Ochai: ‘Dedicated pilot who added value to NAF’
On August 24, 2017, Group Captain Adanu Gabriel Ochai, an instructor pilot, was involved in an air crash. The sole pilot on board the NAF Air Beetle aircraft, Ochai never lived to continue with something that he was passionate about, or at least tell his story.
During his burial, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, described the late Ochai as “a hardworking, committed and excellent senior officer who, during his lifetime, contributed to some feats in the NAF.”
In the course of his career, Ochai recorded remarkable achievements. One of the feats, according to Air Marshal Abubakar, was the successful training and graduation of 16 NAF student pilots who completed their initial flying training as cadets at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). “That was a target last achieved 32 years ago,” the CAS said, describing the late officer as a dedicated pilot who went the extra-mile to add value to the NAF.
Some of Ochai’s colleagues and students, who spoke to Daily Trust, described him as dedicated to any assignment he was given.
His widow, Mrs. Amina Ochai, described her late husband as a hardworking and good man who loved to teach.
Speaking with Daily Trust in Kaduna, Mrs. Ochai said, "My husband’s style of teaching was so compassionate. He related so well with his students being a pilot trainer; a relationship with him was more brotherly than that of a senior officer.”
She said her husband was someone who stood for what was right, adding that "He was a good husband and a good father who was very fond of his three daughters – Gabriella (12), Grace (9) and Gianna (5).
Mrs Ochai shared a tribute she wrote to her late husband.
Part of the tribute read, "My Gabriel, my Adanu, my husband. These past days have been like a dream to me. We had a beautiful weekend before we travelled and we spoke everyday even before your flight. When we hugged and kissed goodbye, you said you wished you were travelling with us.
"You kept waving at our boarding gate and I kept wishing you had some break from work to travel with us. How did this happen? I keep asking why you had to fly the Air Beetle? Everything has changed completely and I can’t begin to imagine life without you.
"I look at the girls and I feel so much heaviness because we have shared beautiful moments with them and they adore you very much. We told God we want you back and we know God has heard us. He has always shown us His love and mercy and I know He will show us again in so many ways.
"You are alive with us no matter what, and nothing can take that away. The devil may feel he has touched us but he has been disgraced because we serve a faithful God who is good and upright. Thank you for all the love you gave the girls and I all these years. Thank you for making these past weeks memorable as you did everything to make us happy.
"Thank you for allowing our families (Ochai and Omalis) become one. Thank you for allowing young people pass through our home. You have never complained and have loved all of them like a father. Thank you for doing your job diligently and instructing your students with love and care. You left a mark everywhere you worked and I am so proud of you and I want you to know I adore you.
"I don’t know how I will sleep at night without you and how to cope through all these, but you have always told me to take one day at a time with God and that is exactly what I will do. I don’t know how much tears am still going to shed because nothing can ever replace my special you. I keep looking at the door and hoping you will walk in and give us a hug. You will forever live in my heart and I will always see you everywhere around me because that is where I want you to always be. I love you so much Gabos and am sorry I didn't say it as much as I should have. I will always love and cherish you."
The remains of the late Adanu Ochai was laid to rest at the military cemetery, Abuja.
The elder brother of the deceased senior officer, Brigadier General John Ochai, thanked the NAF for honouring his late brother with a national burial.