TOLU AROTILE: I SPOKE WITH MY DAUGHTER AT 1PM, HEARD SHE'S AT THE MORTUARY AT 5PM, FATHER BREAKS DOWN IN TEARS

Mr Akintunde Arotile, the father of Nigeria’s first female battle helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile, who died on Tuesday, has revealed their last discussion before her painful demise.

Arotile said he called his girl on Tuesday at about 1:00 pm on her arrival from an operation against bandits in Katsina State and the two of them had a few minutes talk.

Mr Akintunde Arotile

He said, “She told me that she will later go out to make some photocopies and I told her not to be long and to return home on time because she was staying with my first daughter in Kaduna.

“Around 5:30pm, somebody called me and asked if I had called her and I said yes. The person told me to call her again which I did, but there was no response. So, I called her colleagues and they were all crying on the phone. I asked what happened, they were just crying.

“I called one of her bosses who told me that she was in the mortuary. I was shocked because she was somebody I spoke with four hours earlier and by 5:00 pm she was in the mortuary.”

The bereaved father further disclosed that he had to drive to Lokoja, Kogi State, from Abuja to inform his wife about the incident.

Late Tolulope Arotile

“One day, when she was very small, she pointed to one small aircraft packed on the field and said one day she was going to fly that aircraft, and I said Amen.

“So, from that day she started working towards getting admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna. She had a degree in Mathematics and became an Air Force Cadet.

“From there, she was sent on several courses abroad and became a pilot.

“I thank God that she was able to achieve her dreams as a baby before her death.”

Culled from Punch