FOR THE PIUS NIGERIAN
That is the ‘Nigerian Factor’, for us, there is no danger until it's obviously too late. The truck accident in Onitsha also suffered from the Nigerian Factor, I am sure that the truck wasn’t well maintained (we are known for our acute lack of a maintenance culture)
When the news started to filter in, that Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 had crashed in the early hours of Sunday with One Hundred And Fifty-Seven (157) souls on board including the crew, the world held its breath. Plane crashes are never pleasant! The resulting loss is almost always accompanied by pain for everyone. In the case of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, one hundred and fifty-seven souls were killed in that crash. The cause of the crash is still being investigated but there are allegations that the avionics, meant to be the most advanced design by Boeing (the aircraft manufacturer), are responsible for the crash. There are reports of pilots complaining about “problems” with the Boeing 737 MAX 8 Jetliner all over the aviation world. A Twitter user; @monosynth, made a thread, explaining what the problem with the avionics is. The Twitter user said; “the 737 MAX has this weird little glitch that causes it to actively accelerate and dive into the ground”. @monosynth said that the 737 MAX 8 being a design upgrade from the 737, meant that the design change made it susceptible for the nose to rise, and the aircraft to climb. To counter this, Boeing developed an addition to the avionics such that ‘unwanted climbs’ are detected and countered. Of course, all this is still subject to investigation. Already Boeing is doing what it can in the wake of a second fatal accident involving the aircraft. May the souls of the dearly departed rest in peace.
One building collapse too many.
Ita-faji, Lagos Island, Nigeria. A building that housed a primary school in the busy Lagos Island area, collapsed on the 13th of March 2019, killing twelve innocent young souls! Although efforts to rescue more people are underway, the tragedy could have been avoided. According to fillers coming in from Twitter users privy to information about the collapse, @AdeBanqie said the collapsed Lagos Island building had been marked for demolition and occupants asked to relocate last year, months later, the occupants came back, demolition mark was erased, someone had been bribed to look the other way. Now, the building collapsed, killing innocent school pupils. This is Nigeria!!!”.
Not much information is known about the building, but if what @AdeBanqi said is anything to go by, then we understand that the ‘Nigerian Factor’ had reared its ugly head, resulting in this catastrophe. Remember the oil tanker lorry explosion on Otedolar Bridge in Lagos? It happened on the 27th of June 2018 ( Channels TV report ), this building collapsed barely a year after that terrible accident that killed 12 people according to the LASG (Lagos State Government). There is more. “At least seven people were confirmed killed on the same Wednesday when a kerosene laden trailer rammed into traders on the upper Iweka road in Onitsha, Anambra State” – Channels TV. May the souls of the dearly departed rest in peace.
It all falls down
The difference between the Ethiopian Airline crash and the building collapse/truck accident is the ‘Nigerian Factor’. What then is the Nigerian factor? It’s a lot of things, mostly negative things. Incompetence, selfishness, ineptitude, and the most popular; corruption! There are positive things too in the Nigerian factor, such as our heritage, our diversity, our survival spirit, and our sheer numbers. But, these positives aren’t as dominant as the negatives, so the ‘Nigerian Factor’ is mostly seen as negative. Immediately after the building collapsed, BBC Yoruba (the BBC Yoruba service) was on the ground to cover the tragedy, a woman speaking in Yoruba was interviewed, she said; the building had been giving signs for about a week and she raised her concerns with the landlord who rebuffed her. The state governor, His Excellency Akinwunmi Ambode, confirmed that the building had been marked for demolition! But somehow, the landlord, the occupants and the government agency responsible for carrying out the demolition missed the signs!
That is the ‘Nigerian Factor’, for us, there is no danger until it's too late. The truck accident in Onitsha also suffered from the ‘Nigerian Factor’, I am sure that the truck wasn’t well maintained (we are known for our acute lack of a maintenance culture), and the driver, could have been either smocking or drinking hard substances (something very common among truck drivers, they say it helps them endure long drives), the owners of the truck company may not value best practices also. Anyway, you look at it ‘the Nigerian Factor’ was a major part of the problem.
The idea I’m seeking to define.
One of the people who died in the Ethiopian Airline crash was Professor Pius Adesanmi, A Canadian-Nigerian who was a Husband, Writer, lecturer, literary critic, satirist, and, columnist. One of Africa’s brilliant minds. Along with 156 other people, the world lost him, the cause of the crash (while still being investigated) is largely attributable to the desire to do better, to create better planes by Boeing. Were mistakes made? Definitely! And the world paid dearly for it. But the loss didn’t come about because of someone’s incompetence, it wasn’t a result of greed neither was it a function of ineptitude (well, there’ll understandably be levels of greed, ineptitude, and incompetence, but nothing ‘working system’ couldn’t detect and correct).
I am not sure I have adequately communicated the idea I am trying to push here. Simply put, the crash was not a result of the ‘Nigerian Factor’. The building collapse? The truck accident? Both are certainly a result of; greed, selfishness, ineptitude, and corruption, all summed up as the ‘Nigerian Factor’. The Children who died in that collapse will never have all the degrees, nor develop the kind of mind Professor Pius had, but in more ways than one, they too were Pius.
They and the victims of all the mishaps that have ever plagued Nigeria as a result of the ‘Nigerian Factor’ are Pius. Victims of a failing system, tearing at itself. Victims of a dysfunctional country disguised as a Nation. The Dana airline crash, the Otedolar Bridge petrol tanker fire, the pipeline explosion at Abule-Egba, Lagos, the massacre up North called BokoHaram/herdsmen killings, the kidnappings and violent crimes down south, and many more are all confirmed facts that the ‘Nigerian Factor’ is killing us! Cue Asa; There is fire on the mountain and nobody seems to be on the run, oh there is fire on the mountaintop, and no one is running!
The Dea Deutsche Welle reporter; Fanny Fascar who covered the Lagos Island disaster said: “People here are very angry, they are saying constructors, but also the owners of these buildings are bribing either the government or they are bribing the inspectors so they can go ahead with the substandard materials they are using for these buildings. Unfortunately, as a result of corruption, we are probably going to see more collapse in Nigeria. This is unfortunately not going to be the last one, even though I have to underline; at this point, it is not clear what caused this building to collapse yesterday morning”.
What can be done?
What has to be done is obvious, we need to strengthen our institutions so that they can deliver good services to our people. We need to look beyond politics, tribe, and religion (the names of the three heads of the hydra monster destroying Nigeria). We also need to take responsibility for where we are as a country and prepare to embark on the arduous journey to fix the country. Young and old, we need to reorientate ourselves, no saviour will come from any place, we are our last hope, we as citizens must demand accountability, and good governance and be ready to play our part in building the country. As the late Professor Pius Adesanmi said: ‘Every time you accept less than perfect, justify it, impose it on people around you, you are killing Nigeria softly and unpatriotically’. Can we do better as a people? I frankly am not sure. Sigh…
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