Five days after the Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Deji Falae, died in the Associated Airlines plane crash in Lagos, his widow and other relatives are still in shock. Yesterday, sympathisers were still trooping to Falae’s residence at 106, Ilupeju Street, Dolphin Estate, Lagos, to condole with the family.
Falae’s distraught widow simply sat in the living room and gestured to visitors who came to commiserate with her. She told a few friends who were with her that she was still in shock and sad, adding that she found it hard to believe that her husband’s death was real. Attempt to speak with her was rebuffed by relatives who said she was still grieving and not in the right frame of mind to talk to journalists.
Outside where some people were sitting under a canopy, one of the sympathisers, pained by the loss, asked: “Why did he (Deji Falae) follow Agagu’s corpse?” He said the late commissioner could have gone for the burial on his own.
Even when he was told that the Ondo State Government commissioned Falae to lead the team from Lagos to Akure, the man said the deceased could have rejected it. He said: “Has government stopped functioning in Ondo State now? Everything has gone back to normal. If he had refused, heaven would not have fallen.” A relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Deji Falae was a nice man and gentleman to the core.
He said: “He was very humble and nice. He did not discriminate or show off. Whoever came to him, he would welcome them with open arms, not minding his status because he has a way of bringing himself down to everyone’s level. We will miss him.” Another relative said her only consolation was that during Deji’s short time on earth, he was able to touch everyone around him positively
Source: National Mirror
