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A File on the British Airways saga

UK group to blacklist British Airways

From Tunde Oyedoyin, London, The Guardian 30 April 2007

FOLLOWING the outcry generated by the inhuman treatment meted out to some Nigerians aboard a British Airways (BA) flight last month, the foremost African charity campaigning against the abuse of African children in the United Kingdom, Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (AFRUCA), has said it would never allow its members of staff to fly BA until the airline stops alleged mal-treatment of deportees on its flights. Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, AFRUCA's Director, Debbie Ariyo, said: "Even though we don't use BA often and do not usually spend more than ?5,000 flying with them every year, they will never get anything from us again."

Ariyo also stated that AFRUCA would encourage its partners and supporters to take a similar stand, saying: "We're targeting only 60 people and even if it's just a little, we will deny BA of that money." The airline, Ariyo noted, "could have refused that none of the passengers on its flights would be treated inhumanely but has never done this because BA gets a lot of money transporting deportees back to their countries of origin." Ariyo continued: "Why should someone be treated inhumanely because he is being deported? The reason why some of these deportees resist being deported is not just because they don't want to go back to their home countries, but some of them were trafficked here many years ago and have virtually nothing to return to when they go back." In a separate statement made available to The Guardian yesterday, AFRUCA also highlighted the plight of deportees trafficked away from their countries.

The statement read: "The recent brouhaha generated by the treatment of deportees on British Airways flights (The Independent 12, 26 April 2008) is a cause for concern for us at AFRUCA. This is because the issues are more far-reaching than is being reported. "Not all deportees came to Europe of their own free will. Many of these young people were trafficked to Europe against their will and are being deported after many years of being in the country illegally. "For this reason, it is about time we put pressure on European governments to stop the dehumanisation of deportees, many of whom are victims of human trafficking. "Many of these young people whose lives have been blighted through their experiences of trafficking for different purposes, including domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and forced labour, who spent many years being exploited and abused, are also deported by governments across Europe as failed asylum seekers.

"Their terrible experiences, the failure of governments to recognise their plight and the subsequent inhuman and degrading mode of deportation is evident of a system that dehumanises people without any consideration given to their personal circumstances." As an organisation that campaigns against the trafficking of children and young people, AFRUCA said: "We are appalled by the treatment meted out to victims who really need to be protected and assisted by governments to overcome their terrible experiences. That BA will allow such inhuman practices on its flights is evidence that it does not care about the plight of the vulnerable and is complicit in the ill treatment of victims of human trafficking. "Therefore, we will never again fly BA in the course of our work. We will actively encourage all our supporters and friends to boycott BA and will continue to do so until BA changes its policy of allowing the inhuman treatment of deportees and others on its flights."

Debbie Ariyo, Executive Director, AFRUCA - Africans Unite Against Child Abuse, Unit 3D/F Leroy House, 436 Essex Road, London N1 3QP, tel: +44 (0) 207 704 2261, fax: +44 (0) 207 704 2266, email: info@afruca.org, website: www.afruca.org, AFRUCA is a UK registered charity number 1093027 and a company limited by guarantee number 4306536,

AFRUCA - Promoting the rights and welfare of African children

Nigerians call for boycott of BA after deportation

More than 1,000 Nigerians have backed a call to boycott British Airways unless it apologises to 136 passengers who were ordered off a flight to Lagos after they complained about the forced deportation of a man on board. A British Airways captain made the extraordinary decision to clear the whole of economy class on an aircraft due to take off from Heathrow in response to concern from travellers that security men were manhandling a man who was pleading not to be removed from the UK. The man, who was thought to be about 30, was being held down in his seat by four or five police officers as the other passengers filed on board, and was crying out in broken English that he was afraid he would die if he were sent back to Nigeria.

The officers took him off the plane, then returned and arrested Ayodeji Omotade, one of the passengers who had complained vociferously about his treatment. When others on board protested noisily about Mr Omotade's detention, the captain ordered them all off the flight. The only person who eventually flew economy class on flight BA0075 was the unidentified deportee who did not want to go. Mr Omotade – who pleaded tearfully with officers not to prevent him travelling to Nigeria, where he was due at his brother's wedding – was held in custody for 10 hours, accused of causing an affray, and banned by British Airways from travelling with them again. The police also confiscated all the money he was carrying, which came to £1,600 in notes, plus three £1 coins he had in his pocket, and abandoned him, penniless, in Heathrow airport. He was spotted there by one of his fellow passengers, who was waiting for the next flight to Lagos and loaned him the money to get home.

