Nothing best exemplifies the state of Nigeria’s leadership than the dilapidating state of the gateway to the nation – the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja. An airport that sits strategically as not only a possible gateway to Nigeria, but West Africa as well as the rest of the World, MMA today sits as an example of a failed nation, a decaying leadership and above all, a clueless president!
Arriving the weekend before thanksgiving, we were welcomed aboard the posh flight via Frankfurt to an airport of simmering heat. Compare that to my arrival in Ghana’s Kotoko International few days later; even though evidently aged and not as rich as their cousins, the Ghanaians have been able to provide a well-lit arrival hall, clean and air-conditioned as well. In addition are courteous immigration officials that were not hassling visitors for tips, bribes etc. One would consider the two experiences as a lesson in true contrast.
The state of the airport under the direct guardianship of the president is well written all over the faces of the officials and unfortunate employees that call it their place of work. Indeed, given the poor working conditions at MMA, I am surprised labour is not suing FAAN and the Federal Government for inhumane treatment of employees who seem to be working perpetually under horrible conditions of heat, stress, overcrowded workspace and above all a dirty environment unfit for pigs.
Your first nightmare as a traveller of course is any contact with these frustrated employees. I happened to be quite unfortåunate this time around, as the almighty Nigerian factor ensured that some chip embedded in the substandard passport manufactured by the failed government of Nigeria had broken. This resulted in my passport being seized and I was asked to report to the Immigration office in Alagbon the next Monday.
It took me about one hour to finally find my luggage in the poorly lit, heat soaked, unwelcoming arrival hall on the rickety conveyor belt provided by our rickety government. On finding my luggage, exiting the hall also proved a nightmare; as official touts in immigration & customs uniform overwhelmed me for tips and all sort of welcome gifts, and unofficial ones offering all sort of services from money changing to taxis also dug in.
Of course, this airport is owned and operated by a Federal Government that took in more than $30billion in oil revenue just this year alone, and over $3trillion in the last 25 years. This airport caters to 85 percent of foreign visitors to Nigeria, including investors whom the Federal Government spends billions trying to woo yearly.
The very existence of MMA is a potential negative for any foreign investor in Nigeria – and rightly so. While MMA stinks, the government of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is busy spending $60million on a new VP house when the same money if properly applied can at least provide the arrival hall some semblance of modernity and conduciveness like that obtainable in Accra.
It has to be Nigeria alone in the world, where relatives and friends are essentially prevented from seeing their loved ones off at the airport. This essentially is the order of the day at MMA, as the almighty Federal Government under the PDP, would rather loot the millions accruing to her purse to expand the departure lobby or build essentially a brand new airport fit for a nation of our status. Indeed, the multiplicity of agencies literally hand-checking luggage make for a sorry sight in a world where checks are now electronic and sophisticated.
The grounds of the Murtala Mohammed Airport are today surrounded by highly populated areas that quite realistically make it an unlikely location for a modern airport. The roads that lead to the airport ensure that travellers are subject to delayed or cancelled flights due to crew or VIP passenger delays on a routine basis. The millions of lost revenues and opportunities given the dilapidating state of the Murtala Mohammed Airport are possibly costing Nigeria up to 2-5 percent in our annual GDP if properly quantified.
Only a strategic plan to build a new befitting intercontinental airport for Lagos will suffice. Anything short of this: be it concessions of the current one, or makeshift rehabilitation amounts to a waste of money. This plan may see the transformation of the current site to a regional/domestic hub with a functional business district.
By: MICHAEL OLUWAGBEMI II