When I say nightmare, I do not mean the funny dreams about zombies chasing you or your car being nicked. I mean a drawn out endless hell of persistent malfunction.
A Dam in the Northern part of the country a few weeks ago burst its banks, consequences were that it submerged nearby villages and some major roads connecting parts of the country. Being the kings of mis-use and mismanagement it's ironic that we never seem to be ready for disaster when it inevitably does strike. This was no exception.
The Federal Government has been hamstrung by its own decision to employ people not because of what they can achieve but solely as a result of their state of origin. This has left us staring at people with smirks on their faces telling us it would be just fine when they haven't got a clue about where to begin.
Now we all know that Nigeria has no rail infrastructure worth writing about, so this leaves us at the mercy of our famous space-age air industry. It so happens that it was at this most crucial time and time of dire need that our very own Princess Stella Oduah , Minister for Aviation allegedly decided to go to the impoverished airlines we have running our local airways to say "owo da?"
This "owo da" we have been told happens to be a 5% stake in Arik airlines. I mean the story beggars belief. I am bemused.
Well, it so happens that Arik Air wouldn't budge to this most cynical request and hence the whole country was plunged into the familiar tango of "he said - she said" while the common man languished and wondered if this entity called Nigeria is actually a Country or some bad dream.
Minister of Aviation Princess Stella Oduah Vehemently denied the allegations and threatened Heaven and Hell and even parts of Purgatory. All the same, yesterday she declined to carry on with the case and made a statement saying Aso Rock had intervened and the matter (whatever it may have been, 5% or not) had been resolve amicably. Although Arik air does maintain that she has been banned from using any of their aircraft.
We must also note that our dear minister of Aviation a few weeks ago returned to Dana airlines their licence and apologised to them for having suspended it in the first place. An airline that was responsible for the deaths of over 150 Innocent Nigerian's in its callous quest to make some extra bucks.
From being a Champion for the Nigerian air industry, Stella Oduah has slowly but surely morphed into a very strange principality determined to wreck lasting damage on the Nigerian air industry.
Now it comes down to haunt us the very words of Richard Branson when he said that Nigerian leaders are dream killers. It turns out that they do not only kill the dream they also look to render impotent whoever dares to dream. God save our souls in this country of ours.
What chaos.
I really think there should be something in Economics called the "Nigerian factor" or an entity in Physics referred to as the "Nigerian Coefficient". An entity capable of rendering even the most ordered system eccentric.
Nigeria, a world of its own.
