@ Zhukafa, I've sent mails to the middlesex univ campus in Mauritius but haven't even received an acknowledgement. do u have any idea when the post-graduate sessin starts?

One of the factors negatively affecting Nigeria is misplacement of priorities.

I just can not fathom why a Television station which was broadcasting live the proceedings of the National Assembly probe panel on the Dana/Allied Airlines crashes would discontinue the broadcast only to show animated cartoons! Duuuuuuuhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While I appreciate their need to make money, considering that there were no pauses for commercials during the broadcast of the cartoon, I am of the belief that it was not a sponsored programme. That in itself means, it was a choice of the station to switch.

Another reason why it baffles me is that the Chairman of AirNigeria which has received negative coverage recently in this same media, amongst others, was at that point revealing hitherto unknown details concerning the airline and which would have served to balance the information in the public domain and allow for informed commentaries and not blind rumours and innuendos.

I personally had a not so comfy experience the first and only time I flew AirNigeria but then I still believe that it would only be fair to hear what the man had to say before i csat aspersions on his businesses as a whole, especially the airline since a lot of passenger patronage in aviation is based on perception.

I am not holding forte for any businessman as it were, but we need to place priorities right and be fair in our reporting.

AIT was unfair and dubious in choosing that time to switch. They didn't switch when the previous speaker (the suspended DG of NCAA) was seemingly rambling and postulating off-point as we say in Nigeria.

This same AIT is flashing on the scroll-bar at the bottom of the screen that ''NASS joint committee on Aviation accusses AirNigeria of fraudulently accessing 39.3Bn from Aviation Intervention Fund''. And then when the man behind the airline is before the same panel where he was accused, they refuse to give him an opportunity to clarify issues or defend himself and his companies.

Further proof of AIT's bias was even evident in their Newshour programme this evening. They again focused and gave extra voice to the accusations against AirNigeria with clips from the Panel's sitting as background. But then they decided not to show clips of Jimoh Ibrahims' response at the same session.

Before AIT silenced the man, he had started giving background to the acquisition of Virgin-Nigeria with references to institutions and events for any interested party to do their own investigation. He mentioned UBA's over $200m exposure to Virgin-Nigeria and the court process initiated by GTBank to wind-down the airline.

Now as someone with a background in banking, he was correct to some extent when he described the possible scenario/fallout from the winding-down of the airline; UBA would have had to take a charge to their balance sheet by providing for the losses resulting therein. As CBN can confirm, it is doubtful the bannk would have been able to escape distress (unless CBN accepted the 'too-big-to-fail' tag and nationalised it similar to what eventually befell the PHB and cos). Even at that, the contagion effect on the entire banking industry is better imagined..

Why didn't AIT want us to hear the man/company's full response? Was there, or is there, an ulterior motive involved? Why is AIT hell bent on blacklisting the airline along with the man's business image?

Like I said, I have absolutely NO vested interest in defending Jimoh Ibrahim. Even if I will hang the dog, I mustn't give it a bad name first!

Well, I am allowing the anger and irritation to brew if only to serve as a motivation.

Motivation? Yes! To improve my cash-flow to the point where I could pick up the phone and call the management of any television station which makes a similar unpatriotic and ill-advised decision and instantly ask (more like TELL) them to switch back to the previous more beneficial, informative and EDUCATIVE broadcast and pick up whatever bill it would cost!!!