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A TIME TO MOURN
BY: LES LEBA
A dark cloud enveloped our country over the course of last week. The news of the sudden tragic death of the wife of our President and the fatal crash of the Bellview Airline Boeing 737 with 117 Nigerians filtered into most Nigerian homes on Sunday. The reports of these incidents in foreign media served as confirmation of their occurrences to those amongst us who have learnt to take such “rumours” with a pinch of salt. It is commonplace for people to die but the pain of grief suffered by family, relations and friends of a dear one who has just passed away is often tempered by the expectation that death could come to such a one who may be suffering a life threatening illness. In some cases, where the pain endured to just survive is excruciating to the patient and soul tearing of relations and friends, one may be permitted to even silently pray to God to exercise his vet of a miracle or to quickly accept the soul of our dear one into his bosom so as to spare both the ailing patient and the pinning relations further agony.
Thus, the common denominator of the sudden and totally unexpected nature of the deaths of Mrs. Stella Obasanjo and the 117 passengers of the air crash has unleashed so much pain and debilitating sorrow in the land. Our helplessness at our fate as mere mortals become glaringly evident and pungency of the following words from Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 become more striking:
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skills; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
“for man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it faileth suddenly upon them” [KJV of the Holy Bible].
The future of Stella Obasanjo and the ill-fated 117 others is no more; for them, there is no more sickness, no more pain, no more surprises and death no longer poses a threat! On the other hand, for the family, relations, friends and associates of the dead, the intensity of the pain and sorrow they feel would recede with time, but the sweet memories of their loved ones will remain fresh forever and the crater created in their lives will never be filled. He who feels it, they say, knows it; compatriots who have no linkage whatsoever with any of the deceased may not share the same sense of loss and anguish at this particular time, but there is no gainsaying that every adult Nigerian will be able to identify with the pain induced by the loss of a dear one, and would readily in their hearts say a prayer for the peaceful repose of the souls of the dead and for fortitude for the living to bear the loss so as not to become the victims of sorrow and depression.
In Roman 12:15, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” All people of strong faith with a hope for a better life hereafter would ask for a celebration of the lives of departed dear ones in the manner that Olumuyiwa Obasanjo has pleaded that his mother’s funeral rites be conducted and the resignation of Mr. President to the will of the Almighty. It is the prayer of Nigerians that close family, relations, friends and associates of the 117 passengers on the last flight to Abuja last Saturday will be spiritually fortified to celebrate the lives and legacies of their dear departed ones who have exited to the greater beyond ahead of us!
It is not yet clear what may have caused the crash of the Bellview aircraft. In fact, the truth may not be evident until the black box is eventually found. In the event that sabotage is deleted as a possible cause, the other possible causes of the accident would be a fault with the aircraft or deficiencies in the aviation facilities provided at the point of take-off; that is, the Murtala Mohammed Airport. There have been reports of a defective and overused runway at the M.M. Airport in the last two months or so, and the airport has been closed on two occasions to effect necessary repairs on the runway. The Aviation Ministry has also confirmed that improved lighting systems would soon be commissioned on arrival of the necessary equipment from Europe. The airline on the other hand has confirmed and proffered evidence that the aircraft had just completed all necessary routine maintenance and service! Professional stakeholders in the aviation industry have chorused the need for improved aircraft maintenance facilities locally. At present, aircraft operating the Nigerian airspace have to be taken abroad for major as well as routine checks and service. These stakeholders have expressed concern about the cost and the time it takes to remove an aircraft from its regular flight schedule for the purpose of check-up abroad. In this regard, they have advocated for a functional hanger that would enable classes A, B, and C checks to be conducted on aircrafts locally. It seems that the plans for such a facility have remained on the drawing board for many years , while the nation’s foreign reserves have been depleted by the cost of such overseas maintenance; meanwhile, foreign airlines continue to be the major beneficiaries of our foreign exchange market as they invariably top the users list in the CBN’s monthly publication of foreign exchange usage. If the availability of funds is the major obstacle for the construction of a hanger, then, a 10% aviation tax on all international tickets could provide over $100m within 12 months of this purpose.
As with aircraft maintenance and service, so it is also with health care delivery in Nigeria. All the efforts by the founding fathers of the old generation Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria, viz; Ibadan, Lagos, Zaria and Nsukka, to create centres of excellence in various medical fields have been wasted by the depreciation of our national currency, the naira, such that specialists in various disciplines have deserted these shores in search of a better living in major hospitals in Europe and America. The cost of replacement of vital diagnostic surgical and other medical equipment have become too much to access as a result of the paltry value of our currency; meanwhile, a sister African country such as South Africa is world renowned for the abilities which are available in that country for cardiac, renal and even cosmetic surgery! Indeed, hospitals in South Africa pioneered research and development of heart surgery under the leadership of Dr. Christian Barnard; some critics have observed that our health institutions will only improve if public servants are not permitted to seek medical attention outside Nigeria. In this manner, the need to revamp the Nigerian health care system and our colleges of medicine will become more urgent and will be given due attention!
As for health, so it is also for education and some observers also argue that the children of civil servants should not be permitted to go to school outside Nigeria or indeed seek places in private schools and universities in this country.
In this manner, it is argued that the quality of education for the majority of Nigerians will be significantly impacted on positively as schools will become properly funded, teachers will receive adequate remuneration and our school system will produce well baked students and graduates in place of the uneducated output of our schools and colleges in the last two decades.
For now, the dark clouds here, but we pray that they become the precursor of sunshine in the life of our nation.
SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE NIGERIANS!
