Posted by By MOLLY KILETE, Abuja on
The entire community of the University of Abuja has been thrown into mourning, following the death of one of its own and registrar of the school, Dr. Affiong Ekefre, who died alongside 107 other passengers on the ill-fated Sosoliso flight to Port Harcourt.
The entire community of the University of Abuja has been thrown into mourning, following the death of one of its own and registrar of the school, Dr. Affiong Ekefre, who died alongside 107 other passengers on the ill-fated Sosoliso flight to Port Harcourt.
More painful to the entire staff, students and indeed those who were close to the late registrar, is the fact that Dr. Ekefre died exactly 50 days after she was elevated to the exalted position of registrar.
"She did not live to enjoy the fruit of her labour," was the sad song on the lips of those who had been following the activities of the late registrar right from when she joined the university in 1988.
To show that the late registrar actually lived a good life, her posters hung on every corner of the school including the walls outside the gate which announced to visitors that they had indeed lost a rare gem.
Security men, staff, students and those who do business in and around the university premises, had something positive to say about the late registrar, whom they attested lived a fulfilled life and affected the less privileged with her generosity. Within her finances, she gave out personal scholarships to a handful of people willing to acquire a university education but lacked sponsor, irrespective of their tribal or religious background.
At the last count, Dr. Ekefre was said to have trained over ten of such students some of whom have graduated, while some are still in school. There were three others on her waiting list before death came for her on Sosoliso flight.
"She was very active, committed, faithful and fair in her job," said the security man guarding her house at No.18 University Staff Quarters in Giri, who gave his name as Bulus Mai-Zuga.
Although she did not live permanently in the official residence provided by the school authority, Bulus, who joined the university last year, described her as one who did not discriminate against anybody, no matter the person's social status.
"Her death is a shock to us. In fact, the news of her death is really devastating to us, especially to us in the security department and indeed all junior staff of this university, because she treated us the way she would treat her fellow PH.D holders."
If there is anybody in the entire university that is most hit by the death of Dr. Ekefre, it is her driver of over 15 years, Elijah Akpofure. Akpofure, who was among the last person that saw her before her death told Daily Sun that the late registrar was like a mother to him, and was responsible for the education of his children, including his daughter who is studying abroad.
Akpofure could not hide his emotions, as he told this reporter in tears that he had a premonition of her death by way of a dream that he had a night before she died. According to him, he had seen in his dream that somebody was going to die within his family. He woke up to pray against it. He didn't know his madam would be the one.
He is also particularly crossed with himself because he was unable to discuss the dream with her before she took off on the ill-fated journey. As one of the last persons to see her alive, Akpofure had driven his madam to the airport from the office at exactly 11.42a.m. on that fateful day. When they got to the airport, she was told by one of the Sosolioso staff that there was no space for her in the aircraft because it was already fully booked.
Akpofure says the late registrar, who had been extremely busy that Saturday morning conducting the post UME test, was angry at the information given her by the airline staff. She protested that she already had a ticket which she had bought early that morning.
She got a relief. She could board. The airline staff told her that they also had one Ekefre on board, who also happened to be her elder brother. Madam registrar was happy to fly with her brother on the same aircraft. She then started searching for him at the airport, not knowing that he had cancelled his trip.
Before he parted ways with his boss, Akpofure was asked to take something to one of her friends. On his way back from the errand, at about 4 o'clock, he heard the sad news on AIT about the crash of the same Sosoliso that his madam had boarded at one o'clock .