Tasteless? Blogger criticises #DanaCrash Anyene’s in-law for going ahead with wedding

by Hauwa Gambo

Bad Journalism

Was this a tasteless play for web traffic or essential reporting by a dogged blogger?

The US-based Anyenes – who lost almost nine of their family members (Onyeka Anyene, his wife Maimuna, four children – including a set of twins – his mother in-law and two other relatives) – were in Nigeria for the wedding of Maimuna (the wife’s brother). It was on that journey that they boarded the fatal Dana Air aircraft.

(Read Victims’ families to be paid $100,000 HERE)

The blogger, Chris Kehinde Nwandu, who has followed the story of the family took a position that the marriage, scheduled for yesterday, should not go ahead. Apparently it did and he reported it with pictures (the pictures are available on his blog, CKN Nigeria:

On getting to the venue, gaining access was a big problem since we wre not on the invited list.Moreso, the family apparently wanted to keep the wedding away from the prying eyes of the media.

The organizers were shocked to see our crew. They tried to persuade us that there was nothing like a marriage going on.

Then, he proceeded to call the bereaved, “the most insensitive couple on earth”:

The most insensitive couple on earth..Smiling at their wedding today after losing their sister with her four kids,husband and mother..Maimuna’s brother and her bride today..She died in the Dana air crash while coming for this guy’s wedding,but they decided to go ahead with the wedding even when the bodies of the deceased were not yet buried including that of a twin of 2 years..CKN

After readers attacked his judgement, and in defense of his reporting, the blogger posted this today (unedited):

Contrary to some of the above belief, our aim is not to destroy the young marriage.We have tried as much as possible to as balance as we could in our reporting of the event..Sensationalism as we are been accuse of should be left to the judgment of our readers. As could be rightly see on our page, we have published almost three hundred comments of our readers on the issue(unedited)..Everyone has something positive or negative to say.

On our part, we believe and still STRINGLY too that the wedding should have been postponed for the following reasons.

1. Contrary to some opinions that the wedding was a family issue, this to us is not sustainable. The marriage stopped been a family issue immediately the Anyenne’s lost their entire household in that crash.

They have been transformed from a mere family to a national and International loss. Never in the history of Nigeria has a family lost such number in a single air crash. Their loss has become our pains. So whatever her immediate family was doing, the mood of the entire nation should have been taken into consideration.

2. A postponement of the wedding till the dead were buried would have been ideal ,atleast in order to respect Maimuna and her four children whose charred and burnt out bodies are still in the morgue.

3. The reason been adduced that it will be a double liss yo the family if it was postponed due to the elaborate arrangement and expenses already incurred is unsustainable..How much do you put I terms of value to life..How much does a life cost?..Here we are talking about nine people.

4. The theory that they were Muslims and therefore have no reason not to go ahead with the wedding is a complete mirage.

Yes,Maimuna’s family are moslems,but the Anyennes are Christians from the South. This automatically nullifies those analogy..The people being mourned are not mourned because they are Muslims or Christians..A little tarry would have solved this whole issue.

5. The wedding has put a complete a cloud in our resolve and advance towards inter tribal marriage as sustained by this couple. It leaves a sore taste in the mouth for the advocates of inter tribal marriages.

Many have attacked him on this reporting, and we have to agree. As another blogger Fred Nwonwu, said in response:

CKN. this is neither here nor there. Reporting on that marriage the way you did was tasteless. We, as writers and journalists, need to be mindful of how we cover news and the negative impact that news will have on innocent people.
All said, there are no stipulated mourning periods for the bereaved and no one can convince me we, the public, feel more pain than those directly affected. 
It was sensationalism at its best Nwannem.

Do you agree that this is a strictly family tragedy – and the blogger was clearly in the wrong?

(#DanaCrash: What you can do to help HERE)

Comments (6)

  1. This has aroused so much anger in me. What is anyone's business regarding this matter? To think that some of the people commenting on that blog said that they won't grieve for the family anymore. What was your grief based on? Compassion? Follow follow? What exactly? If you will stop grieving for Maimuna and her family because her family died, then stuff you, you can go to hell and burn there.

    No-one can grieve for Maimuna like her family. If you look into Ndako's eyes, you will see what he has been going through. And someone had the audacity to say that Ndako only cares about the monetary compensation from Dana.

    my uncle collapsed after his daughter's friday traditional wedding before the church wedding on saturday. He died that friday night but the last thing he said to the gathered immediate family was "if you don't go on with that wedding tomorrow, you will face my wrath". He died shortly after. That saturday at the wedding, come and see people criticizing them! Talking shit about what really was none of their business.

