When Stella Oduah touched
the untouchables in Aviation
sector on november 02, 2013 at 3:43
am in viewpoint When the unconventional happens, the aftermath is the
undesirable. However, there
are a few exceptions to the
rule of getting punished for
challenging the status quo, and
as rare as these exceptions are, they still exist in the face of
unyielding opposition to
change. Most spared change
agents obtained their
legitimacy from the masses
whose cause they fight and cross they bear. Stella Oduah in her capacity as
the Aviation minister of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria is
saddled with the responsibility
of transforming a dying sector
that would support economic growth and national
development. The tasks before
her are very clear and the
routes to accomplishing them
are equally visible but not
without making enemies and crossing established paths in
the aviation sector except she
would just go and be
remembered as a minister like
many who had passed through
the sector. Stella would rather not be a
number but a person of impact.
This choice threw into the
battle field peopled by
individuals and institutions
with capacity to fight in the murky water of Nigerian
politics.The delectable feline-
eyed lady of accomplishment
certainly could not guess how
dirty the battle could get until a
fortnight ago. Perhaps she might have been warned and
given insights into what could
happen if she rolls the wheel of
change that will move the tide
against the perceived
untouchables in the Aviation sector but her resolve for would
not allow warnings to deter
her. Before Stella, there were no
perishable agro-cargo
terminals that could enhance
farm-to-market distribution
chain, guarantee food security
and facilitate economic development in the rural areas
through easy exchange of farm
produce for foreign exchange.
Then, these services were
within the remit of a group of
individuals charging exorbitantly for facilitating
trade between rural farmers
and the international market. Analysts with deep knowledge
of the sector had opined that
she would not go without any
bruise because her
achievements which are
receiving resounding commendations home and
abroad are detested by the
‘special class’ whose monopoly
her transformation has broken. In her Aviation Road Map,
Stella Oduah highlighted the
need for rural farmers who
may not have the opportunity
of flying on a plane to reap the
benefits of existence of facilities such as airports in our
country. Consequently, she
aggressively designated
Perishable Agro-Cargo
Terminals in Jos, Yola, Asaba,
Enugu, Akure, Makurdi and Lagos. The spread of these
terminals will continue to
Akure, Bauchi, Ibadan,Jalingo,
Kano and Owerri. Stella Oduah is resolute in her
resolve to transform the
aviation sector in Nigeria.
Notwithstanding the clogs on
her path to achieving the
highlighted agenda, Stella had bent-backwards and surpassed
herself in driving the
developmental initiatives
which sap as much energy as
brain. In the pipeline are
schemes that would support the establishment of free trade
and export processing zones at
the four major airports in
Nigeria namely Lagos, Abuja,
Portharcourt and Kano. She executes the initiative
effortlessly,and she has
achieved so much within a
short period in the sector in a
manner fans the embers of
envy. Still, her determination and body language are
unequivocal on the fact that
there are greater days ahead
for the sector under her
continued watch. She envisioned the need for
nine Pilgrims Terminal
Buidlings at Minna, Ilorin,
Ibadan, Sokoto, Maiduguri,
Katsina, Port Harcourt, Enugu
and Lagos as well as the relocation of the domestic
passenger airport terminal in
Abuja to the B& wings of the
NAIA international airport for
greater convenience and
service. These initiatives are not without their oppositions,
individuals who are affected by
the simplification of the
Nigerian aviation processes are
at daggers’ drawn with the
Aviation Minister framed for her seeming disregard for the
untouchables in her
revolutionary development of
the sector. Under Stella’s watch, there are
have been remodeling of 19
airports and reconstruction of
control towers, runways
resurfacing and installation of
new weather systems, with the activation of the Aerotropolis
in the waiting for the use of
Nigerians. Expectedly, there
must be a fight back by the
untouchables have waged a
vindictive war against the Minister. Her efforts appear to
have angered the self-loving
group but Stella Oduah, does
not seem worried by the ploys
of this aggrieved cabal to
scuttle her developmental agenda for the Aviation sector.
The pace at which she
recreates most of the facilities
in the aviation sector which
have almost become artifacts
signals her firm believe in the pronouncement of posterity
and divine reward for change
agents. Harold Sonibare,a public
commentator writes from Kano
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