Our Aviation Industry has been in the news recently and for the wrong reasons. It started with the humongous amount to be spent repositioning Murtala Mohammed Airport as the hub for Nigeria and the West African sub-region. The main reason given was a wrong design which has made the airport to be neither operation friendly nor passenger friendly. It is confounding that a project like that could be undertaken in this age without sufficient technical inputs. It is like building a port without considering the kind of ship that would berth there. Or a factory without making provisions for the machines that would be used. Yet, I have not heard of anyone being held accountable or even being named and shamed for this serious error that will end up causing the country billions of Naira. This suggests it will happen again, if not in the Aviation sector, then certainly in another sector because of our disregard for due process and accountability. Just as the amount being spent to rebuild the airport suggests the country is still flush with dollars despite statistics to the contrary. For the records, I am not against the airport. Nigeria needs modern and befitting airports ? not just one ? in this digital age. The airport can even be a cash cow if properly managed. But the amount? At this time? Bearing in mind that air travel is an elitist option that will benefit less than 5% of the population. Bearing in mind that those who caused the faux pas in the first place are free to enjoy their commissions. They should at least be asked to explain why they built what they built.

But surprisingly, it is not the cost of the airport which has been making headlines lately. It is the human factor around our airports ? and aircrafts. It started with a two-term Governor and a serving Senator deciding he had had enough of the shenanigans of the ticketing and boarding crew ? and there are shenanigans bordering on impunity; bordering on fraud among some of those officers. He therefore decided on a virtual one-man action which caused disruption in the schedules of the airlines. This action, whatever might have caused it, was full of hubris and a disregard for due processes. It was propelled in the main, by the belief that he could get away with his action. It is a Nigerian factor, not just among the elite, but in anyone who feels they have a hold on you and might not suffer consequences as a result of using that hold however improper. I call it the KWAM 1 SYNDROME because it has been recently exemplified by the Fuji maestro. The action of the Senator has turned out to be merely an appetizer. The real meal came when the Fuji musician himself, Wasiu Ayinde, decided to virtually hold an aircraft hostage by obstructing its take-off. Unperturbed, he was seen making phone calls possibly as a back-up for his impunity or as a show of self-importance. He obviously felt wronged by some decisions of the airline crew. More importantly, he obviously felt there would be no consequences for his re-action to his perceived wrong. I am sure he is well travelled enough to know his action would land him in jail in any Western country. All good meals have desserts. They came in quick succession this time. Like many Nigerians, a lady felt her rights were being impinged on when told to switch off her phone at take-off. Even when the Pilot in Command, PIC, made the call. A neighbor allegedly switched off the phone, which led to a righteous indignation on her part; which led to a tirade. Her feeling of being wronged was so strong that even the passage of travel time couldn?t assuage it. It simmered until the end of the flight. Then she allegedly lashed out, an action which culminated in slaps being dished out right, left, and center. The melee and chaotic situation continued according to an online report, until she was dragged off the aircraft in a most undignified manner. She obviously couldn?t care that there could consequences for her action. No decent person should fight in public no matter the provocation. This is for the numerous defenders who try to underplay her role in what was reported. The final dessert was from another lady who refused to disembark when asked to do so. After a long delay, all the passengers were asked to disembark and go to the arrival hall. Among them was a passenger who had a connecting flight to the UK which she stood the risk of missing because her fellow passenger refused to disembark the directive of the airline crew.

I am not discountenancing the role the various crew members could have played in the unfolding scenarios. It is possible the aggrieved passengers could have been inelegantly or even rudely addressed. It is possible that communication was not clear and unambiguous. It is even possible they were provoked. But what has evolved is that these aggrieved passengers had an exaggerated belief in their own importance and what constitutes their right. It is a Nigerian thing. People seeking to claim rights without corresponding responsibility; without regard for due process. You see it everywhere. On the streets where many motorists want to claim the right of way forgetting there would chaos if everyone ignored simple traffic rules. On the social media where some people think freedom of expression allows them to libel and savage other people?s character. In queues where people think it is their right to be attended to first and would not mind shunting if they could get away with it. In offices where workers dwell on the advantages of cutting corners while minimizing the consequences. At establishments where gate keepers act like lords and feel more important than even their bosses. So those criticizing KWAM 1 and his fellow travelers should look in the mirror. Do they have the discipline and temperament to do the right thing if they could get away without it? Insisting on rights while disregarding due process and likely fall-out is not an elite thing in our country. it is just that our elites get away with more things. Like building a badly designed airport. Like the scam called the new Nigeria Airways.

Finally, the way the whole thing has played out among Airline Authorities, Human Right Organisations and Government has just stressed the point that the country has a serious aversion for due process and a penchant for compromising established statutes under the guise of expediency.

? Adetiba is a veteran journalist and public affairs analyst

Update news