NIGERIA: The last conversation between Squadron Leader Mamud I. Aburimen, the pilot of the Nigerian Air Force aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, and his university class representative was about a make-up test he had gone to write at the University of Benin.
Aburimen, who was killed alongside other occupants of the aircraft, was a Master’s student of Mass Communication at the University of Benin, Edo State, reports Vanguard.
His death has plunged his postgraduate colleagues into mourning, with his classmates recalling him as a disciplined and quiet student who remained committed to his academic programme despite the demands of his military career.
His class representative, Desmond Odiah, told Vanguard that Aburimen was at the university last Friday for a make-up test organised by one of his lecturers.
Odiah said he had personally contacted the pilot concerning the test, adding that their conversation that day turned out to be their last.
“I actually reached out to him about the test, so that was the last time we spoke. He told me that he was in school already for the make-up test,” Odiah said.
According to him, Aburimen was a student who valued proper procedures and made considerable efforts to keep up with his studies despite his responsibilities in the Nigerian Air Force.
“He was somebody who believed in due process,” he added.
Odiah said he and Aburimen had known each other since their Postgraduate Diploma programme before both proceeded to the Master’s programme.
“We were currently doing our Master’s together, but we actually started from Postgraduate Diploma. We did PGD together for one year and, after the results, we went for Master’s together too,” he said.
He explained that their relationship became closer after he was elected class representative for the Master’s programme, as Aburimen regularly contacted him privately about academic matters.
“I became closer to him when I became the class representative for the Master’s programme. He was always reaching out to me privately about classes, anything that had to do with academics,” Odiah said.
Recalling the deceased pilot’s personality, the class representative described him as a “perfect gentleman” who avoided confrontation and preferred to maintain a low profile in class.
“He didn’t have issues. Every single time he was in the class, he was always at the back with his cap on. So he was a perfect gentleman that didn’t want issues, didn’t want any problems,” he said.
Odiah also said Aburimen’s demanding military duties never stopped him from making efforts to attend lectures and complete his academic obligations.
“Regardless of his tedious work and responsibility, he was able to try as much as possible to attend classes,” he said.
The Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, while on its way from Benin to Lagos.
The crash claimed the lives of those on board and triggered recovery operations around the crash site, with debris from the aircraft subsequently recovered from the water.
For Aburimen’s classmates, however, the crash has also brought a personal loss, coming only days after the pilot was physically present at the university for what would become his final academic engagement.
