Mrs Oluwatosin Ibironke Anibaba (nee Odujinrin),a victim of the Dana plane crash, was laid to rest in Lagos yesterday,the first among the victims to be buried since the accident.
Tosin, until her death,worked at FATE Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the reduction of unemployment and poverty. She was in charge of entrepreneurship, wealth creation and growing small businesses.
Relatives,friends and colleagues attested to her integrity,vision and passion for helping the less-privileged.
The atmosphere of the City of David Church Victoria Island, Lagos, was solemn as sympathisers gathered to bid her farewell in her journey to eternity.
But in the midst of the grieving, there was one smiling face-that of Tosin herself. From different angles in the church, her face radiated vitality as multimedia monitors played back her life .One of the church pastors remarked that she wore a smile.
“She raced through life with a smile on her face,” he said.
Pastor Idowu Iluyomade in a sermon said death “is an appointment that everyone of us must keep. It is a reality.”
Pastor Iluyomade said it was not for man to question God’s decision to take Tosin at such a young age and asked the congregation accept God’s will.
In a tribute ,the widower Femi Anibaba, said: “We have been married for close to five years, the best years of my life. We hardly ever fought and when we did, she soon made up. We travelled the world and had lots of fun.
“ We shared so many jokes and experiences. She loved watching her favourite programmes and had sent me a text earlier in the day she slept in the Lord that I should ensure I recorded them..
“As a mum, she loved our daughter, Timisayo, more than words can describe. A couple of weeks ago, she transferred a large sum of money to Timisayo’s account. This was the first time she had done this and the last. I was surprised at the time and asked why. But that was Tosin, selfless until the end.”
After the funeral service, the body was taken in a hearse to the Vaults and Gardens cemetery, Ikoyi for interment.