I was sitting in church when I got the news about the crash. I was suddenly overcome by fear, then sadness and anger. The anger has stayed the longest. I am not disappointed at anyone, because I don't usually expect much from people. This post isn't about spewing out facts you all already know, or to blame DANA (WHO IS DANA?) or lament about how well/unwell Goodluck handled the situation. This is to scold Nigerians, myself included for not know your rights and for waiting for "them" to do something about Nigeria.
First of all, the workers said they told the head officials that the plane was not fit to be flown but the officials said they should. And because this people were afraid of being fired, they flew the plane anyway. First of all, you can refuse to follow your boss' order, without fearing that you will be terminated, if the order includes violating the Health and Safety Code. However, our people are not educated about their rights and the "Unions", if there are any, are as uneducated as the people they are supposed to be educating.
Second problem; Nigerians just don't know what battles are worth fighting for half of the time. The few that know about claiming damages (suing) say "what is money going to do, will it bring back the dead?" Maybe not but that money will cause profit focused companies sit up. Imagine what would happen if everyone that experienced a loss, in an air crash or bus accident that was clearly the fault of the company, filed a lawsuit against the companies. I will tell you what, these companies will start being more careful because even if money wasn't awarded, it costs lots of money to defend yourself in court. If it's the costs of lawyers that scare people into sitting with their arms folded, shouting "Na wa for Nigeria oh, when are they going to do something about that country", then why not boycott these companies. Imagine if they didn't get 100 passengers in a week, that's 1 million if the ticket price is just 10,000 naira. Do you think they won't try to appease the public by taking steps to be safer?
Nigerians, stop waiting for someone to do something, make small steps. We do not need to Occupy Nigeria or mourn for 3 days to effect change. There is so much Goodluck can do, he is one man who has to get agreement from so many other men before he can pass one bill. Remember even the most selfless person has some self interest in doing things.
Yes we look toward a leader for guidance, but do we really need Goodluck to come to our houses to feed us?
