One week ago today, a plane crashed into a two-story building in Lagos, Nigeria needlessly ending more than 150 lives in the plane and on the ground. A number of questions come to mind in light of this catastrophe, but there is one that persists – “What are African lives worth?”
One should never have to question the value of any human being; however, this apparent callous neglect and tragic sequence of events is yet another example of people ignoring the value of African lives. It is true that negligence is a common contributing factor in plane crashes around the world; however, in recent history there have been none as blatant and egregious as the one that occurred in Nigeria one week ago. I said to myself “what are African lives worth” when I learned that Dana Airlines had had many problems with the fallen aircraft, and were therefore warned several times against flying the plane. I also asked this of the Nigerian government, whose job it is to protect its people from the dangers of unchecked business interests, especially when said people lack the position or power to protect themselves. It is clear that the regulating system did not function as it was supposed to in this case, and this gross negligence has ended in great tragedy.
High-res
