Downgrade of Asaba Airport

Asaba Airport

SAFETY is just a word in Nigeria . Its importance is entirely lost on us. Everyday we act in ways that show our preference for words. We speak loftily of safety when we know it is the right word, usually at conferences on it. Our involvement with safety ends once the curtain falls at those events.

One area where safety is a major issue is in aviation. The worries increased after the series of air

crashes in 2005 and 2006. Preliminary reports of each crash pointed to the poor safety standards of our airports. The authorities did not act. In fact, they have resorted to celebrating the low standards of our aviation facilities – from re-surfaced runways to installation of navigational aids. News of the downgrading of the Asaba Airport over safety concerns should be received with commendation for the authorities for averting possible dangers from continued use of the airport. The measure also calls for quick completion of the works in the affected areas, so that the airport can return to full normal service soon.

Since its opening four years ago, Asaba has become an important part of the nation’s aviation map, and has facilitated travels to the commercial city Onitsha , its next door neighbour across the River Niger and as far as Kano , a recent connection from Asaba.

Asaba’s challenges also call for another look at all our airports. Are they safe? A 2009 audit of our airports, in response to some crashes, rated Lagos as the only one that met the requirement of three fire service trucks. The Nnamdi Azikiwe in Abuja failed the test. Abuja’s runway, then, had expired by seven years! By International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, the life span of a runway is 20 years.

Port Harcourt, the oil and gas capital of Nigeria, ran its airport without a functional fire service truck. It took the 2005 crash that claimed young lives, for the nation to know that the fire truck that sat pretty in its tent was not working.

All the talks about providing adequate fire fighting equipment – there was no functional one on the day of the crash – were uttered in haste. The Rivers State Government donated N2 billion to the airport authorities for the provision of fire trucks. There is no evidence fire trucks were bought.

The downgrading of Asaba, on account of the safety of its facilities, again reminds us of the N20 billion aviation intervention fund the Obasanjo administration created. Was the money ever used to upgrade our aviation facilities?

If we cannot maintain safety of our airports, we are compromising the barest standards for existence in a modern world that depends on speed for decisions.