Another Visitation by the Gods?

A friend of mine alerted me to the latest visitation by the gods on our dear homeland.

I visited the Internet and the gory details accosted my sight! Why?

Another plane crash!

Pray, what have we done differently from the rest of the world? Not too long ago, there was the air disaster that sent mainly school children to an untimely death. Now, I hear a religious leader as well as some political leaders were involved in the current disaster.

Those of you nearer home, please let us know if anybody closer to us was involved. But I pray for the souls of the departed. May God forgive them their sins and bring them to eternal life, Amen. As I join millions of other Nigerians in mourning those affected by this mishap, I think the time has come for the federal government to 'sanitise' the air operations in the country as they have done to the financial sector.

Quite frankly, anybody who uses Nigeria's local flights knows that it's only a matter of time before such air disasters become a constant feature of the country's life. The reason is very simple: those who do not give due regard to life are bound to pay the price of losing it in avoidable circumstances.

Our maintenance culture is very poor. Each time you board a flight in Nigeria, you say your last prayer. If God, in his infinite mercy spares you for that day, then you live for another day. But this is not the way it should be.

The government must set benchmarks below which no airline operator can stay in business. And such benchmarks should be enforced by the enforcement agents regularly visiting and evaluating the air worthiness of the aircrafts that ply the country's local (and even, international) routes. More importantly, those assigned to such tasks must resist the temptation of getting their palms greesed with blood-tainted money in the name of bribery.

God bless Nigeria.