One Year To Retirement, Officer Dies In Auto Crash
By FELIX MORDI

WHEN Etah Dawah was leaving his official residence at the Bar Beach area of Victoria Island, in Lagos in the morning of Saturday, June 20, nothing in his wildest imagination told him he was embarking on a journey of no return.
He had left home that fateful day full of life and his life-long desire that as he was gradually pulling off from public service, having put in 34 years as a policeman, in a year's time, he would disengage.
But as man proposes, God disposes, Dawah's dream of joining the league of retirees and ultimately enjoy his gratuity and pension benefits ended up un-fulfilled.
Despite going through tough times performing his primary duty as a police officer, which, among others, include combating crime and notorious criminals, Dawah had had to travel the length and breadth of  the country and still managed to scale through the hazards of the job.
Ironically, he fell victim of an auto crash on the Ojota-Oregun Road, in Lagos, losing his life in such a sad situation.
Dawah could be likened to Moses, the Biblical father of all nations, who God said could only see the promised land from a distance but would not get there. He had barely one year to go when his curtain of life was drawn.
He had painstakingly climbed the ladder from constable at the time of enlistment into the police force in 1975 to become a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
A source at the Financial Malpractice Investigation Unit (FMI) of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Lekki-Lagos, where he last served as Officer-In-Charge (O/C) told National Mirror that the deceased had been very cautious and meticulously guided himself against any form official misdeanour. He made sure his subordinates were not caught off-guard as this might translate to his lack of supervision and rob on his retirement status.
But because he had been destined not to see that "glorious moment", Dawah did not live beyond 2009.
He was involved in an accident with his official metallic colour Peugeot 406 car and a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) Jeep. His car rammed into the road median and simultaneously caught fire.
Rescue operations officers who came achieved nothing as he lost the battle of survival on the spot.
Dawah, who hailed from Rivers State, was the pioneer Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ijaiye-Ojokoro. He also served as DPO of the Local Airport Division, both in Lagos.