An emergency landing of an IRS Airlines Fokker 100 plane, with about 99 passengers and crew on board at the Kaduna airport on Sunday, has ignited a fresh call for the sacking of the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.
The incident which occured some 10 days after 15 people were killed in an Associated Airlines plane crash in Lagos, was attributed to “a minor hydraulic problem” by Oduah on her Facebook page.
But some Nigerians who are still sore with the minister for describing air crashes as inevitable acts of God last week said it was high time the Presidency ensured that competent hands were put in charge of the affairs of the aviation sector.
Many online commentators contested that Oduah, who has since been christened “Madam act of God” on social media, has no excuse to justify episodes of crashes and near-crashes.
Some lamented that the era when the country was used as a dumping ground for planes that are not fit to fly in Europe and North America as a result of improper regulation must end.
They said if Oduah believed that she had been overwhelmed by the demands of the job, she should resign and give room for competent hands to man the ministry with a view to ensuring that the Nigerian airspace is made safe for travellers.
Leading the campaign for Oduah’s sacking is one of her predecessors, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode. In a Twitter post on Monday, he hinted that he does not have an axe to grind with her but that the safety of the airways was of primary concern to all.
“God is speaking and sending a signal.The crash landing of IRS in Kaduna a few days after the Lagos crash proves that. Fire Stella Oduah now!” he tweeted.
Also aligning himself with Fani-Kayode’s position, a Twitter user, Jide Sowemimo, accused Oduah of not supervising operations of the aviation industry thoroughly.
“Where in the world would Stella Oduah remain in charge of aviation? Is it when a plane falls on Aso Rock? Please, who is in charge of the regulatory agencies? Isn’t it the government? The problem here is mostly a failure of regulation,” Sowemimo said.
Another Twitter user, Wole Awosika, in a tweet to Oduah wrote, “We don’t care about human lives here, Stella Oduah should have resigned or be sacked by now. It smacks of gross incompetence and negligence.”
However, some Nigerians who are disturbed by the safety of the airspace in the country have taken the campaign for her sacking to her Facebook page.
While many of her Facebook friends lauded her for re-modelling and upgrading some airports, some were quick to point out that safety was more paramount and, as such, she should not value her job more than the lives of hundreds of Nigerian air travellers.
On Oduah’s Facebook wall, Olawale Abidemi-Oni said the minister was losing the battle in making the airspace safer and urged her to “leave right now” and save herself from being disgraced from office.
He wrote, “Dear madam Minister, you seem to have missed it as it concerns air safety/confidence in Nigeria. It is on record that your tenure has witnessed the major avertable air disasters in Nigeria. Madam Minister, it seems you are losing the battle in this all critical sector in Nigeria, to solve a problem, you need to realise that the problem exists in the first place, this you and your aides have not done.
“I will suggest that you launch a thorough investigation/audit into all the airplanes in Nigeria, especially as it concerns their air worthiness, maintenance and quality of personnel. Any airline that doesn’t meet up to the required criteria should have its licence suspended until such airline meets up.
“And again, it seems as if the rot in that sector overwhelms you, I will suggest you leave right now if you can’t handle the pressure now that the ovation is loudest and not be disgraced out of office.”
Meanwhile, an army of supporters have also risen for Oduah. According to her supporters, Fani-Kayode, who served as aviation minister between November 2006 and May, 2007, is not in a good stead to champion a campaign against Oduah.
A particular Twitter user, Julian Uwandulu, wrote, “The truth is you (Fani-Kayode) are no different from Oduah. In the court of morality you aren’t any better than Oduah. So, honestly give it a rest on this attack on her and the ministry. I am not holding forte for her but she has tried. Rather than tongue lash her, why don’t you support and criticise her objectively.”
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