A painful downing of Flying Officer Tolulope

Tuesday, July 14, 2020 cast a dark cloud on the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) following the tragic demise of one of its fast rising stars, Flying Officer Sarah Tolulope Arotile. The promising Amazon of the Sky died of head injuries sustained after a former secondary school friend accidentally reversed into her in the vicinity of a familiar territory – the Kaduna NAF Base – where she had lived her entire life.

According to the statement issued by the authorities of the NAF, the late Flying Officer Tolulope was standing by the roadside exchanging greetings with a friend across the road when her former classmate sighted her, stopped and engaged the reverse gear only to knock her down. In the course of falling over, she hit her head against the concrete drainage. She was immediately rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival from the injuries sustained from the fatal fall.

What makes her death ironical and extremely painful was that the first-ever Nigerian helicopter fighter pilot, who had escaped being downed by several enemy fires during her numerous combat missions, was knocked over by a car driven by an excited friend. Her demise came a few days after returning from a mission code-named Operation Gama Aiki in Minna where she was deployed in the fight to rid the North-central states of armed bandits and other criminal elements.

Born on December 13, 1995 to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Akintunde Arotile in Kaduna, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile hailed from Iffe in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi state. She attended Air Force Primary School, Kaduna, from 2000 to 2005 and the Nigerian Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna, from 2006 to 2011.  Thereafter, she gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, as a member of 64 Regular Course on September 22, 2012.

The late Flying Officer Arotile was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force as a Pilot Officer on September 16, 2017. She also held a B. Sc. in Mathematics from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and was winged as the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Nigerian Air Force on October 15, 2019, after completing her flying training in South Africa. She held a commercial pilot licence and also underwent tactical flying training on the Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopter in Italy. The late fighter pilot had the honour of introducing the newly acquired Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopter to President Muhammadu Buhari, during the induction ceremony at Eagle Square in Abuja on February 6, this year. Thereafter, she had the entire world under her wings!

Tributes have been pouring like torrents since the sad news of her death hit the airwaves. Her Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, said he received the news with “deep pain” and sent condolences to her family and colleagues. He recalled in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, that he had witnessed Arotile’s skills in flying combat helicopters and saluted her contributions to the nation’s battle against terrorism and armed banditry attacks.

The statement said, “The President salutes Arotile’s bravery in the field to protect the country from onslaught of bandits and terrorists, assuring that her memory will be indelible, and her efforts remembered.”

In his tweet, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Abubakar Sadique, said: “She was a very intelligent, disciplined, confident and courageous young officer who added value wherever she served. As a Squadron Pilot in Operation Gama Aiki in Minna, Niger State, she flew her quota of anti-banditry combat missions to ensure a safer, more secured Nigeria, particularly the North-Central sub-region”.

Also in his condolence message, the Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, said the death of Flying Officer Tolulope was a national disaster, noting that she was a fantastic aviator.

The statement said, “It was with great sorrow and shock that I received the news about the passing of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, the first female combat helicopter pilot in the history of the Nigerian Air Force.”

The Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan,  while mourning her death, said despite her brief service, the deceased flying officer left indelible footprints as a dedicated officer and Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot. He said Tolulope was a role model for young women and the Nigerian youths in general with her focus and dedication to service and calling.

The Chairman, Committee on Air Force, House of Representatives, Hon. Shehu Koko, said on behalf of his committee, that the deceased was a heroine whose contributions in the war against terrorism and other criminal elements in the country cannot be wished away easily.

As the entire nation mourns her passage, her greatest regret would be that she left the Operation Gama Aiki unfinished. However, beyond the mourning, we call on the federal government to honour the memory of the courageous lady by immortalising her name in spite of the fact that her career was prematurely terminated.

Blueprint Weekend joins millions of Nigerians in condoling with the family of the deceased and prays that the Almighty God will grant her soul eternal rest.

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