How last-minute booking put my father on doomed Dana flight — Levi Ajuonuma’s son recounts

Guinness World Record-setter, Obinna Ajuonuma, commonly known as DJ Obi, has spoken about the grief that befell him after he lost his dad, Levi Ajuonuma, to the ill-fated Dana Air Flight 992 scheduled to fly from Abuja to Lagos.

A veteran broadcaster, Mr Ajuonuma was one of the four NNPC staff who lost their lives on 3 June 2012 in the Dana Air Flight 992 crash at Iju-Ishaga of Lagos State.

The aircraft suffered a dual-engine failure during its approach to Lagos and crashed into apartment buildings, killing all 153 people on board and six on the ground.

Mr Ajuonuma was best known for hosting a Saturday night entertainment programme, ‘Open House Party,’ on Raypower 100.5 FM. He also worked at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and other channels, where he hosted and executive produced The Sunday Show, Showtime, and Levi Ajuonuma Live.

Until his death, Mr Ajuonuma, who received a PhD in Mass Communications from the University of Minnesota, was the Group General Manager, Corporate Affairs of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Recap

Recounting the incident on the Afropolitan podcast, the DJ said that his late father wasn’t supposed to be on that flight, but because of his type of person, he was trying to be diligent with work.

According to him, his father, who worked with the then Minister of Petroleum, was a perfectionist stickler, so he booked a last-minute flight to Lagos to oversee some work.

“His boss was Diezani Alison-Madueke, and he was trying to make sure everything was on point with whatever it was. She had a speaking engagement at the Eko hotel.

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“After everything happened, she was upset because if she knew he was making those moves, he could have flown private with her. She would have told him to be on the private jet with her to Lagos,” he said.

He said they couldn’t find his name when the crash happened because he had bought someone else’s ticket at the last minute.

“Knowing who he is, if he is supposed to be on the flight, he would have gotten a business class ticket, but he took someone else’s economy seat.

His name didn’t come up in the manifesto either; it was at the bottom because he wasn’t in the business class manifesto,” he said.

Dealing with grief

Obi further described his father’s death as the “most difficult period of my life”, adding that he struggled to come to terms with the loss because his father was his “Superman”.

“That period was the most difficult time of my life. I couldn’t comprehend it. He was such a superman, so what do you mean he isn’t coming anymore?” he added.

Speaking on how he dealt with grief, the world-class DJ admitted that it was one of the most challenging periods of his life.

“Everybody deals with grief differently. But I feel like grief is real life. It’s the one truth that nobody wants to accept. We’re all going to die. It’s not an insult. God has made it so. You’re going to live and you’re going to die. What you do in between is your business.

“But it was hard. It was the most difficult time in my life. I couldn’t comprehend. This guy was such a Superman in my life,” he said.

Guinness World Record

In July 2016, DJ Obi set the record for the longest-ever DJ set.

He completed a 240-hour marathon on the decks at a Lagos cafe, smashing the previous record of 200 hours set in Dublin in 2014 by the Polish DJ Norbert Selmaj.

However, his father’s demise played a role in fuelling his drive to achieve the world record.

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Describing his late dad as his all, he said he had to face reality, knowing that everyone who expressed love for him was not fully committed.

“I just wanted to take over the world. Nothing could stop me. I put my life on the line with the world record. I was very passionate. It was one of those moments where I had to start doing things myself. Nobody is coming to check on me. All those people who come to tell you they love you? They can’t love you to this level.

“Like I was a very troublesome kid, but my dad always came through no matter what. Popsie always pulled up, no matter what. He might be late, but he always pulled up. And he might be late due to annoyance from the stupid things I did, but he will still pull up,” the DJ said.