The Rich Also Cry In Nigeria

The recent Associated Airline crash in Nigeria is a very sad case of “The Rich Also Cry”.

In Nigeria, an aviation minister once opined that air travel was not for the poor. He didn’t even have to say it. 

Although saying it gave Nigerians a peep into the mind of the ruling class, they really don’t care about the rest of the population.

Air travel hasn’t become cheaper in Nigeria. Poor people still do not travel by air. Some of them cannot even afford to travel at all let alone travel by air.

It is only still the rich that can travel by air or board a private jet for that matter as was the case of the occupants of the ill fated associated airline jet.

On board was the very expensive casket carrying the remains of a former governor, his son, son-in-law, a commissioner whose father also used to be the “de-facto” number 3 citizen of the country, a  multi-millionaire funeral director and his scion.

With the exception of the first two mentioned all these rich and influential Nigerians died in the crash that occurred minutes after the plane took off.

The crash was such that could only have occurred in a country where a terrorist strike occurs with unbelievable predictability and the security forces are no closer to bringing the situation under control than they were when the first strike occurred.

A country where armed robbers warn residents in advance of a robbery attack and the attack would still take place as planned.

Where the authorities allow an accident black spot remains untouched for years, claiming several lives.

The plane crash on Thursday wasn’t an act of God, it was negligence. It was preventable. It happened because the people who should conducts safety checks have been bribed to look the other way.

When or if the cause of the accident is revealed, unless there is a cover-up, it will be discovered that it was preventable. That a safety precaution was compromised.

They will probably blame it on Human error, that the pilot fell asleep a minute after take off.

The collapse of public infrastructure in Nigeria is so bad now that it is not enough to have your money and pay for everything, generate your own electricity, drill your own water, attend a private university and so on.

At some point in time you will have to rely on a government service and then you will not be  immune from the decay that is the Nigerian society and the drastic consequences.