Between the return of a governor who survived an air crash and a boy who dared to fly. By Ahaoma Kanu Did you read the article by Tim Newmann entitled End of an Assignment that clinically analysed how the system works in Nigeria just from a Lagos point of view? Well, I did over the weekend and found myself shaking my head to what the British expatriate oil worker catalogued as some of the problems with Nigeria. In all fairness, I always want to differ on some of the issues that people raise that has to do with Nigeria not working as it should especially when such person just does that from a corner then hopes to paint the whole court yard in the same colour, but to some extent, I will say that Tim Newmann was not far from right. But he has finished his assignment and written about his experience with a promise to come back to Nigeria in time to come, it is our duty as Nigerians then to make sure that when he visits again, he will see a new Nigeria that would surprise him; that is if it’s achievable within the time frame. Over the weekend, two incidents were awash in the media; the returning home of the Executive Governor of Taraba State, Governor Danbaba Suntai, who was involved in an air crash on October 25th last year and had been undergoing series of treatment in abroad and the story of a young boy who dared all odds and took an indescribable risk to stowaway in an Arik Air flight from Benin to Lagos inside the wheel well compartment of the plane. While almost all the newspapers had the picture(s) of the Governor being assisted off the plane on their cover with headlines that dwelled more on his inability to perform certain social gestures like waving at the crowd or acknowledging cheers, little attention was given to Daniel Ihekina who may have broken a record of some sort in the world. The Suntai reports focussed on the less than five minutes reception accorded the governor with aides barring journalists from getting close. In other climes other than Nigeria and some certain African countries, a leader that is ill usually announces that he or she isn’t physically sound and the citizens understand and send their sympathy and wishes. At times, you see flowers being gathered for the ailing leader; crowds might gather close to the hospital where such person is admitted and light candles to hold vigil. Prayers are offered, placards bearing good will messages are displaced and the media covers these activities all in a bid to have their leader recover quickly. But in Nigeria, it is not so and the people are not to blame. In a country where the government and the people have a wide divide, there is tendency for animosity to set in. It is always assumed that the level of government in Nigeria that should be closest to the people even at the grassroots level is the local government but not in Nigeria. The state governments have seen to it that the local government system is in perpetual comatose and only functions by proxy. In some states, elections of local government chairpersons have not been held for close to seven years and just recently, when the National Assembly had just finished the constitution review process in which they threw the local government autonomy bill away, some governors came openly to state that they are against the agitation. Persons in government in Nigeria only court the masses during elections when canvassing for their votes but quickly abandon them immediately the objective is achived. A lawmaker who was hitherto throwing banters with folks in his ward suddenly starts appearing with armed policemen blaring sirens who treat those very people responsible for the new status of the their principal as potential threats. While this is going on, information is severed from the people even with the Freedom of Information Act having been signed into law. In so many occasions, governors of states have been reported to have taken ill but the aides of such officials come out to tell outright lies and give misleading information on the where about of the elected or appointed person. When these cases are managed in this sinister manner, it achieves one objective; it creates awareness of the issue that they always intend to hide. As the lies keeps coming the people, who may have genuine reasons to be aware the whereabouts of their leader, their president, their governor, their first lady, would suddenly become angry. They will now start demanding to know the truth; sympathy gives way to annoyance. The people will feel they are been taken for fools and will revolt against such manoeuvres. So when eventually the person surfaces, like in Taraba governor who has been incommunicado for 10 months, the people would be eager to see for themselves the true picture of the situation. It then becomes a mockery; the place of pity and sympathy in their hearts is replaced by giggles and a we-know-they-were-lying look. The patient who is the victim of an ailment or an accident also becomes the victim of bad image management perpetuated by his team. What would be the consequences if Suntai had been put on a wheelchair and brought out of the plane instead of the pitiable picture splashed across all the national dailies? For Pete’s sake, the man survived an air crash and people have that in mind. But for his aides to attempt painting a make-believe image of a man hale and hearty all for the sake of political office is the height of irresponsibility and stupidity. Those championing the governor to go on and resume work are doing so with a clear different motive; they have suspicious aces up their sleeves but the whole plot may backfire. I wish Governor Suntai all the best but if his condition is not stable enough for him to continue in office, like Obasanjo said, he should take the path of honour and let his family look after him. He just had a set of twins while in a German hospital; he has a duty to be a good father to those babies. Now coming to the Hollywood thriller-styled action of 15 year old Daniel Ihekina who beat airport security in Benin, got into the plane and flew in the tyre hole of an Arik plane from Benin to Lagos, one question this incident should be making us ask is, has desperation gotten even into our teenagers? What was the young boy thinking when he took what I would describe as the biggest risk of the century. How did he succeed and come out alive? This is a boy who I will presume has never been on an aircraft before, never knew the dangers involved in the act he was taking and was determined to get on that plane. He packed his bag, planned accurately, watched the planes take off and land and plotted his strategy. This boy is intelligent, bold and fearless. I say that because of the short time he was able to get accustomed to the immediate compartment of the wheel well and stay there without falling off even when the plane landed. Imagine being holed up in that tyre compartment with the noise, flying at 5000 feet and you are still there, hanging on; never stop believing that something will go wrong. That is the mind of a man. His desperation led him to leave Nigeria and live the good life in abroad as reported that he thought the plane was bound for America. It is unfortunate the kind of attention that was meted out to the boy on landing. The picture of a policeman dragging him along as a common thief is criminal itself. Yes, he may have breached security protocols and endangered lives but how could they have just arrested the young boy who could have been dazed after his self-planned ordeal? Even Umar Farouk Abdumutallab who tried to bomb a US jetliner was given medical attention immediately the plane landed. But to the security officials, who failed in their duty as an agency to properly guard the airport, were quick to show him off like a trophy instead of giving the young chap medical attention and also trying to understand how that incident occurred; find out the breaches and failings in the system that made it easy for a boy that young to have gained entry into the aircraft. Now come to think of it, following the incident, it was reported that the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Yakubu Dati said that the agency had “tightened its risk amelioration procedure to ensure that similar incident did not occur again.” So is this man trying to tell us that before this incident, the risk amelioration procedure in our airports have been loose all these while even with the threat of Boko Haram and terrorism? In a sane society, the aviation minister should have by now handed out some suspensions and launched an enquiry into the incident and if it is proved that somebody or a group of persons are found wanting, they should be fired. That action will make sure that such occurrence does not happen again and not by playing lip service and initiating a poorly delivered damage control. For the boy, Daniel Ihekina, there is something in him that Nigeria will tap from if he is trained adequately. He has a mind-set that will be an asset sometime in the near future. For him to have looked death in the eyes at 5000 feet altitude for 40 minutes, he will make a special agent if adequately groomed
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 22:03:17 +0000
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