Tears as drowned corpers are buried in Bayelsa

Posted by admin Bayelsa, Headlines, NYSC (National Youth Service Corp), State News Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Tears flowed freely yesterday during the open air service for Stephen Oluwasegun Aremu, one of the corps members who died in a boat mishap along the Nembe/Brass waterways.

Aremu, from Kwara State and Adamu Isaiah Barau from Bauchi State were among the victims who died in the boat mishap involving a 20-passenger boat. Two female corps members who were also involved in the mishap survived because they were putting on life jackets. The deceased were, however, unlucky as they drowned in the water with their bodies floating two days later. Barua was immediately buried according to Muslim rites in Nembe, while Aremu’s family were contacted after explanation that because of the circumstances in which he died, he would be buried in the state.

At the funeral service held for Aremu, a graduate of Geology from the University of Ilorin, at the Yenagoa Local Government Area, the Special Assistant to Governor Timipre Sylva on National Youth Service, Mr. Lawrence Ikati and the state Coordinator of the scheme, Mrs. Nnena Ukoha and other sympathisers broke down in tears.
In his sermon, the officiating priest, Pastor Friday Azubike of the Evangelistic Church of West Africa (ECWA) lamented that the nation had lost a potential leader. He, however, added that people should be prepared for the day of death and judgement.

Reading from the books of 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4, verse 13-18 and Hebrew Chapter 9, verse 27, he encouraged Christians to embrace Christ and shun indecent lives to inherit the Kingdom of God.
Ukoha, in her speech through the state Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Pius Iyama, stated that though corps members were allowed to move from one part of the state to the other, henceforth the state office would no longer tolerate indiscriminate travelling without official permission. He said preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased died because they were not putting on their life jackets while the two female survivors escaped death because of the life jackets.

Emotions further ran high when Iyama recollected how the deceased who had put on the life jacket went back shortly before the boat took off to drop the jacket and embarked on the ill-fated trip. Ikati in his remarks condoled with the families of the deceased and the NYSC, pleading with corps members to always seek official permission before travelling.

Aremu’s father, Mr. Tunde Aremu who was represented by his younger brother, David Aremu, expressed the appreciation of the family to the Bayelsa State government and the NYSC for making efforts to recover the body of his son and for his interment. In an emotion-laden voice, he lamented the pain the deceased would have gone through before eventually giving up the ghost.

-Sunwp_posts