AN AMERICAN AND A FRENCH DIED IN THE NIGERIAN PLANE CRASH.
An American and a French working for aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres were among the dead in the air disaster of last Saturday in Nigeria.
PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
Mr. President, people have already lost confidence in the Nigerian aviation industry and they have also lost confidence in your incompetent government. And you were boasting that your draconian kleptocratic ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has transformed Nigeria? When the truth is that your ruling party is the worst political party in the history of Nigeria and your government is the worst government in the history of Nigeria. If you doubt me, ask the people on streets of Nigeria. Even the insane hate your government and even morons know that your government is corrupt and only witch-hunting your rivals
The BBC reported that President Obasanjo has fired two top officials. But, that was a misleading report and in fact a lie. Because, President Olusegun Obasanjo did not fire the officials. He only suspended them. I mean to fire and to suspend are two different things.
A statement issued by the president's office said the permanent secretary in the aviation ministry, Tommy Oyelade, and another senior official had been sent on indefinite leave.
The guilty airlines with faulty aircrafts should be banned and not allowed to be flying their containers of death mistaken for planes. Bellview, Sosoliso and the other fake local airlines should be banned.
PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
"Unless we do something and do it fast, people will lose confidence in the industry,"
President Olusegun Obasanjo as he visited the crash site yesterday.
Mr. President, people have already lost confidence in the Nigerian aviation industry and they have also lost confidence in your incompetent government. And you were boasting that your draconian kleptocratic ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has transformed Nigeria? When the truth is that your ruling party is the worst political party in the history of Nigeria and your government is the worst government in the history of Nigeria. If you doubt me, ask the people on streets of Nigeria. Even the insane hate your government and even morons know that your government is corrupt and only witch-hunting your rivals
The BBC reported that President Obasanjo has fired two top officials. But, that was a misleading report and in fact a lie. Because, President Olusegun Obasanjo did not fire the officials. He only suspended them. I mean to fire and to suspend are two different things.
A statement issued by the president's office said the permanent secretary in the aviation ministry, Tommy Oyelade, and another senior official had been sent on indefinite leave.
NIGERIA PLANE CRASHES
December 2005:Sosoliso Airlines plane crashes in Port Harcourt, with more than 100 deaths
October 2005: Bellview Airlines plane crashes near the village of Lissa, Ogun state, killing 117 people
May 2002: Plane operated by EAS Airlines crashes in Kano, killing 148 people - half of them on the ground
November 1996: 142 people die when Boeing 727 owned by Nigeria's ADC airline plunges into lagoon 85km (55 miles) from Lagos
September 1992: 158 people are killed when military transport plane goes down near Lagos
The guilty airlines with faulty aircrafts should be banned and not allowed to be flying their containers of death mistaken for planes. Bellview, Sosoliso and the other fake local airlines should be banned.
Comments
For how long will the people sleep in nigeria and not demand answers ?
Your report on the air disasters in Nigeria conceals recent near misses. In June 2005 and EAS Airlines B737 overshot the runway in Jos. A day later a Chanchangi Airlines B727 belly-landed in Lagos after dumping fuel in the ocean. Few weeks later, an Air France A330 hit a herd of cattle in Port Harcourt. The mainstream media does often not report near misses. But the number of near misses is indicative of deep flaws in the aviation industry.
Certain near misses are unavoidable such as those caused by birds flying into the engine(s) of an airplane as occurred during the take off of an Aero Contractors 737 a few weeks back. That take off was successfully aborted.
Virgin Nigeria alone should be allowed to remain flying. All the other airlines should be grounded and thoroughly checked and reviewed. Virgin Nigeria currently uses modern Airbus A320s on domestic routes. Being a run by experts as part of the Virgin Group, it is without doubt the most professional airline in Nigeria. Check out their services at Nigerian airports and compare it to other airlines. The difference is more than clear.
Other airlines are stuck with outdated Boeing 737-200s, Boeing 727s and McDonnell Douglas' DC-9s. Bellview Airlines has Boeing 767s reserved for international routes and Aero Contractors has a slightly updated fleet with Boeing 737-300s. Sosoliso I gather has an MD-82 in its fleet, which should be a bit up to date.
I am so surprised that the Minister of Aviation gets to keep his job. Anything short of addressing the antiquated pieces of flying metals being used in the Nigerian aviation industry by Mr. Obasanjo will only be indicative of putting the next air disaster for another day. The government needs to either inject or make available funds for the domestic airline industry to enable it lease or purchase modern airliners.
I taking on President Obasanjo one on one in my next feature on Nigerian Times.
Chanchangi has had four significant mishaps (that we know of) in just 11 months with a fleet of nothing more than six planes. Though no one died, they should be banned or taken over by a more responsible or professional airline. Imagine if an airline with such a record is allowed to grow – we can expect nothing but disasters in the near future.
Six planes=4 mishaps in less than a year. 50 planes=??? Business seems to be winning over common sense. There appears to be no sincerity, confidence or honesty in the aviation industry. One's only hope now is that the presidency refuses to accept the re-certification. I however doubt it would refuse it.
Personally, I have found out that most of us in Nigeria have patronized corruption and accepted the institution of corruption to rule us.
All of us in Nigeria are guilty.
Only God can save Nigeria.