WHEN Mahatma Gandhi, the internationally acclaimed Indian Philosopher who lived between 1869 and 1948 said “It is the reformer who is anxious for the reform, and not society, from which he should expect nothing better than opposition, abhorrence and mortal persecution” he must have had an idea of days like these in the history of Nigeria.
To Stella Oduah, a sworn reformist, her role as a Minister in the nation’s aviation ministry has handed her a beautiful script similar to the creation of Eme Isong, arguably Nigeria’s most celebrated scriptwriter. In the lead role bestowed upon her by fate, Stella Oduah is hanging delicately between persecution and achievements. As a heroine with visible achievements and transformational initiatives to her name and beautiful visage, the roar of her persecutors is shaking the earth under her feet because their manipulative efforts are fast turning the day into night, and falsehood so propagated to assume the status of truth.
The heroine in this theatre of the absurd is courageous and undeterred by the antics of her persecutors because of her belief in the meaninglessness of human existence when it is not for the general good of mankind. In the convoluted plot, infused with extreme farce, Stella’s logical arguments gave way to irrational and illogical affirmation, to which she should not respond.
However, the theater audience, moved by their awareness of the plot and the underlining truth, rose in defence of the heroine; a similitude of angelic intervention in the affairs of the mortals, registered their anger at the persecutions trailing the celebrated achievements of the heroine. I am in the theater audience, watching soulfully at the attack against Stella Oduah, the heroine in the intricate plot of the Nigerian aviation sector drama.
I had thought that the created and funded crisis in the aviation sector woven around Stella Oduah would subside with the commissioned investigations involving the House of Representatives and Senate Committees as well as the Presidential Panel of Inquiry but the publication of the snippets of House of Representatives Committee’s investigation before formal presentation of their findings to the larger House collapsed my confidence and indicated to me that the persecutors of this lady of achievements are legion and everywhere.
Not too surprised because a N2.5bn war against an individual should indeed create this type of results which include secret disclosure of investigation committee findings to the media. I will not yield to the suggestions my mind is making about the motivation for the leakage of the Committee’s report but rather make postulations with the facts that are obvious to everyone in the theatre called Nigeria.
It is an incontrovertible fact that Stella Oduah’s appointment as Aviation minister has brought about developments in the sector. The immediate transformation of the sector and strengthening of the agencies under her ministry are valid testament to her understanding of the nation’s aviation sector. Recently, Stella Oduah brokered Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the State of Israel. The agreement is expected to pave the way for direct flights between both countries on reciprocity by designated airlines of both countries.
This initiative by Stella Oduah will put an end to the plights of Nigerians travelling to Israel, including Christian pilgrims, having to stop over in neighbouring countries before being finally transported to their destination. It is also important to observe that this effort will boost bilateral ties between both countries and promote economic collaborations.
Even though Stella Oduah in her capacity as the nation’s Aviation minister and the driver of the landmark initiative did not execute the agreement on behalf of the nation as would have been expected, the fact that the country extracts a value of such magnitude from her service should be a lasting consolation for her. After all, there had been Aviation Ministers and none had thought of addressing the age-long challenge that kept Nigerians stranded in foreign lands for decades.
Stella Oduah’s midas touch in the Aviation sector is visible to all, even to her rumbling detractors and persecutors, who are gagged by their diabolic quest to hijack the sector and whose eyes are not blind to the beauty of her achievements in the sector. Really, persecution is the only ploy they have left when a woman is determined to revamp an ailing sector into a state that supports economic growth and national development!
Unlike her accomplishments evidenced by the remodeling and reconstruction of towers, runways, resurfacing and installation of new weather systems at 19 airports across the country, the designation of Perishable Agro-Cargo Terminals in Jos, Yola, Asaba, Enugu, Akure, Makurdi and Lagos and for expansion to Akure, Bauchi, Ibadan, Calabar, Jalingo, Kano and Owerri to help rural farmers reap the benefits of existence of facilities such as airports in our country and her aggressive investment in Aviation safety facilities which have boosted the ratings of the aviation sector by the international community, persecutions against her are rooted in allegations not visible to the discerning eyes but clear only in the conscience of looters fixedly gazing at the soul of the aviation sector.
•Bakare, a public commentator