a
position to live up to my responsibilities as a father.”
He appealed to the Minister of Aviation,
Mrs. Stella Oduah, and other men of conscience in the country to
prevail on the airline to adequately discharge its obligation to him
under the law.
Omowumi’s lawyer, Mr. Dele Adesina, a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, while corroborating his clients’ claim said
the N500,000 compensation had no bearing on the colossal waste of the
investment they suffered.
He said, “If the subtle approach we have
been taking fails to achieve the desired result, we will head for the
court and I am saying it with all sense of responsibility that they will
be making a big mistake if they think that this case will last for
eternity.
“As a matter of fact, this matter has a
legal and humanity dimension to it and we are going to take it with all
seriousness to ensure that his rights are protected and that he gets his
due. Nigeria is a country with laws guiding its people and nobody
should get away with bad deeds.”
When our correspondent contacted the
Corporate Communications Manager of Dana Air, Tony Usidamen, on Sunday,
his telephone rang out.
A text message sent to his telephone was also not replied to.
