Remains of Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, ‘went down’ in a blaze of honour on Thursday.
She was accorded full military honours with the traditional 21-gun salute as the body was interred at the military cemetery in Abuja.
The body was lowered into the grave at exactly 11.05 am, drawing the curtains on a short but memorable military career.
The ceremony, which had few dignitaries in attendance, apparently to comply with COVID-19 protocols, was gloomy and brief.
The late pilot was killed allegedly by an old schoolmate who knocked her down while reversing his car to meet her at the NAF base in Kaduna.
She was a member of the 64 Regular Course at the Nigerian Defence Academy and enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force in 2017.
The 24-year-old was winged as Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot in 2019.
In a sermon by the graveside, Group Captain (Rev) Dogo Barri Gani, Director Chaplaincy Protestant, Nigerian Air Force, described the late pilot as a woman with exceptional courage and determination to fight evils.
Reciting from the book of Isaiah, the cleric lamented that “it is always a devastating time when ones who hold promises for tomorrow are vanishing”.
He enjoined the political class to take deliberate actions to ensure the dreams of determined young come true.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar, noted the late Arotile broke many odds to attain the height she did in the Service.
He said that the Service had many expectations of her, which he observed she dutifully met.
“As a Service, we had so many expectations for Tolulope which she was almost living up to with ease.
“Though she is no longer with us, I must say that her short stay with us was very impactful.
“She carried out her assignments both on ground and in the air with a high sense of professionalism, commitment and confidence. Her memory will remain indelible in our minds,” Abubakar said.
He enjoined the family of the late pilot to take solace in the fact that the entire nation is standing with them at this moment of grief, adding that “there is no better consolation than to know that the whole nation is grieving with you”.
The Nation
