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Borishade out, so what?
THE Sunday, October 29, 2006 ADC Boeing 737 plane crash in Abuja that
claimed over 95 persons out of the 105 passengers on board is a crystal
clear indication of how distant the federal government is from overcoming
the disturbing problem of air crashes in the country. The latest ADC plane
crash is the fourth in 12 months. And predictably, the blame game started
while the bereaved were left to absorb the reeling shock from the
irreparable loss of their loved ones. The ill-fated ADC Flight 503 was
enroute Sokoto from Abuja and the fact that over eighty percent of the
passengers are very influencial people provoked vociferous demands for the
immediate resignation of Aviation minister, Prof. Babalola Borishade. The
spate of air accidents during Borishade’s tenure, many people believe made
it imperative for the minister to resign because, “his continued stay in
office is dishonourable”. But should Borishade resign, would that bring an
end to the series of unprecedented plane crash?
Incompetent as he is, the aviation minister, in his first official comments
to journalists few hours after the crash, blamed the pilot who he said,
ignored the professional advice of traffic controllers to tarry awhile
before taking off in view of the bad whether experienced around the federal
capital on that bloody Sunday. The minister went ahead to inform the
journalists that while the pilots of two planes belonging to Virgin Nigeria
and Aero contractors complied with the said ‘professional advice’, the pilot
of the ADC Flight 953 informed the control tower that he would taxi to the
take-off point and wait.
Borishade added that, “instead of keeping to his words (to wait for a
while), the pilot, Captain Atanda commenced the ill-fated flight. I am
convinced that this plane crash is avoidable and it only occurred due to
negligence from the part of the pilot”.
But the minister’s blame on the pilot was punctured by not a few Nigerians
who believe the aviation industry has been ravaged by corruption. It is
pertinent that even one of the survivors of the plane crash has equally
dismissed Borishade’s claim that the captain is to be blamed.
The only surviving crew member of the crashed ADC aircraft, Mr. Peter Onuka,
refuted the minister’s claim by insisting that the pilot, Mr. Kolawole
Atanda, was cleared for take-off by the control tower at the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja. Onuka, 29, told the Punch in an interview
that, “there is no way he (the pilot) could have acted against the directive
of the control tower. The fact is that he was cleared for take-off and we
took off thereafter.”
The unanimous call for Borishade’s resignation due to the series of air
mishaps in recent months was overwhelming. Even the senate could not hide
its disappointed with the level of rot that has bedeviled the aviation
industry. It was learnt that an overwhelming majority of the legislators
have lent their voice and support for the vociferous call for the minister
to resign. The senators seized the opportunity of a valedictory session held
in honour of their two deceased colleagues at the Senate Chambers to
reassess the performance of the aviation minister. They were unanimous that
Borishade has failed to address the problems in the aviation industry.
The president of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani, who presided over the
session, scored Nigeria’s aviation industry low, saying: “If we put all the
airlines in Nigeria together, they will not constitute one good, functional
airline”.
But while every Tom, Dick and Harry is calling on the minister to resign
following his failure to explicitly manage the aviation sector, Borishade
insisted he will never resign. Apparently responding to the incessant calls
for his resignation, the minister reminded the legislators and “other
Nigerians calling for his head that, only divine intervention can avert
crashes. I am a mere mortal”.
Foolishness and illogical reasoning are two major attributes that are plenty
among Nigeria’s public officers. In the aviation sector, particularly, the
country has been ill-served by square pegs trying unsuccessfully to fit into
round holes, in spite of the mismatch! The most poignant prediction of
observers after the ADC crash was that Borishade, who has proved his
incompetence in the post since his appointment in July, 2005, would not
resign. And the man just proved them right.
Ever since his appointment as the nation’s aviation minister, the man have
so far been “spectacular” in his job; so terrific that six major air crashes
have been recorded and about 350 lives lost. But the irony is that within
the period (Borishade’s tenure), many top brass of the state-controlled
aviation bodies have been sacked and replaced.
Agreed that Borishade did not pilot any of the crashed aircrafts and that
the bureaucrats flushed out deserved to go and he would probably be right,
particularly on his defence that he doesn’t posses the divine power to avert
air disasters. But all this would not mitigate the minister’s overall
responsibility for the endemic corruption in the sector and for lack of
integrity exhibited by the regulatory agencies in the aviation industry who
continue to allow aircraft whose state of airworthiness would not qualify
them to fly in some other countries.
Expectedly, President Obasanjo has ordered a comprehensive investigation in
the cause of the disaster. But without waiting for the outcome of those
investigations, Borishade has come up with his “findings” on the remote
cause of the plane crash. Needless to say, however, that this hasty judgment
or conclusion on the deceased pilot of the ADC plane was, in my opinion,
insensitive, illogical and unfair. Borishade could have done better by
leaving the investigators to carry out their assignment first before
apportioning blame, especially to a man who is no more in a position to
offer his own side of the story.
The Naked Truth is that Borishade has proved a disappointment for his
inability to ensure a total overhaul of the aviation sector. No excuses
should be made by anybody in the bid to save his job. He should not make any
excuses by quickly apportioning blame on the deceased pilot. But my argument
is that, if Borishade is forced to resign as the nation’s aviation minister
and replaced by another, will that really signal the end of these horrific
series of plane crashes?
The truth of the matter is that for an economy like ours, which is in dire
need of reforms, critical sectors that are very vital to the economic
development such as transport and aviation need experts and reform-minded
technocrats, not the political hustlers and lobbyists that have held these
sensitive portfolios for the past seven years of president Obasanjo’s
tortuous regime. According to my estimation, it is the failure to realize
this that has put public transportation in this country in shambles and with
hardly any improvement.
In the wake of the sixth and latest plane crash under Borishade’s watch,
there have been renewed calls for his unconditional resignation which, as
usual, both he and his boss, Obasanjo will likely brush aside. As Senator
Nicholas Ugbane rightly said, “If Borishade would not resign his appointment
as the aviation minister despite the series of unprecedented calamities
which we have experienced during his tenure, he should, at least, move over
to the ministry of culture and Tourism. And behold! As I was writing this
piece, information filters in that Borishade has been deployed to the
culture and Tourism ministry.
The ritual of public mourning, pious promises of reform and selective
scapegoating will continue, while the principal misfits remain redundant in
office. Unless and until those in authority come to terms with the fact that
only professionals should be appointed to manage the affairs of government
we should not expect the ADC plane crash to be the last in the foreseeable
future. President Obasanjo should be blamed point blank for his penchant for
fostering “outsiders” on the aviation sector; persons who, prior to their
appointments, had no familiarity with aviation or transportation.
Regardless of whoever replaces Borishade as the nation’s aviation minister,
the question is: how many more air disasters can a nation experience before
persons who know the pros and cons of aviation business are called in to
reform the sector?
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 2006