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By 
4:46 AM
stop her. Omoni Oboli is still very much angry that
she lost a friend, Deji Falae and other Nigerians in
the Associated airline plane crash. Even as she
celebrated Omoni managed to pen this down. She
thinks Nigeria should have moved beyond plane
crashes due to human errors, and if we come
together as a Nation and move against people
who consistently display incompetence in their
jobs, Nigeria will be a better place.
I am Omoni Oboli, and I represent Naija!
I haven’t been this sad for a long time, owing to
the passing away of a friend, Deji Falae. I can’t
imagine that we still lose people in that manner.
We have passed through this road of plane
crashes and I thought it was a thing of the past,
but here we are again. What’s wrong with us?
Where did we begin to operate in this spirit of
hatred for our own such that we end up killing
ourselves. Our negligence is not just an
irresponsible act that we need to change but
something that could cause the death of another
human being. I’m just so saddened by this
incident, because it could have happened to
anyone. No one in his right mind would get on a
plane if there was the least shadow of doubt to its
airworthiness. That is why the passengers got on
board.
There’s a process that an airplane must go
through before it is cleared for take-off. Various
experts, who have been paid to carry out several
checks on the plane, put their expertise to work to
ascertain the flight worthiness of the aircraft
before it is given the all clear to fly. This process
has been done by the same airline or airport staff
on ground (not the minister, President or
governor) trained in this duty for years, so that
they can ensure the safety of the passengers, who
have paid, and put their trust and their lives on
the line, in the hands of the “able” experts to get
on board the aircraft. The unsuspecting
passengers get on board without the slightest idea
that some personal issues, incompetence or any
other depraved excuses by the workers in charge
that they may be able to concoct under the sun
have made the aircraft their final coffin. I’m trying
to paint a graphic picture of the senselessness,
insensitivity to the conscience and wickedness of
many people, who find time to blame the
government, anyone or anything else for their
irresponsible acts that have caused the death of
the very people their competence was supposed
to protect. We should weep for our many acts of
wickedness, which stem from our lacklustre
attitude to work. The most appalling thing of all is
that they also have the audacity to blame God for
all their actions, calling it “an act of God.” Why
would anyone call it that, when there was nothing
that even remotely suggests that the plane
crashed due to errors beyond human control. True
to our Adamic nature, we blame God and every
other thing but ourselves.
If we all spoke with one voice against our
neighbours who consistently displayed
incompetence in their duties at work, knowing
that the blind eye we turn today could lay the
foundation for an unforeseen disaster tomorrow,
we would begin to see the fruits of that attitude in
our nation. This culture of “manage” has caused
many of us to settle for the mediocre instead of
demanding the excellence we deserve. A
workman delivers a job that is distasteful to the
eye and less functional for the purpose the job
was made to achieve and asks you (the one who
pays with his hard earned money) to “manage” it,
because he doesn’t want to be made to pay for
his mistakes with his own money. This is a
tragedy because the workman will never grow
beyond that level of competence to achieve
excellence in his chosen field.
The pilot of a plane has the duty to check his
plane before he gives it the clearance to fly. He
should not rely on his “super skills” to fly a plane
that he thinks may be less flight worthy than it
should. He shouldn’t use the lives of his
passengers to test his skills. There are rules and
regulations, and the people at the helm of affairs
should ensure that they are strictly adhered to for
the safety of the passengers.
Today, there are very few airlines operating in
Nigeria, thank God! When are we going to wake
up from our slumber and see that there should be
few instead of many because safety should not be
compromised and if only the few can deliver, then
so be it.
Many businesses do not see the light of day solely
because many complacent workers are there.
They are quick to gather themselves into small
groups within the office to talk about the one who
has positioned himself to provide the very job that
gives them the food they eat so that their mouths
can curse them. How very sad! We talk behind our
bosses instead of talking for our bosses. We spend
their money to pretend that we follow their vision,
all the while trying to see ways that we can do our
own business, using their time, which they are
paid for. There’s nothing wrong with doing your
own business, but do it in your spare time.
I can’t imagine going on set of a movie, after
being paid, and then make up an excuse to go on
another movie production because I want to make
more money. That is stealing! We should be more
diligent and learn to cherish our jobs. Look around
you and see that many others are praying to have
the job that you are showing contempt for.
You will be dearly missed, Deji Falae, and my
condolence to the other passengers and crew on
board the ill-fated aircraft. May this serve as a
wake up call for Nigerians to begin the change
towards a better future.
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