Virgin Nigeria’s chicanery

My recent experience with Virgin Nigeria was terrible. I was billed to travel to Abuja on Thursday, June 12, 2008. I got to the airport at 10.55a.m., decided to fly the airline, bought my ticket and appropriately checked in for the flight scheduled to depart Lagos at 11.30a.m. As usual, there was a muffled announcement to the effect that the service was going to be delayed. Eventually, about 12.25p.m., boarding announcement was made and, of course, we were chauffeured from the terminal building to the foot of the supposedly Virgin Nigeria aircraft, only to discover that we had been hoodwinked by the airline — that we would actually be flying another carrier with Virgin Nigeria ticket!

Clearly, the name on the aircraft was Blue Line (not even a recognisable airline in this clime). More shocking was the fact that the entire crew members, four in number (six, if you add the pilot and the first officer) were French who spoke passable English. To cap this misdeed was the deliberate planting of a female Virgin Nigeria staff on the aircraft to convey the wrong impression that the service was actually Virgin Nigeria’s. This is really bad and the authorities should do something about it.

Virgin Nigeria owes us (all the passengers on that flight) some explanations if it had outsourced flight services to another airline. In that case, such information should be in the public domain and it may, therefore, be necessary for us to check the pedigree and the integrity of Blue Line — its size, ownership structure, country of origin, aircraft acquisition plan, safety record, etc, and use our wise judgement to determine whether Virgin Nigeria is worthy of our patronage in future.

Sesan Ayeni,
3, Oladipo Sessi Close,
Off Emmanuel Keshi Road,
Magodo G.R.A, Shangisha,
Lagos.

Yar’Adua, order the payment of federal retirees’ gratuities

I read the story of a retired customs officer who killed himself recently because of the non-payment of his gratuity. The late customs officer, in his suicide note, said officers who, while in service, collected bribes had built houses but he who served with the fear of God, had nothing. As a result, his wife deserted him, his children dropped out of school and his landlord threw him out of the house because he could not afford to pay the rent.

Let me say this is the plight of most retirees. I retired from the Ministry of Defence a couple of years ago after serving the country for 35 years. Three years after my retirement, I am yet to get my gratuities. About two months ago, it was advertised in the newspaper, that retired federal workers were to be paid on some specific dates.

We all rushed to Abuja. I even had to borrow money to travel to Abuja but in the end, nothing was paid. My children are about to drop out of school now. I don’t know why the government keeps treating retirees this way, when political office holders squander the country’s money at will. This is not fair. The youth of this country are watching and no one will ever tell his/her children to take government work seriously again.

This letter is just an appeal to President Umaru Yar’Adua to look into the case of retirees and order the release of their benefits.

Remi Ajibike,
No. 13, Ilesa Road,
Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Cabinet reshuffle: The Akunyili option

In the contest for political power in Nigeria, we are yet to get it right. The reason for this is not far-fetched. Right from independence, 75% of those who have had the opportunity to hold political appointments at various levels of government have been to satisfy some political interests and not necessarily for them to render service and impact positively on the lives of the common people. Naturally, when Yar’ Adua’s government was inaugurated a year ago, there were many expectations largely because of the many imperfections of his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

The expectations were in the areas of power supply and energy, food, good roads, safety in the air, rule of law, security and general welfare of the citizenry. So far, these are a mirage. The problem in the slow pace of action by the present government has been attributed to the type of cabinet the president has assembled for the implementation of his programmes. After the first year in office, it became obvious that some of the ministers are a misfit to the portfolios they occupied which in a layman’s conclusion is a round peg in a square hole. However, as the president contemplates cabinet reshuffle, he should make up his mind on the type of cabinet he wants. Would he still believe in the political class to turn things around? Or should he become his own man and assemble tested Nigerians with integrity to help him salvage the mess his government is presently right into?

No doubt, Nigeria is not in short supply of men and women with credibility and sound background. In particular, Professor Dora Akunyili stands out shoulder high among others. She is qualified to serve this country as a minister. The enviable record of achievements and honour she has brought to this country since her appointment as Director–General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC are ubiquitous and self- evident.

Through the activities of this regulatory agency under the leadership of the icon of hope for Nigerians as former President Obasanjo named her, sanity has been restored to the food and drug sector of the economy. Not only that, the country is daily taking her rightful place in the comity of nations through the awards and laurels she has won and which to a large exten, has helped to change the hitherto negative perception of Nigeria of where only negative things thrive.

Consequently, as an appreciation and encouragement for others to toe the patriotic line like her, it is quite natural that she is nominated and elevated to a ministerial position where she would, once again, demonstrate that leadership quality imbued in her to help to achieve the seven -point agenda of this administration which is like a false hope after one year. Interestingly, the NAFDAC Director–General has been one of the greatest revelations of the millennium.

Anslem Okonkwor,
Lagos.