AIR Peace, an indigenous airline, has said that it never disrespected the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, but rather took actions to protect the traditional ruler’s image.
The ‘bigmanship’ war between the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and Air Peace, a major airline in Nigeria has once again brought on the front burner the twin issues of delay and cancellation of scheduled flights.
The scenario beems searchlight into and serves as a reminder to the awesome powers enjoyed by a class of Nigerians, African traditional monarchies.
Embedded in this, is the need to critically look into the African ‘big manship’, and its ripple effects on the ordinary Nigerian.
A Big man in Nigeria, could belong to the political or business class in the society, who is endowed with wealth, position or power, above ordinary mortals and is expected to be treated as a Super-human object.
It is pertinent to let Nigerians know why their flights are delayed many times, as some of these super heroes like to play ‘God-like’ at any given time. This kind of thing happens many times at airports, because some ‘blue blooded’ Nigerians are in a haste and would prefer some VIP treatment, at the detriment of other Nigerians.
It is high time Nigeria puts a stop to the tyranny being experienced in the society, and melted on Nigerians by some ‘bigmen’ who have gotten away with almost anything.
Nigeria has been struggling with this menace traceable to underdevelopment and plagues of poverty, hunger, corruption, economic and social insecurity, illiteracy, unemployment, violence, armed conflicts, inequality and discrimination. All of these are traceable to the Big Man Syndrome.
According to reports, last week, Prince Isa Bayero, a cousin of the revered monarch, had petitioned the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) seeking punitive action against the airline for what Bayero termed “disrespect” to the monarch and by extension, the people of Kano.
According to the petition, on February 24, 2022, Prince Bayero, Airpeace had allegedly delayed the emir’s Banjul-to-Lagos flight by over one hour and refused to allow them board their connecting flight to Kano because they arrived in Lagos 30 minutes before departure time.
Bayero, also known as Isa Pilot, then put a call through to Allen Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the airline, to help delay the flight but, according to him, “he (Onyema) flatly refused and avowed (sic) that he will not do that. I personally took this as an insult and a flagrant show of disrespect to His Highness and the Kano people at large.”
My take, an average bigman in Nigeria believes he/she is a god and believes that there is nothing money – and power – can not swing. A syndrome that has landed us in this social and political debacle, where wealth, power and position are wielded to render norms, rules and laws useless.
When responding, the airline refuted Bayero’s claim, through its Chief Operating Officer. In a counter response, the Airline labeled Bayero’s narrative a “deliberate falsehood.”
The Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace Ltd, Toyin Olajide, in a statement, however, said that rather than disrespect the emir, the airline did everything to protect the name and image of the emir from ridicule by not succumbing to what Isa Bayero wanted it to do.
Olajide said: “How could Isa Bayero want the management of Air Peace to stop and delay a fully boarded plane with doors already shut and aircraft already moving while our respected Emir and eight others in his entourage, including Isa Bayero, were still at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, after arriving from Banjul?”
She said a call by Isa Bayero to the chairman of the airline, Allen Onyema, woke him up and on seeing that it was Isa Bayero calling, he took the call. Isa told our chairman that he and the Emir of Kano had just landed at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, from Banjul, Gambia, and would be proceeding to Kano the same morning.”
Olajide said: “He told the chairman to delay our first flight of the day, the 6.15 a.m. Lagos-Kano flight for him and the emir with eight other persons.
“It was not true that our chairman refused flatly. He rather told Isa Bayero to give him a few minutes to call the airport to find out the status of the flight. I was the one he called. To show his desire to help, he called me immediately and intimated me with the request.
Airpeace, ably led by its Chairman, Allen Onyema has been known to protect its passengers rights. Unlike some of its contemporaries, Airpeace would never delay or cancel flights, unjustly. No doubt, this dimension has taken its hellish toll on passengers, that airlines now trample on the rights of citizens with magisterial abandon. Passengers have failed obligations, while some have lost huge contracts, due to the undue flight delays and cancellations, by some airlines.
Airpeace, however, has carefully run its domestic flights with the highest form of courteousness, giving its passengers the highest form of regards. The recent incident with the Emir of Kano, proving its regards for its passengers.
The truth is, if indeed Air Peace delayed His Eminence’s flight from Banjul to Lagos and the Emir feels that his rights as a passenger have been trampled upon, it is expected that His Eminence will be in court by now.
Did His Eminence expect passengers who were not parties to his delay in Banjul to suffer delay of their own flights for one hour?
Nigeria, as a nation should give room for equality and equity. Thumbs up to the entire management of Air Peace, who despite the condemnation faced from the Wealthy class, stood on the path of equity, transparency and accountability, never putting the appointments of other passengers at stake.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
