Japheth Omojuwa: Princess Stella Oduah – One thing to thank Jonathan for (Y! FrontPage)

by Japheth Omojuwa

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They are forced to live in the shadows of the successes of the 2nd term performances of the Obasanjo years when Nasir El-Rufai and Oby Ezekwesili made huge differences. Now some ministers have to litter the city with billboards just to get the people to know they are indeed still around.

In a country where the biggest achievements of some ministers are Google adverts that show us how they are the best thing that ever happened to Nigeria since marketers stole N2.6 trillion under their watch, it helps to acknowledge those who care about getting the job done beyond Google ads. While some ministers are only remembered for giving excuses and others are only known to exist in mid-term reports, Nigeria’s minister of aviation, Princess Stella Oduah stands out well above the general mediocrity of the Jonathan administration. Dana crash apart, she has shown that no minister needs to fly private jets all over the place that’d eventually cost the state enough money to send 40,000 kids to school in a year. If only Stella Oduah’s ministry had the extra N2 billion Madam Diezani Alison Madueke was allowed to waste on carbon emissions flying private jets when even first class trips in commercial planes would have saved the country a sizeable sum of money. These contrasts show that, even in the midst of the worst that define our country, there is the better that gives hope.

Enugu should celebrate! One has to experience it to know the cost and the worth of being able to fly out of the country right from one’s base. To fly out of Nigeria, Enugu residents needed to either fly to Abuja or to Lagos depending on the airline. After the maiden international flight into the Akanu Ibiam airport in Enugu, they’d at least expect other international fliers to find their way to Enugu. There are many benefits that come with this: the most obvious are the time and money saved for each trip that’d no longer need to have them fly to Lagos and Abuja airports. This also means that commercial activities in the South-East will take a new turn and the numbers can surge to new heights especially if the issues of kidnapping and other security concerns are nipped in the bud.

Leaking roofs apart, the renovation at the Lagos airport has added more than a little difference to what used to be. It doesn’t get you jumping up like something extraordinary has been put in place because you can’t get the world-class airports you see around the world off your mind but it is the best it has ever been. If subsequent ministers of aviation at least do just as much as the current one, we’d be getting closer to world class airports in a matter of one decade. We actually need at least one world-class airport before 2023. One would hope that they’d get contractors that care as much for excellence as they do about getting paid to do the job. It puts the country in bad light to see such anomalies where new projects already suffer from the effects of bad engineering decisions or low quality work. If we must do the job, why not just do it excellently well.

Enugu and Lagos are not outliers in the renovation of airports around the country; about 11 of them are enjoying facelifts. One of the terminals of the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Abuja has been closed for the same reason. This is a nationwide phenomenon embarked upon by Stella Oduah who, it has to be said is deserving of her royalty. If this sounds like a sponsored piece, best believe it is sponsored; It was not sponsored by the minister directly debiting my bank account, it was sponsored indirectly – just by her doing her job! Anyone who flies outside this country will do anything to encourage anyone who cares about fixing the mess that is our airports or should I even say airstrips. If we knock the Dames of this world for being too lousy and for displaying all the negative realities of a nouveau riche, it is also within the bounds of morality to honour Princesses that live up to their royalty. If we knock the failures in our society with the middle finger, it is within the bounds of morality to use every finger to shake those who at least stand about the nonsense that abounds in the land.

Why do we praise government officials who get the job done in Nigeria? We do because in a country where virtually no one cares about getting the job done, the onus is on us the people to create exo-government incentives for government officials to do their jobs. A northern lawmaker was beaten by his constituents for not doing his job, such a beating, if well carried out can only inspire other lawmakers from at least that part of Nigeria to sit up and work. We cannot afford to pretend we live in a normal country. We don’t! We live in a mess where virtually nothing works. Corruption has been scaled to new heights, impunity is the norm rather than the exception, excuses have replaced results, jewelry collectors have replaced competent people; it helps to see any kind of difference that deviates from this sickening norm. We need more people in government to shine, may be not enough like diamonds, but to at least stand out from this seamy crowd of incompetence, mediocrity and impunity. The advantage of the Princess Stella Oduah successes is that even if her successor does just as much as she has, s/he would be deemed a failure. A standard has been set that if not surpassed by succeeding administrations will only put them in bad light. This is the same price ministers of the Federal Capital territory have to pay. It is the same price those in solid minerals have to pay. They are forced to live in the shadows of the successes of the 2nd term performances of the Obasanjo years when Nasir El-Rufai and Oby Ezekwesili made huge differences. Now some ministers have to litter the city with billboards just to get the people to know they are indeed still around. Their works are not enough to get them noticed; their failures are looming large so they mount bill boards to distract from the incompetence. The reason some feel Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is not doing enough today simply because she did a lot under the Obasanjo administration. Success raises people’s expectations from the system. No government is entirely good as to not have a bad spot and Stella Oduah has shown that no government is entirely bad as to not have a good spot. At least we have something to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for.

So, how much did all these renovations cost? The people need to know.

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Japheth J Omojuwa lectures at the Free University, Berlin. He tweets from @omojuwa

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

Comments (2)

  1. Foolish, pessimistic and demented article.

  2. I agree 100% with dis piece.She has done a great job.

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cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail