The aged mother of the late MIC Caskets and Undertakers boss, Olatunji Okusanya who died in the ill-fated Associated Aviation plane crash, Mrs. Juliana Olayemi Okusanya is still in shock, says a family source.
The late Okusanya who would have turned 60 in a few weeks, died alongside his 30-year-old son (also named Tunji) in the Akure-bound plane conveying the remains of the former governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu for burial last Thursday. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Lagos Airport, killing 16 of the 20 people on board.
When newsmen visited the Bariga, Lagos home of the Okusanya matriarch, the 91-year-old bereaved mother looked pale, fragile and speechless. She managed to respond to greetings from the crowd of sympathizers who thronged her residence endlessly.
By her side were rolls of tissue paper, which indicated that she had been crying herself to stupor. It was just a matter of minutes before she excused herself from the sitting room and was led into a nearby room. For the next two hours, it became obvious that grandma, as she is fondly called, had retired for the day.
During the two hours of wait, it was gathered that the late Okusanya was the rallying force of the Okusanya kindred. Okusanya, who took over his father’s business, was until his death a philanthropist, another thing he inherited from his late father.
A family member who would not like to be named told the reporters that: “Grandma has been taking it as a Christian, since the Holy Book says that we should not mourn as the unbelievers because we will see our dead on the resurrection morning. But I can tell you that it is not easy at all. Mama keeps shouting ‘two generations at once.’ We are taking solace in God. Grandma is still greatly in shock and disbelief,” she said.
It wa gathered that Agagu’s casket had before the ill-fated journey ‘refused’ to get on board the plane, but was virtually forced into the aircraft by the MIC boss, his son and his staff members who all died in the crash. Members of the Okusanya family lamented that if they had known that their loving Tunji and his son would not come back alive, they would have prevented him from accepting a job, which they said had caused them so much pain and anguish.
“It is sad, very sad,” another family member was heard lamenting. “Why would they use another casket to bury Agagu? Why not the one from MIC that was used initially. It is sad. The rate at which lives are being lost in this country is becoming alarming. It is only God that will console Junior’s mum,” he lamented.
