The desire of aircraft operators to have flexible safety rules has been blamed for many of the disasters in the nation's aviation industry. A former top shot in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Dr. Folasade Odutola, said this in an interview with our correspondent.
Odutola said operators wanted flexibility so that they could determine how to comply with safety regulations, depending on their financial means. This, according to her, is to enable them continue to operate in the meantime, irrespective of the likely hazards their inaction may pose to the public.
Nigeria, she said, was generally weak in the faithful implementation of rules, regulations and laws, adding that there was a lot of deceit, dishonesty and hypocrisy in the public service.
She said: "That is always the case in a society wherein everything is politicised, if not tribalised. The results of all the shenanigans going on in the industry, which are mostly not evident to a lot of outsiders, would sooner or later be coming out for all to see."
Odutola disclosed that her solid stand on safety compliance was as a result of the fact that no one could tell who the victims would be. She said: "When politics and political interference are allowed to come in the way of public service performance, we get nowhere."
Odutola said many industry players believed that appointment to leadership positions should be based entirely on seniority in service or on other banal considerations.
She said: "These were uncooperative and incorrigibly indolent officers who followed the bad examples set by the majority of public servants and political office holders."
But development in the industry, according to her, is not determined solely by the number of airports in the country or how beautiful they are. The aviation expert said the industry was suffering from systemic failure.
She said: "This sort of failure points to only one thing; we are not doing things properly. "A Yoruba adage says 'if we don't do things the way they are supposed to be done, they can never be the way they should be.'" Odutola advised that there should be no compromise of any kind. "With respect to safety, it is of utmost importance that enforcement of safety regulations is devoid of interference.
"There is a symbiotic relationship between safety and economy but putting safety first enhances passengers and other consumers of aviation products' confidence, thereby increasing the level of patronage thus improving the operators' finances.
"The aviation agencies must be allowed to function professionally. The regulatory authority must regulate the industry without fear or favour and the service providers among them should operate in a business-like manner," Odutola said.
