The security check on Atiku’s plane

ON his return to Nigeria from a trip recently, former vice president and presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2019 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, tweeted that he was searched by security personnel at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), insinuating subtle  harassment  and intimidation. The tweet, which suggested intolerance and hostility by the ruling party to the opposition, naturally caused a stir. Within political circles, it hinted at the possibility of opposition muzzling even before the elections in February.

The Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, did not however allow the matter to fester. He averred that the decision of the airport officials to search the travel bag of the opposition candidate was a routine security check  devoid of any threat or subtle harassment. According to the minister, “while it is true that Task Force on Currency at the airport did the routine action of checking of the former Vice President’s travel bag, he was accorded full respect as a senior citizen.”

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In the charged atmosphere of campaigns ahead of the 2019 election, it is quite possible for the action of the Task Force on Currency to be misread by supporters of Atiku Abubakar and President Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate. In this regard, the explanation offered by the minister is both necessary and timeous.

But then, it is not likely that the former vice president was really oblivious of routine security checks at airports to the extent of drawing attention to himself via such a stunt, as Sirika suggested in his statement. Surely, his reaction must have been informed by his perception of his experience at the hands of the airport officials. A former vice president surely would  not need such a stunt in order to, as argued by Mr. Sirika, “grab the headlines” and it will be inappropriate to dismiss his reaction as such.

Although the Aviation Minister claimed that Atiku was accorded the full respect due to a senior citizen, it would be pertinent to suggest that since the security check was merely routine, the airport officials ought to make it truly so across board in order not to create the impression that they are demonstrating bias  under the guise of following protocol and being unfair  because of political considerations.  Obviously, they had not been doing this meticulously before now. Now, more than ever, they ought to. Perception matters a lot.

It is indeed absurd to claim that “just to grab the headlines” or seek public sympathy, Alhaji Atiku  Abubakar cried wolf when there was none. It would have been more appropriate to ask why he felt that the check carried out on him and his aircraft was done in such a way as to suggest political witch-hunt. Even if the former vice president was wrong in his perception, there is no evidence to sustain the  imputation of sinister motives to his action. There may be more to the incident than meets the eye.