In what amounts to a flagrant display – or misuse of power – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-controlled federal government of Nigeria decided in it’s infinite wisdom to shut a local airport to the venue of an opposition party’s national convention hours before it commenced. Excerpt from the Nigerian Tribune (December 4, 2006):
“The Federal Government on Sunday ordered the closure of the Kaduna Airport as the Action Congress [major opposition party] holds its national convention in the city on Monday (today). While the AC alleged that the closure was aimed at frustrating the convention, authorities of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria said that parts of the airport, especially the runway, needed to be repaired ahead of the airlift of pilgrims for the 2006 Hajj. Investigations by our correspondents, however, revealed that FAAN did not inform members of the public, including the media, of the closure as it usually did whenever it intended to embark on repairs of any airport.”
It is only in a place like Nigeria that priorities are so misplaced. How can the Hajj, a government-subsidized yearly excursion of Muslims to the holy land of Mecca, take precedence over a national political event? The Hajj is of no consequence. Compared to national political convention, it holds no importance, and bears no relevance to the Nigerian socio-political growth. But it appears it does to the feds. Why? The reason doesn’t demand a lot of imagination to figure: The convention is in the interest of the opposition and thus, the government has deemed it fit as an unworthy cause. So it shuts down the airport. How wrong!
If the feds. are so concerned for the safety of passengers using the airport, it should have done the proper thing: Give users of the airport and the AC enough time to make alternate arrangements. Simple.
The future of Nigeria depends, in no small terms, on the ability to successfully conduct the 2007 and other elections. By shutting the airport, the federal government has demonstrated that it is anti-democracy and anti-people, particularly business owners in affected state. In democratic societies, states lobby hard to host national conventions because visitors translate to revenue at the end of the day. It appears this revenue may be severely below par when the convention ends. And much worse: The nascent Nigerian democracy is at a strong risk of dying from self-induced annihilation.
Photo: Nigerian Aviation Minister, Fani Kayode
That is Femi Fani-Kayode, right? I was confused for a minute, remembering his father who was known for wearing that same style of hat.
December 8, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Don, Yes, that is him- Femi Fani-Kayode
December 10, 2006 at 7:09 pm