Where's Nigeria Heading???????

A lot of tragedies have been tailing this month since the second day. A pack of trailers caught fire on Saturday along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Following that was the news of a Nigerian-owned aircraft that crashed into a bus killing ten people. Less than 24 hours after that came that of the Dana Air crash. Earlier in the day, there was a blast in Bauchi State. Looking at all these, one wonders, “Where’s Nigeria heading to?”

            The first major fault with the airline is that the plane was alleged to be over 22 years. Meanwhile, a former Aviation Minister, Kema Chikwe, already directed that any plane aged 22 years must not fly. This directive was made after a plane crashed in Kano killing 76 people on board and 72 on the ground in 2002. Another fault was that the plane was faulty and under repair. They were having a flight test for the plane. It was coming from a state in the South-Eastern part of the country without any passenger. It was later diverted to Abuja to fly the Lagos-bound passengers. A few weeks earlier, another airplane belonging to this same Dana air and coming from Uyo, suffered hydraulic pressure and had to make an emergency landing at the Muritala Muhammed Airport.

            Taking a look at these makes one wonder if these guys are doing it on purpose. On all grounds, it’s really unfair. When you know a plane is faulty and under repair, why do you have to make it fly passengers? And now, the government are saying they want to investigate the crash. What sort of investigation is that? Is it the fact that a plane that was under repair and was used to fly passengers or that a plane of 22 years was going into the airspace? The management of the aircraft need to be brought to book and their license to operate should be forever revoked. It would serve as lesson to other airline operators.

            A reporter rightly noted that majority of the plane crashes we’ve had over the years happened on a weekend and majority are from Abuja. Is it that the Abuja airport is not capable of screening airplanes before every flight or there are no checks conducted on planes flying during weekends? We need to give a thought to it.

            The control tower at the Muritala Muhammed Airport said they received an emergency call from the pilot just about two-three minutes before it was expected to touchdown at the Muritala Muhammed Airport. The last words the pilot was reported to have said were, “May Day! May Day!”  Shortly after that, the plane was reported to have disappeared off the radar and the next news they heard was that it had crashed.

            An eye-witness who saw the whole thing said that he was on the balcony of his house when he saw the plane coming down. He said he was sure the pilot was trying his best to save the plane and was trying to land on the main street but was not able to because he was trying to avoid the high-tension wires after which one of the wings crashed into a mango tree killing a cow. He said when he finally saw the plane coming down, he had to lie flat on his balcony because he thought it was coming down on him and that his house as saved by a hair’s breath.

            At the end of it all, we can only say whatever we want to say about the crash. The deed has been done. We can only try to forestall future air mishaps. Airline operators should always be at alert. Whenever a plane is faulty or under repair, it should not be used to fly any passenger until it has been certified as okay. Checks should also be carried out on all airplanes before flight regardless of whether it’s a weekend or not. People travel a lot on Saturdays and Sundays. There should also be routine checks all planes. Flying a plane above 20 years is also dangerous. In my opinion, the 22-year life span given to them is somehow too much. We need to protect lives. We are not meant to waste life anyhow.

            Our leaders (if we actually have any leader in this country) should also realize that leadership is a trust placed on them from God and they will account for every single spoul they led.

GOD BLESS NIGERIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!