Mr Omotade, an IT contractor from Chatham, Kent, who is married with a five-year-old daughter, said: "£1,603 is not a lot of money to some people, but to me it's a lot, and most of it wasn't mine. I told them I had letters written in English to show them why I was carrying the money, but they said they had strong reason to believe it was the proceeds of crime. "By the time I got to the magistrates' court, the police had already applied for an extra 90 days to investigate. I still don't know whether they are going to charge me, or not charge me. I didn't even get my luggage back until a week later. They flew my luggage to Lagos. I need a public apology that I can get framed and hang in my living room." The incident, on 27 March, has created outrage among expatriate Nigerians in the UK, who have called on the Lagos government to intervene. A protest letter, signed by more than 1,000 Nigerians, has been sent to the country's President, Umaru Yar'Adua, and senior members of the Nigerian parliament.

It calls for a front-page apology in a national Nigerian daily newspaper to all passengers on flight BA0075, a written apology and appropriate compensation to Mr Omotade, lifting of the life ban which Mr Omotade says has been imposed on him by British Airways, and the dropping of any criminal charges against him. They say the airline has until 30 April to respond. "Failure on the part of the British Airways to comply to the above demands will result in us calling for worldwide boycott of British Airways by Nigerians," the petition warned. British Airways said: "Police were called to the BA75 service to Lagos on 27 March after a large number of passengers became disruptive. Many were removed. We take any threats against our crew or passengers very seriously and this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated."

 The British Airways Affair: A chilling testimony
by
Louis Odion, Louisodion@yahoo.com

For a nation often thought unshockable, it is quite strange that a mere report by London Daily Mail two weeks ago of the manhandling exactly a month ago (March 27) of a Nigerian deportee aboard British Airways flight 75 is now provoking a national outrage. Even stranger is the Tuesday presidential order issued to the aviation minister to probe the circumstances surrounding the incident given that it would seem just any official dereliction can now be explained away in the name of "due process" and "rule of law". Obviously unsettled in his sick bed in Germany by the international opprobrium the story has generated, Presidential Umar Yar’Adua asked Minister Felix Hyatt to inquire into how more than 100 Nigerian passengers were chased off the air vessel that day for protesting the brutal treatment of a Nigerian deportee.

Incidentally, I happen to be one of the unlucky passengers scheduled to fly London to Lagos that day. Aware that fellow Nigerians had suffered even worse fate in the past (in fact, yet another Nigerian deportee was brought into Abuja stone dead aboard the same B.A only few weeks back!) without heavens falling, one had deliberately kept silent all these days for two reasons. One, I didn’t want to be branded an ingrate to Almighty God for little mercies (on account of the relatively "lesser" degree of trauma suffered on March 27). Two, I was partly persuaded such is one of the indignities we citizens of Nigerians are left to suffer for our failing nationhood. But with the Yar’Adua charge of Tuesday, I changed my mind, hoping the following testimony will help in seeking to unravel the truth in the days ahead. To most of the Lagos-bound passengers (yours sincerely inclusive), it was nothing short of a slow-motion horror movie that lasted four days (details of which shall soon become apparent).

That fateful Thursday, we were finally re-boarded six hours later, 6p.m London time (7p.m Nigerian time). By the time we arrived Lagos, it was 1.20a.m. (Friday morning). Many (including nursing mothers) had to loiter the arrival hall till daylight before venturing to their next destinations. I am not aware anyone was paid any compensation for all the inconveniences. Like most tragedies, the March 27 incident left no fore-warning. Boarding was completed about 12.40p.m. It was not a full flight. I had taken a window seat, savouring the huge spectacle presented by the London skyline on a sunny afternoon after grueling days of snow, thrilled by the thoughts of imminent return to my motherland on the other side of the Atlantic, gladden by the prospects of being spared further torture of the freezing European cold.

While awaiting the pilot’s final announcement of take-off, I then busied myself with the collection of British dailies I bought at the duty free shop. Of course, the headlines that day were dominated by the visiting French president, Sarkozy, who had arrived London the previous day. Then, minutes rolled into an hour. Glimpses of what lay ahead began to appear shortly afterwards when a group of cops barged into the cabin and marched towards the rear of Boeing 747 aircraft. More followed as the minutes ticked by. Ordinarily, the atmosphere inside an aircraft about to take off should be serene. The reason is partly circumstantial. It is an assemblage of people of diverse backgrounds, sometimes left to cast furtive glances at each other under the yoke of unfamiliarity. And more importantly, for the majority, even more overbearing is the feeling of anxiety about the journey ahead.

