Editorial: Nigeria’s porous airports
Nigeria, again, opened itself negatively to the global community about a week ago when a foreigner, precisely a Nigerien, was seen crawling out of an aircraft engine that was settling for take-off.
The experience, which caught passengers and crew by surprise, no doubt, added to the myriad of embarrassing and episodic surprises the country has continued to export to the outside world.
All over the world, save for some third world countries, tight security is not just a priority for airports and borders but a commitment that is reinforced with all the primacy it deserves.
On several occasions, Nigeria has proven to be lacking in this respect due mainly to the leaders’ tendency to remain reactive on issues rather than taking necessary steps to prevent them.
Although cases of incursions and stowaways are evident across the world, it is much more disheartening and incredulous down here that a country currently being ravaged by terrorists, and an assemblage of bandits here and there could afford to leave its airport security flanks open, up to the point of a total stranger finding his way into the engine of an aircraft.
The near tragic act played out by the culprit, Usman Adamu, on an Azman aircraft taxiing for take-off at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos certainly made a mockery of the security apparatus at the nation’s airports, and not just that of Lagos alone.
Experience in the past few months, leaving aside what had happened in far past, had seriously exposed the underbelly of the porous airport security architecture, which urgently needs to be reappraised to meet new aviation challenges.
In the current climate of insecurity in Nigeria and other parts of the world, it is unthinkable that airport security officials would go to sleep as to allow an unauthorised person did not only get into a supposedly restricted area but also climbed into the engine of an aircraft that is set to take off.
This is not the first time the country would be plied with issues like this, and no one has even sacked for it. In 2013 and 2014, the country witnessed about 17 security breaches and another in 2017, which was a most daring experience, wherein an aircraft that just landed was robbed while still taxiing on the runway.
The pilot, who noticed the cargo door opened by burglars, promptly notified the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security, but the burglars had disappeared before FAAN officials could make it to the point where the attack took place.
Although FAAN hurriedly handed indefinite suspension to the security officials on duty including the aviation security unit heads pending completion of ongoing investigation into the regrettable security infringement, it should in all seriousness ensure that those found culpable are not given another slap in the wrist as some godfathers, who probably saw them through getting the job in the first place would have been out trying to sweep the matter under the carpet.
If one could recall vividly, a similar incident happened at Benin airport a few years ago when a teenager did not only find his way into the landing gear compartment of Arik aircraft, but successfully, by divine mercy, flew inside it to Lagos.
The boy was suspected to have sneaked into the aircraft’s wheel at the Benin-City airport. One intriguing aspect of the saga was the claim by Arik Air that the pilot that flew the aircraft had reported to the control tower in Benin-City moments before take-off that he noticed a boy in the bush about 200 – 300 meters at the end of runway.
However, as another reflection of the security officials’ lackadaisical attitude to issues of such magnitude, Arik Air quoted the control tower as telling the captain that they were sending security men to arrest the boy but eventually cleared the pilot for take-off even without seeing any trace of the boy. As at today, no word has been heard about anybody punished for that security breach.
The private jet carrying two top Nigerian musical artists, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun aka “Wizkid” and Tiwa Savage from Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, was attacked and robbed while taxiing on Murtala Muhammed airport’s runway 18L.
It is becoming a thing of shame that even with the billions of naira said to have been spent in remodelling and refurbishing some of the airports a few years ago, high resolution Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras were not installed at the airports that practically share boundaries with local communities.
It is even more disingenuous on the part of FAAN to tell the world in this age and time that contract for perimeter fencing had just been awarded for airports that are over 20 years old.
While we commend FAAN for suspending the security personnel on duty at the time of the last incident, we, however, advise they should be taught a lesson to serve as deterrent to others, not just aviation but other agencies of government.
We also advise that whatever has to be done as regards reinforcing security at the airports and other sensitive places be done quickly as the current spate of insecurity is becoming real and scary.
Google+
