Anyaene's Family Tragedy: Details Of Maimuna’s Brother's Wedding Six Days After Losing Nine Family Members To Dana Air Crash

Maimuna & kids

While many Nigerians, who are not even family members of Maimuna Anyaene, who lost her life along with that of her husband, Barrister Onyeka, four kids, mother-in-law, sister and other relatives in the ill-fated Dana Aircraft, which crashed on Sunday June 3 in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, her brother, are in deep grief . Ndako still went ahead with his wedding with his lover, Halima.

Anyaene and the others were actually coming to Lagos for the wedding, which was slated for Saturday June 9, 2012 when they met their untimely death, and the family could not even retrieve their bodies, which were burnt to ashes.

Maimuna, who was based in the United States of America with her children, was said to have been in the country for a visit, and used the opportunity to stand by her brother on his day of joy. But this was not to be as she died with her children and hubby in the fatal crash.

Sources said that Ndako Mijindadi and other family members felt it was better not to postpone the wedding since nothing could be done to bring back the dead. We were reliably informed that Ndako pleaded with close family members not to shift the date since a lot of money had been spent to organize the ceremony. He was said to have insisted that many people had traveled from far and near and even outside the country to be at the wedding and that postponing it would be unfair to such people apart from causing him waste of resources.

The wedding eventually held on Saturday 9th June, 2012 six days after the crash amidst fanfare at 'The Incubator' owned by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David Parish.

The family was said to have added in the invitation card circulated to friends and well wishers that a prayer session would hold for the departed at 'The Incubator' (after Four Points), Victoria Island, Lagos at 9a.m on Saturday June 9, 2012, while the Fatiha for Halima and Ndako would hold by 11a.m at No. 10 Mayaki Usman Street off Wole Ariyo Street, Lekki Phase 1, while refreshment would be at the Incubator.

What surprised many was that the whole event went with the couple and invitees behaving as if nothing happened. This, they said is a surprise from a man, who lost his sister with her four children, husband, his mother and other relatives in one air crash.

The Muslim cleric, who preached at the wedding, was said to have assured them that they were on the right track as the Muslim faith does not have room for mourning, that once a man is dead, he is dead.

“It was indeed a surprise to many of us that Ndako could not postpone the wedding. We all expected him to shift the wedding, but the family went ahead with it, arguing that as a Muslim, they could not mourn. It is just too bad, we hope they would realize the enormity of what they have done,” said a concerned member of the family.

The late Maimuna is the daughter of Professor Ndanusa Mijindadi of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She attended primary school in Zaria and secondary school at Queens College,

 Lagos. She later attended University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, where she graduated with second class upper in Economics in 2001.

Maimuna was a Muslim by birth, but she married a Christian, Barrister Onyeka Anyaene. They both died in the ill-fated Dana Air crash with all their children and were burnt beyond recognition.

Their story was the most pathetic in the crash, but it seems their family members have put the whole thing behind them and have continued with their normal lives.

June 18, 2012