Excusing Nigeria’s aviation sector from dirty politics

AS the electioneering campaigns get deeper with the standard bearers of the different political parties leaving no stone unturned in their desperation to outsmart each other come 2023, the whole length and breadth of the society has continued to witness all manner of political intrigues.

The different political parties’ candidates who have mastered the art of making fake promises for the purpose of cajoling the poor electorate to vote for them are at it again.

As they crisis cross the different parts of the country in search of followers, most of the politicians in their quest engage in different intrigues  ranging from blackmailing to playing the victims just to be accepted.

In doing this,they are not exempting any space just to achieve their selfish goals even if at the end of the day, such fake promises end up exposing their follies.

The Nigerian politicians in their desperate move are ready to drag anything on their way into the political intrigues caring less about the negative implications of their actions.

Even the various sectors of the economy including the government parastatals and agencies are not left out of the gimmicks of the politicians.

This brings to the fore again the recent accusation leveled against the country’s aviation sector particularly the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the regulatory agency for Nigeria by one of the topmost political parties.

The political party in question raised the alarm of how the aircraft that was supposed to fly its members was grounded by the ‘power that be’ for what the party attributed to political reasons.

The news which put the relevant authorities in bad light, called for questioning the professionalism of regulatory safety functions devoid of dirty politics.

At the end of the drama, the alarm raised by the political party was discovered to be not only mere sensational but also far from being the truth.

According to the spokesperson of the NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye, the pilot of the said aircraft which had other passengers on board the commercial flight decided to make an air return having observed an unusual light displayed on the dashboard in the cockpit.

As a precautionary safety measure, the pilot in his wisdom decided to return to the take off point to check why there was a light display on the dashboard.

How the political party concluded that the aircraft was grounded is appealing and most unfair to the entire sector.

As expected, the party in question should have made a little effort to check with the operators of the aircraft before rushing to raise an imaginary alarm.

The last week’s development though happened not to be the first of its kind, as similar scenario had played out in the past which was subsequently discovered to be a mere ruse.

It is expected that the Nigerian politicians by virtue of their exposure should know the danger in trying to politicize safety issues and other aviation activities as against what is obtained in saner climes.

In view of the sensitivity of the sector and in line with its subscription to international standard and recommended practices, no aviation authority like the NCAA worth its salt will descend so low to play politics with human lives.

It is therefore, pertinent to enlighten the various political parties that no party or an individual is above safety rules. In other words, the regulatory body and other aviation authorities have the right to ground any aircraft when safety is in the doubt.

It is however at this juncture that the Crucial Moment is joining other key players in the sector to caution the politicians to desist from dragging safety issues into politics.

As the politicians continue with their campaigns they should acknowledge the obvious fact that safety issues cannot be compromised for any of them because an air crash knows no political party or the caliber of who is onboard.

Let the Nigerian politicians play the game of politics according to the rules without localizing safety issues. Above all, the regulatory agency and other aviation authorities should not allow themselves to be cowed by any group of politicians as they will be the first to turn around to castigate the sector if there is any safety issue. In aviation, no one is above the law as it is the same law that is applicable to all classes no matter how highly placed.