Before We Forget The Shame Of Ibom Air!

Last Sunday’s reprehensible incident involving Ms. Comfort Emmanson and an airline, Ibom Air, has come and gone. However, the reaction of the public has continued to be fiercely conflicting regarding how the case was handled. The Ibom Air incident is a reflection of the willingness of the Nigerian system to throw citizens under the bus without any form of scrutiny in defense of corporate interests.

I am sad at the failure of the National Assembly to rescue the situation, which emphasizes the powerlessness of citizens in a country where “who’s your father” determines how one can be treated when a troublesome moment comes.

Waking Police From Slumber

The road to Ms. Emmanson’s ordeal, which eventually led to a two-day stay in Kirikiri prison, started in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital, where she was ordered to switch off her phone in preparation for takeoff. According to a source who was on the plane, the passenger who was sitting near Emmanson forcefully seized the phone and switched it off. The announcement by the pilot is reflective of the fact that the airline officials were pissed off by the unruly behavior of the erring passenger.

The Uyo altercation between the passenger and an air hostess was not over, as on arrival in Lagos, Aviation Security (AVSEC) stormed the plane and barbarically forced the passenger out of the plane. It was the release of the video clip that sparked outrage across the country and beyond, with disputatious tunes trailing the wisdom or otherwise of what had transpired.

I found it surprising that Ibom Air, which is famed for flight delays, would apply the full weight of the law. The Nigeria Police Force, notoriously famous for its slow motion in handling matters, went into full blast with incredible speed. Within a twinkling of an eye, the allegedly felonious lady was thrown into Kirikiri Prison to await her day in court. Many, including yours sincerely, have been amazed at the speed with which Emmanson’s traducers disrobed themselves of passivity in punishing erring acts.

Sledgehammer on fly

The sympathy towards the passenger on Ibom Air is not in support of her ‘unruly behavior’, but she enjoyed public empathy due to the despicable display of savagery deployed by the Aviation Security (AVSEC). I watched the video clip after stumbling upon the trending content on a social media platform. I was instantaneously revolted by the deliberate indecent exposure that will go down as a moment of intense and regrettable shame, not just for the airline, but for our claim to decency as a nation.

Many saw the attempts at containing Emmanson’s ‘unruly behavior’ by the authorities as akin to using a sledgehammer to kill a fly. As if you want to know how a nation treats its citizens, watch how it reacts to the treatment of its citizens by corporate firms. Emmanson was treated most horribly, and those who subjected her to inhumanity must not be allowed to escape the long arm of justice that has been compromised by an evil system dedicated to the service of personality, not humanity.

Labelling Emmanson’s offense as criminal is a scrawny attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill. Not minding the current condition that is making people react beyond the required limits of public decency, not only air passengers, but sometimes air hostesses are not immune to conducting themselves in a manner injurious to passengers’ mental stability.

If the treatment unleashed on the lady accused of unruly behavior was completely degrading, subjecting Emmanson to an avoidable ordeal constituted a clear case of callous treatment. No one should afford the luxury of remaining silent in the face of injustice meted out on helpless citizens by oppressive corporate organisations.

AON Not Right

It’s against this backdrop that interventions from the regulatory agencies of the aviation ministry, including the press statement by the Minister of Information, Barr Festus Keyamo, have failed to emancipate the oppressed from the oppression of the oppressor. I can only support the minister and the aviation agencies when they decide to deal with airlines’ constant subjection of passengers to delayed flights and other infractions disdainfully committed by members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON).

Before the AON rescinded its decision on the lifetime flight ban on Emmanson, it was obvious that it was simply engaged in exercising powers it never had.

Before the AON rescinded its decision on the lifetime flight ban on Emmanson, it was obvious that it was simply engaged in exercising powers it never had. For airline operators known to violate the rights of passengers, resorting to global aviation rules that give them an advantage amounts to a contemptible display of hypocrisy that is condemnable.

Ibom Air should be humble enough to apologise to Emmanson for the show of shame that took place on that flight. Those siding with the airline against Ms. Emmanson should never forget that those who keep silent in the face of injustice must one day face grim reciprocation for their evil acts.

I don’t support what the erring lady did, but the barbarity with which she was subjected to by a corporate entity that should know the essence of public reputation absolves Emmanson of all misdemeanors.

What happened last Sunday was shameful and must not be allowed to recur. If a Nigerian citizen had been treated in such a debasing manner in a foreign country, a diplomatic row would have been in full swing now. How Emmanson was treated was vile. I hope we never witness such an act of degrading humanity again.