We are in a season of canonised madnesses. In this era where the old definition of decency makes no sense to the Gen-z, somebody has got to tell the truth as it is, even if it runs contrary to your psychedelic unwisdom.
The intricate immoral dribbles navigated by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, to keep Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, alias Kwam 1, out of jail led the government to also bend the law to allow Comfort Emmanson off the hook.
No doubt, Wasiu is a notable Fuji musician who has made good with millions of fans in Southwest Nigeria and beyond. His is a remarkable grass-to-grace story that could be used to inspire the younger generation about the incredible sparks that ensue when talent meets opportunity.
Before the shameful incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Wasiu had, last January, been in the news for disrespecting some Muslim clerics who attended the fidau prayer for his mother, Alimotu Anifowoshe. Wasiu insisted that he had done nothing wrong.
Those who claimed to know him well said the musician was naturally arrogant, pointing at his temerity before the “Ganusi” incident at recording and sharing his conversation with President Tinubu when the president called to commiserate with him over the death of his mum. Anyone who would do that kind of thing is either a bush man or an influence peddler with elephantine ego, or both.
Airport Holdup
Now to the airport incident: The musician insisted on boarding the plane with a flask of liquid larger than the approved 60 mls. There are at least three security checks before a passenger is allowed to board the plane at the Abuja airport. Wasiu beat the three before meeting his near-nemesis at the foot of the plane.
Standing in the way of a plane that was ready for take-off could easily have attracted charges of terrorism in some other climes. In the alternative, if the authorities wanted to be lenient, he could be taken in for the lesser charge of attempted suicide for which a court could consign him to a psychiatric hospital. But still, God be praised— he could have been virtually decapitated if he had not ducked under the plane’s wing at the nick of time!
Suppose Wasiu had tried his stunt with one of the larger planes with jet engines mounted on the wings! He could have been sucked in by the sheer force of the air entering the jet engine and exiting at a velocity range of about 250 to 600 feet (76 to 183 meters) per second at the rear. The body of a person ingested into a jet engine is pulverised and comes out at the back like minced meat.
Nobody wants Wasiu dead. He makes great Fuji music and I’m told he’s also a serial investor. He is contributing his quota to the economic development of the country. But his feeling of entitlement needs to be reined in before it destroys him.
Goose and Gander
It was because his case was not professionally handled that the next incident involving one Comfort Emmanson had to be muddled up also to give the impression of some semblance of fairness. The young lady’s case quickly became known as Kwam 2 on social media. The Nigerian commentariat had pronounced a verdict of double standards in the way a man who physically prevented a plane from take-off and disrupted flight schedules was being treated like a god while a commoner who merely displayed bad manners was quickly hauled before a court and remanded in prison till October.
Minister Keyamo played this card adroitly. This is not the forum for interrogating the technical appropriateness or administrative alchemy of ministerial interventions in matters that could best be resolved by parastatals under the Aviation ministry. The minister had a hatchet job to do and he did it with as much panache as he could muster in the circumstances.
Unfortunately, the ‘jankara’ reprieve granted Wasiu and extended to Comfort has led some people to deodorise the lady’s bad behaviour. I have viewed about four versions of the incident culminating in the much condemned way she was bundled out of the plane. None of that would have happened if she had simply switched off her phone before the take-off of the flight in Uyo as instructed. Every other happening was a followup!
Several years ago, on one of my return trips from the US, I heard my name and that of one Iranian woman on the public address system of the JFK international airport instructing me to come to the scanning area. I obeyed. On reaching the place, I was told that it was a routine check of passengers selected randomly. I knew it was a lie. Since 9/11 and the Osama Bin Laden problem, every bearded man had undergone additional scrutiny at the airports. The female Iranian passenger looked foreboding in her black Burqa which had only two tiny slits for her eyes. I was ushered into a big scanning machine and when I emerged on the other end, the officer thanked me for being so cooperative. The story could have ended differently if I told the officers that I was too big to be singled out for their so-called random check!
The biggest loser in this saga is the pilot of the ValueJet aircraft who will be on suspension for one month before her licence is restored. I guess the point is that as a senior aviation professional, she had no right to cooperate with Kwam 1 in his suicide attempt.
I have watched with incredulousness the coterie of do-gooders who quickly offered to come to Kwam 2’s defence. It is a good thing when Nigerians stand up for the underdog. But let the underdog be a well behaved underdog.
Other Climes
We like to talk of “other climes” when anything happens in Nigeria. Ms Emmanson would have been handcuffed and bundled like a sack of potatoes if she had laid her hands on any crew member in some other jurisdictions. A passenger who is on open arrest in a plane is supposed to quietly await the airport security who would come to escort her out or restrain her in handcuffs, depending on their judgement. She is not allowed to fight her way out of the plane!
Of course, there are bad airline staff too. That is why there are laid down procedures for passengers to make complaints against airlines and their staff. The aviation sector is tightly regulated.
For our collective education, let’s note that whereas most airlines in other jurisdictions will allow passengers to put their phone in flight mode, depending on the operating environment, some are wary that radio signals sent out from an electronic device could interfere with one or more of an aircraft’s important systems, such as communication sensors, navigation equipment, collision-avoidance equipment, and other forms of ancillary equipment. Switching off your phone for one hour will not kill you!
In the US, disobeying a flight attendant or interfering with a crew member’s ability to perform her duties may attract civil penalties ranging from $1,000 to $13,910. Attempting or conspiring to interfere with them through assault or intimidation could attract, on conviction, a maximum sentence of 20 years.
It is horrendously preposterous to appoint Kwam 1 and Kwam 2 as “Aviation Ambassadors”, in the manner that the minister has done. Now, my ever inventive countrymen and women have started a new campaign for the convicted billionaire-kidnapper, Evans, to be appointed as ‘Anti-kidnapping Ambassador’! This is a season of bad dreams.
Please wake me up when this madness is all over!
Wole Olaoye is a Public Relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached at wole.olaoye@gmail.com, Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021