But unlike the accustomed serenity, what soon filled the cabin this afternoon was a cacophony of raised voices from the rear of the aircraft. It was only then words began to go round that a prospective deportee was on board, handcuffed and kept in one of the last rows like a wild beast. To be sure, deportation is a normal occurrence in international law. What is, however, considered strange in civil aviation – especially in this modern age - is the handcuffing of the passenger and/or sealing his/her mouth with adhesive tape as some foreign countries are now fond of doing to Nigerian deportees. It is unknown to all known regulations of international aviation including the Warsaw Convention.

Obviously, Ayodeji was being deported against his wish March 27. He kept crying that "Please, my brother is going to wed tomorrow. I have to be there". Apparently haunted by the memory of the tragedy that had occurred between London Heathrow and Abuja not too long ago (in which a handcuffed deportee died in transit), some fellow Nigerians sitting close to the deportee that day now reportedly protested to the presiding security agents: "Treat this man like a human being! You can’t deport him like this!" The protest was led by one Ayodeji Omotade. Meanwhile, before more British cops swarmed the cabin like enraged bees, Omotade was able to make contacts with the Immigration department at Heathrow to protest the inhuman manner the deportee was being handled. From the scraps of hints one could piece together, a lawyer claiming to be acting on behalf of the deportee also alerted the immigration department against the "illegality" being perpetrated aboard B.A. Flight 75. Thus, a stalemate was created.

Predictably, the about 20 policemen present in the cabin thereafter vented their spleen on both the deportee and Omotade. I personally watched five cops hustling the deportee down the aisle from the rear half naked towards the exit (to imagine the freezing cold outside!), his two hands held apart by four of them in a motion of torture. From the look in their eyes, they no doubt enjoyed watching their quarry belching out animal shrieks from the pit of pain repeatedly. Given the usually racist temperament of the British establishment, I would be surprised if this platoon of twenty super-efficient cops were not patted on their backs later at their station that day for such exemplary resourcefulness in the torture of this irritant from another slum of Africa. By now, the time had clocked 2.30p.m (more than two hours behind schedule!). The British authorities resolved to punish all the passengers for the "insolence" of a few at the back who dared protest the inhumanity meted to the deportee. We were all ordered to evacuate the cabin together with our hand luggage for "fresh boarding". Of course, the only vague explanation offered by the B.A officials was that "the exercise is for security reasons".

Confused, a young lady sitting behind me asked a cop standing by: "What exactly is going on?" To this legitimate inquiry, these exactly were the rotten words spewed by this British police officer: "I said get the f..king out of the plane and stop asking me stupid questions!". Were a parade conducted tomorrow, I personally won’t have any difficulty identifying the chap with his overgrown moustache and unblinking eyes of a wild cat. Back in the departure hall, passengers were issued a five British Pound Sterling voucher to buy "refreshment" of sandwich and water while awaiting the proverbial Godot. But no one is sure how much B.A. would, in turn, debit the British Government for the losses suffered on account of this disruption in the process of ferrying the Nigerian deportee. We had to wait another three hours before being boarded for the six-hour journey. Of course, the deportee and Omotade had been whisked away. We finally took off from London just when we should have commenced initial descent into Lagos. By now, everyone was visibly too exhausted to raise a voice further in protest before or during the journey.

We finally taxied to a stop at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos at about 1.10a.m. More trouble: most passengers were told their luggage were left behind in London. We were asked to come back later in the evening (of Friday) with proofs of ownership to claim our belongings. Notwithstanding the hour of the day, I still managed to get home at about 2.20A.M, thanks to the abiding love of my folks who drove over and had kept vigil before midnight. As if to add salt to injury, the delivery of my two luggage would be staggered: I got one on Saturday and the last on Sunday. I have heard B.A. issuing statement after the London Mail report suggesting it does not give a damn about March 27. In fact, the airline has even announced a six-month ban on the said Nigerian who led the protest against Ayodeji’s maltreatment that day. This should not come as a big surprise to us. It is consistent with the institutional hubris of the British in the face of the abdication of responsibility by the Nigerian authorities. By such arrogant statement, the impression created is that the British carrier is the one doing Nigeria’s traveling public a big favour by flying London-Lagos and London-Abuja. No argument could be more egregiously fallacious.

