The
Yar’Adua’s government in search of authority and
legitimization saddled herself with the noble mantra
of Rule of Law. This omnibus legal jargon can be
simply encapsulated in "Every body (thing & none
thing ) is equal and deserves equal punishment or
reward for any act or omission under the law of the
land". In popular parlance, no sacred cow, all cow
must eat grass and sleep in the same barn.
As a theory, this is utopian. Even during the
communist Soviet Republic , the party hierarchy is
primus inter pairs and during economic recession,
rations were not distributed equally without regards
to party card and affiliation. Because a classless
equal society is a mirage, any government, who
promises its delivery, is seen as a messiah that
will bring down the goodies of heaven. A heaven on
earth where men will not desire to be economically
equal but is protected to aspire to the limit of his
ability expressed within the boundaries of the
social contract with other humans. A heaven where a
plain level playing field will be provided and the
quantity of your service will speak for you and not
who you know in high places.
Based on the above premises, many commentators are
beginning to question Rule of Law as the cardinal
point of this administration. The old age judicial
hypocrisy of the rich getting light sentence while
the poor gets heavy prison terms for a light offence
to satisfy hunger, is still playing out in this
administration.
The crusader Attorney General has not been able to
impress on the judiciary to lighten the bail
conditions, start substituted prison terms for first
offenders with community service and counseling. He
is perceived as working religiously to remove
obstacles in the part of justice against the rich
and politically correctly aligned ex-governors.
The administration struck at the later day
questionable business millionaires created by
Obasanjo, dismantling their empire. A case at land
is NICON Insurance. Without putting up defense for
Barrister Jimoh Ibraham, the question the government
both executive and the Senate committee on insurance
should answer is: are they dismantling NICON to
create a broader playing field for other actors to
come onboard? Or is this administration deliberately
waging economic terrorist attack on Obasanjo’s men?
While Jimoh is battling, Dangote is importing cement
despite owing a cement factory in Nigeria , which we
were told was conceded to him, to start made in
Nigeria cement. Yet all he does is re-bag cement.
Akin to the silence and questionable one eyed look
at application of the doctrine of Rule of Law, is
the attitude of the Aviation Minister (sorry minister
for transportation-air) and the parties concerned,
towards Virgin Nigeria Airline and Arik Air.
The international airport is the gateway to any
nation. Visitors get a feel of the country and its
people once the plane touches the tarmac. In
Nigeria, the first thing that confronts the
observant tourist is that Nigeria is a lawless
country, a country with double standard and a
country where with the right amount of money, you
can get your way through. I am not talking about
touts and the under handed non-declaration of items
smuggled in without paying the require duties. These
are hard to spot by a casual tourist, who wants a
good time and sunny Nigerian environment.
It is the traffic of planes I am concerned with. The
last time I was at the airport to pick my cousin,
who flew in from Lagos , impatient, I called him and
he maintained he is at the airport. When I asked
with which flight, he told me it was Virgin airline
and that the great iron bird vomited them at the
international wing of the airport. I thought a
mistake must have occurred and safety rules demanded
for such infringement of a domestic flight to be
found in a foreign/international nest. It is
elementary rule that birds of the same feather flock
together, so what is Saul doing among the prophets?
On this faithful day, Senator Udeh, member Senate
Committee On Aviation, was among the passengers
puked out from the Virgin Enugu-Abuja flight, also
seen emerging from the international wing on a local
flight was the former secretary to the federation,
Mr. Ufot Ikayete and the secretary FCDA. These men
of timber and caliber did not see anything wrong
with this affront on Rule of Law and fair
competition.
My investigation revealed that Virgin Nigeria and
Arik Air land and take off on their domestic routes
from the international wing of Namdi Azikiwe Airport
Abuja and same obtains at Lagos and other
internationally designated air ports in Nigeria .
These two airlines are the only ones accorded this
advantage. Other local airlines take off from the
local wing. I asked an SA to a Senator, who was
waiting for “Oga” why this is so, he replied, that
he guess its because the international airport is
underutilized. I replied, then the money invested
into the construction of the airport is a waste. But
when I reminded him that same favoritism operates in
Lagos and accused his “Oga” of neglecting to protect
other airline operators, we parted as in not too
cordial exchange of “yabies” that would have made
late Fela blush.
In a market driven economy, the market prices and
responses to these forces, while satisfying your
customers’ needs, determines success. This
positioning of Arik and Virgin with active
connivance of the ministry of aviation and the
Senate Committee on Aviation is an undue advert that
contravenes the concept of Rule of Law.
