Are Drug barons turning Nigerian airports to battleground?

Nigeria, the country with the largest population of the black race must always be in the news for obvious reasons ranging from its population, the resilience of its citizens, it’s style of governance to the ingenuity of its citizens.

Without doubt, Nigeria is well endowed and gifted to the extent that it is suppose to be among the first twentieth best countries in the world.

So many Nigerians are doing very well in other parts of the globe as they have been able to carve a niche for themselves in their different careers.

Most countries that are not even as lucky as Nigeria with the best of brains it parades have been able to use the little opportunities they have to positively impact their countries and their citizens.

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On the contrary, many Nigerians who belong to the class of genius rather than use their brains to advance the transformation and progress of the country have been bitten by the ‘selfish bug’ which allows them to pursue personal gains even if it requires shedding innocent blood or collapsing the entire country’s structure.

This brings to the fore the recently exposed antics been used by drug peddlers to beat security networks of government and its anti narcotic agencies meant to frustrate their drug business.

It is now in the public domain that the drug barons and their couriers out of desperation to continue to remain in the illegal business have shifted the battleground to the country’s aviation sector vis a vis the international airports in particular.

Ordinarily, the airport which should have been a prohibited ground for drug trafficking in view of the tight security put on ground there, have sadly become a fertile ground for such criminal activities.

Unfortunately, rather than apply their ingenuity positively, this group of drug barons and their couriers  have preferred to deploy such gift into drug peddling in connivance with airport workers.

The ability of the drug barons/couriers to drag airport workers into their activities is presently creating fear in the minds of few Nigerian air travelers.

Air travelers are no longer safe in the hands of airport workers including those in airlines, ground handling companies and uniform personnel who now directly work with the drug couriers to plant drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers.

Many of such unlucky passengers have paid the heavy prize with their lives suddenly brought to an end for the offense they did not commit as they are subjected to capital punishment by death in some cases when the drugs are found in their luggage.

The latest development has gone to portray Nigeria and its citizens in bad light in view of the desperation of the few to get rich at the expense of implicating fellow human beings. This act must not be allowed to continue any further.

The responsibility to rid the airports of this evil cartel falls on major key players starting with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the airlines, the ground handlers and other aviation agencies who should all henceforth, do a serious background checking on workers to be recruited and even those already on their payroll.

The same should be applied to the uniform personnel including the NDLEA, Immigrations, police and others many of who have now chosen to use their uniforms to aid drug trafficking through the airports for pecuniary gains.

Above all, there is the need for government to assist in further funding the airport authorities to instal security cameras and other gadgets around the sensitive areas of the airport to monitor the workers and flight operations.

Allowing an innocent person to die for the offense committed by a criminal is not only an abomination before God but also creates a negative impact on the generality of that country.