Nigerian scholar and popular political columnist, Prof. Pius Adesanmi, has been confirmed to be among the 157 persons that died in the Ethiopian Airline crash early Sunday morning.
Reacting, Osinbajo via his aide, Laolu Akande in a tweet described death of Adesanmi as a painful loss.
He wrote: “We mourn, with his family and associates, one of our notable public intellectuals of the day, Pius Adesanmi, award-winning writer & Canada-based professor, who reportedly passed on in today’s unfortunate Ethiopian Airlines crash. What a painful loss! May his memory be blessed.”
Adesanmi, who lives in Canada and holds both Nigerian and Canadian passport, posted a photo from Addis Ababa Airport, Ethiopia, hours before the plane took off.
Adesanmi posted a message on Facebook which read, “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me – Psalm 139:9-10.”
The plane, which was bound for Nairobi, Kenya, went down in the early hours of Sunday.
One Nigerian has listed among the dead as well as 18 Canadians, 32 Kenyans, nine Ethiopians, eight Chinese, eight Italians, eight Americans, seven French, seven Britons, six Egyptians, five Germans, four Indians, four Slovaks, three Australians and others.
Aside from Ethiopians, there were nationals of Canada, China, Kenya and others aboard the airliner.
Since Prof. Adesanmi was carrying a Canadian passport, the Nigerian that is officially listed among the victims happens to be Ambassador Abiodun Bashua of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He was carrying a UN passport.
The late Bashua was former UN and AU Deputy Joint Special Representative in Darfur, Sudan.
The late Adesanmi, who was a Director at the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University, Canada, was a professor of English.
