Nigerian Military Jet Crash: Pilots Survive But NAF Silent on Niger State Incident

By: Abudu Olalekan

Another Nigerian military jet crash? The silence from the NAF is the real story here.

E don happen again. Another Naija military jet don crash. This time for Niger State, for one small community called Karabonde. The thing just waka.

You know how these things start. No be NTA, no be Channels TV. Na social media. Lapai TV, that Niger station, na them first post am. Saturday evening, small video, small smoke. The headline just dey there, cold cold: “Two NAF Pilots Reportedly Survive…” Reportedly. That word na the main wahala. E mean say na lie? E mean say na truth? Nobody sabi.

The video wey Reportersroom see, e show the smoke just dey rise from the ground. Thick thick smoke. The locals for the video dey talk, dem voice dey shake. “We no hear sound o, the smoke just appear,” one man dey shout. You fit feel the fear. Imagine you dey your house, then you see this kind thing for your backyard. Wetin you go think?

But the pilots, dem survive sha. That na the good news. The main gist. Two human beings wey fit don die, dem still dey alive. But the NAF? No talk. No press release. No tweet. As I dey write this, na complete silence. And that silence dey scream.

Why dem no fit just come out talk? Na mechanical fault? Na enemy fire? Abi na something wey pass that? Na so dem dey do. Wait for 24 hours. Wait for 48 hours. Then go come release one ‘briefing’ wey no go answer any question. E don tire everybody.

The people for Karabonde, dem don find the pilots? Dem don take dem go hospital? Abi dem still dey for bush? The questions too much. And our own government, dem dey quiet. One multi-million dollar jet don turn to ash for Niger State bush. And we still dey wait for our own people to tell us wetin happen. The level of secrecy na national disease.

So yeah. Two pilots survive. That’s good news. But the rest of the story? E still dey smoke. Literally.