Amongst the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari led government ministers, if there is one that deserves an award for the most audacious and controversial, that fellow is the outgoing minister of aviation, Senator HadiSirika.
It is no longer news that the same minister who happened to be the longest serving minister of aviation having remained in the position for a long stretch of eight years, automatically have the opportunities to write his name in gold through the policies he introduced.
Being a pilot should have given him an edge over some of his predecessors who came and still conducted themselves very well despite their little knowledge about the sector.
Unfortunately, Sirika whose appointment as the aviation minister was well celebrated by the different stakeholders as being familiar with the terrain, has on the contrary, become the minister whose policies have become the most unpopular to the sector.
Agreed that he may have recorded some positive feats during his tenure, all his good deeds are sadly infinitesimal compared to the barrage of unpopular policies he foisted on the sector which have ended up complicating matters in the sector.
As a pilot, Sirika as the minister was expected to have further taken the sector to a greater heights through his policies in line with the standard international recommended practices.
Unfortunately, for the greater part of his tenure, it has been one week one trouble for the sector, no thanks to his individualistic style of leadership which unfortunately did not go well with the different professional bodies and other key players.
Obviously, because aviation is one of the topmost regulated sectors that deserves absolute standard implemented policies devoid of any local politics and emotional sentiments, the different professionals including the unions therein have been adjudged to be one of the most intelligent that therefor, cannot be ignored in the scheme of things.
This has become the Achilles heel of the minister who throughout his tenure that is about to end has chosen to run the sector like his personal enterprise even when many of the actions taken directly or indirectly affected the future of the key players.
The controversial personality of the outgoing minister is not even waning despite the less than two months to the expiration of his tenure as he keeps on churning out dangerous policies that are creating tension in the sector.
While his counterparts in other sectors have started tidying up their books for proper hand over as May 29 draws closer, Sirika has continued to roll out many unreasonable projects he is hell bent on executing even when such projects cannot be achieved in less than between six months and one year.
Little wonder why Sirika thinks he can succeed with his ambition of floating the controversial national carrier in less than two months with no physical structures on ground except those of Ethiopian airlines, the core technical investors in the deal.
Sirika is pressing forward with this project despite the pending litigation against it without even caring if the national carrier collapses a day after he leaves office due to his poor arrangements.
Still not done with the confusion, Sirika continues to flex his ego as he vows to go ahead with the plans to demolish the head offices of the aviation agencies at the Lagos airport under the guise of promoting the unpopular aerotropolis agenda as if without him, the incoming minister and government will not have their agenda for sector from May 29.
He wants to carry out these shenanigans without even making any adequate arrangements for the over 12,000 workers and their family members that his actions will incapacitate.
He is so comfortable with the confusion his actions are creating without bothering if the whole system collapses so far he achieve the questionable agenda, which many have described as a tribal agenda.
His desperate move to destroy the Lagos offices of the agencies and subsequently relocate the workers to Abuja is presently been seen as an agenda to relegate the status of Lagos airport even when 80 percent of aviation activities in the country are carried out there.
Sadly, the outgoing minister is creating this crisis without the higher authorities including the National Assembly calling him to order.
With many litigations hanging on the neck of Sirika and the government that brought him to office, all hands are on the deck to see the magic wand he intends to apply to achieve these tall dreams in the next few days left for him.
Above all, he will be remembered as a supposed aviator appointed to manage the sector who ended up running it aground with his arrogant and carefree attitude. What a parting gift for the aviation workers!
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