    Can anyone mourn Maimuna more than Ndako, Aisha and Moh? Nigerians and their stupidity. So he should have frowned throughout the ceremony. With people there telling him, Ndako smile, they would wish you to be happy.

    I lost a sibling and if you had taken pictures of me 24hours after the event, you might have caught me with a smile on my face at several times. Yes I smiled, I cried, I laughed in memory – because I am a human being. Look into Ndako's eyes and see the grief. See his red and puffy eyes and yet some idiots think they are justified to dictate to the family how they should grieve.

    I know Maimuna and if she hadn't died, supposing it was just their mom that died, she would have said Ndako, let's do this wedding and let's honor Mom. That's what they did. THEY DO NOT HAVE TO JUSTIFY IT TO ANYONE. IF THEY DID THE WEDDING, PEOPLE WILL TALK. IF THEY DIDNT, PEOPLE WILL TALK.

    It irks me that the CKN guy who blogged this seems to think he possesses some moral superiority. Talking about how he didn't go to present a paper in south africa after his dad died. Who cares? THAT IS YOU, DON'T DICTATE TO OTHER PEOPLE.

    What crap and what a bunch of narrow-minded and unexposed people commenting on his blog. Open your mind – there are different types of belief systems, people do things differently. Stop judging and leave Ndako alone!!!!!!! I write this for the sake of posterity – Ndako if you ever come across this post, I'm proud of you. You did what you thought was right. I know how you loved your sister and how she loved you. Treasure her meomory.

  2. This blogger is a compound idiot n I will never again read or comment to his nonesense."King david fasted and prayed for his sick child,but when the child died, David rose from his fasting,changed and ate." what am I saying? The Anyaenes(God rest their souls) re gone and nothing can be done about it. The family must move on and u don't know anything about their pain or the grief they bear so stop with ur hypocrisy! Onuku!

  3. "Tasteless" is putting it mildly. How on earth can a family terribly bereaved consider d nation's mood? What does that even mean? Does this dude think he mourns more than their family do? Does he have d faintest idea what it took for those couple to smile? Or even what it took for the family to agree to go on with the wedding ceremony? Most importantly, what was the point of the write up? To show that their family is insensitive or what???? I'm even upset with myself for even posting this because surely the dude is looking for traffic. May the Lord have mercy on him.

  4. My mouth is still open, can't even finish reading. Awon omo ti o leko.

  5. I am shocked that YNaija would give this moron Chris even a second's attention. By commenting or analysing his blog you give this sicko proclaimed journalist attention that he doesnt deserve. YNAIJA u are highly rated, please seriously sieve what you post on your platform

    Now my rant to Chris and YNaija personnel that approved giving this the time of day-

    Maimuna and the entire family are personal friends of mine. In fact she was one of my best friends. How do you think that close friends and family will feel reading this nonsense?

    Remove this post and disassociate yourselves from such expression of extreme intolerance. this sort of fundamentalism is what suggests that Nigeria is about to implode/is on the brink. INTOLERANCE AND JUDGEMENTAL EXTREMEMISM

    As for Chris – …Stop putting lines where they do not exist. It is not about religion, ethnicity or your personal opinion. It is what it is.

    IN THIS CASE – LIFE HAS HAPPENED. GOD KNOWS BEST (christian proclaim to believe this – hey shock horror so do muslims!!!!) WE ARE ALL MORE THE SAME THAN WE ARE DIFFERENT -THIS IS A FACT!

    If you must use your pen, use it to achieve progressive objectives – not this insane insensitive propagation of a shallow and unfounded point of view. I am tempted to insult you and your entire existence but i will not as tempting as it is because you have cut me personally – i wonder how other family members will feel when they read your post.

    My 2cents is that we must all strive to live life with grace and acceptance of a higher power . WE MUST ALSO BE KINDER TO ONE ANOTHER AND LESS JUDGEMENTAL.

    You have no right to make this family tragedy your blog feed. You are worse scum than the people you claim are insensitive in your post.

    Redeem yourself, apologize, respect boundaries and pray for wisdom to always see things from a wider perspective…and even if that fails – keep your inflammatory opinions to your self.

  6. Excuse my language, but this 'blogger' is nothing but a fucking insensitive idiot. What in blazes does he mean by their loss has become nigeria's loss so they should take the mood of the nation into consideration?! And what sort oftrouble is he tryna stir by subtly discouraging intertribal marriage?! These are the sorts of people that ruin nations! Yes 9 people died, but the folks who survive must move on! And a wedding brings the promise of new life to help forget those they lost…he should kindly go and take his negativity to a place where it is needed…

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