Tale of a country and its Minister of Aviation

For the first two days of this week, the country’s aviation sector was subjected to unpalatable hardships that could have been avoided if only those put in the positions of authority had realized the fact that they are representing others.

In other words, this part of the world would have been a better place where things  work out better if people given the privilege to serve perform such roles with regards to those on whose shoulders they get to their positions.

This is what obtains in saner climes and this is one of the reasons things fall in pleasant places for such people.

Without any bias, this part of the world called Nigeria is an island of its own where those occupying public positions do not only look down on the majority of fellow citizens, but regard them as nonentities whose views do not matter on issues that even concern them.

Many people appointed into government and other public positions who had hitherto their new positions had eschewed traits of humility and selflessness on getting to that delicate ladder suddenly turn around to become the ‘alpha and omega’.

As soon they occupy their seats, the spirit of arrogance and pride suddenly replace the former humility in them as they see themselves as superior beings whose actions can not be challenged.

This attitude of ‘I must get what I want’  without even minding the negative implications such desires will have on millions of others has continued to be the achilles heels of the entire system.

The day those appointed into positions of authorities in the country start learning to drop their togas of pride and superiority for that of humility, servitude with readiness to consider other people’s views, will be the beginning of the transformation Nigerians have been yearning for.

This brings to the fore the ongoing crisis rocking the aviation sector in Nigeria as a result of the unpopular style of governance embraced by the outgoing minister of aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika to run the sector in his eight years of reign.

The style of the minister reminds one of the beautiful piece ‘One week, One trouble’ written by the prolific writer, Anezi Okoro’, as hardly will a week pass without the minister looking for the trouble of stakeholders in the sector through the unpopular policies he often rolled out.

Unfortunately, the more he continues to roll out these policies, the more distractions the policies create as the key players made up of the best brains including the unions are ever ready to raise the alarm over the subsequent fallout of such policies on the entire sector.

Rather than accommodate the ideas of these different groups while deciding the fate of the sector, the minister from record has formed the habit of treating them with disdain as he insists he must always have his ways through his strategies.

This trait of individualism has sadly robbed the minister of his good deeds and played up his negative policies.

Even in less than one month to the end of his tenure as the longest serving aviation minister in the history of Nigeria, Sirika rather than striving to amend his ways to at least exit the office on a good note, his body language has continued to further widen the gap as he adamantly refuses to come down from his high horse.

As if he delights in seeing the sector in crisis, even when his counterparts in other ministries are already preparing their handing over notes, Sirika is still dreaming of demolishing the Lagos offices of the aviation agencies and executing highly capital intensive projects like the aerotropolis as if he will be the last aviation minister.

All these shenanigans of the minister is responsible for the unrest going on in the sector as witnessed in the two days warning strikes embarked upon by the unions and the workers which led to the grounding of activities across the airports.

During the protests, many travelers caught up went through hell as they trekked long distances with their loads on their heads before they could get Transport to their various destinations while the airlines and other allied businesses suffered serious losses because the minister failed to hearken to the yearnings of the majority.

Though the warning strikes have ended but not without another warning from the unions to fully ground the airports nationwide if after one week the demands of the workers are not met.

The probability is very high that the minister may continue with the controversies as seen in the statement that emanated from the ministry which rather than persuade the unions and the workers, chose to warn them.

The questions on the lips of many include: how the minister thinks he can achieve all these policies that he could not achieve in eight years in one month and the legacies he wants to be remembered for when he compulsorily leaves on May 29, 2023.

 

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