More insult: B.A. Thursday sent two "junior" officers to honour a summon by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). In anger, NCAA Director General, Dr. Harold Demuren, had to cancel the meeting, expressing displeasure that the British carrier chose to treat an issue in which Federal Government is interested with such levity. But note that such arrogance is only possible because we had always gladly accepted the slavish role assigned us in the Anglo-Nigerian relations. The Nigerian routes surely remain cash cow for B.A. Beneath this arrangement is a culture of predation that dates back to colonial history. Ironically, it is on the same routes that B.A. treats Nigerian passengers with contempt. In the absence of official sanctions, it carries on with impunity. B.A is, in turn, backed by the home government which deliberately creates institutional barriers against competition from Nigerian carriers. Today, the British aviation authorities will not allow a Nigerian carrier like Arik fly directly into Heathrow, perhaps out of fear that the latter has enough clout to give it a keen competition in terms of deployment of better vessels. For this reason, the British aviation authorities now say they have given frequencies to Arik, but no slot! It is like being admitted into a disco hall and then told you can’t join the dance. If Arik were flying London Heathrow, I, for instance, would not have flown B.A. in the first instance.

Looking back, if not for the barbarity of the British agents in hand-cuffing Ayodeji that day, I can’t see myself holding brief for a fellow citizen about to be deported unlike the average Nigerian under the circumstance, however. The British have every right to throw us out of their country if they so wish. Rather, we should take such rejection as a challenge to build a better country for ourselves. Nation-building is a collective effort. It starts from voting right and being committed to making the ballot count. Having said that, we as a people should, I think, also be courageous enough to look ourselves in the mirror and tell ourselves the truth. I think it is also high time we probed deeper into the psychology of the average Nigerian. If we are looked down on outside, it is partly because of the way we present ourselves.Truth be told, we are treated with contempt because of the lie some of us like to live. What is it that makes people quickly resign their professional jobs in Nigeria to move over and gladly accept demeaning jobs of toilet-cleaner in London or United States? What is it that makes the average Nigerian abroad quickly slip on industrial hand-gloves and literally mummify himself/herself with layers of thick jacket to be able to go out and work in the winter? He/she seems to forget that if only half of such spirit of enterprise had been exhibited back home, national productivity would have been boosted ultimately.

I disagree it is all about money. If bread is all a man should live for, someone like Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr. should not be in Nigeria today. With the kind of fortune he has, he can afford to live the rest of his life in any corner of the universe comfortably. But despite being hounded out of Nigeria in 2006, Adenuga continued to long for a return. He did not give up until commonsense prevailed last year. The reason is simple: there is no place like home. For all the gold and silver in the world, I can’t see myself clinging to a society where I am not welcomed. For me, nowhere compares with my own country, its many manifestations of ugliness notwithstanding. It is high time the youths - especially the impressionable ones - started internalizing this in their sub-conscious. Our Children, Our Future!!

 

The following legal action has been filed against British Airways
by the Nigerian Bar Association through their counsel Chinua Asuzu.

IN THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT, IN THE LAGOS JUDICIAL DIVISION, HOLDEN AT LAGOS, IN THE MATTER OF APPLICATION BY: 1. AYO OMOTADE, 2. OLISA AGBAKOBA SAN, 3. NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION

FOR LEAVE TO ENFORCE THEIR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
AND
IN THE MATTER OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURE) RULES 1979 MADE BY THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA PURSUANT TO SECTION 42 (3) OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 1979

BETWEEN:

1. AYO OMOTADE
2. OLISA AGBAKOBA SAN
3. NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION              Applicants

AND: BRITISH AIRWAYS                              Respondent

STATEMENT PURSUANT TO ORDER 1 RULE 2 (3) OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURE) RULES 1979

B. RELIEFS SOUGHT BY THE APPLICANTS

1 A DECLARATION that the arrest, detention, harassment, humiliation, intimidation, jettisoning, manhandling, molestation, persecution, threatening and tormenting of the 1st Applicant on or about 27/3/2008 on board the Respondent's Flight BA075 from London to Lagos without warrant or lawful justification by British police and law enforcement officers, with the assistance, co-operation and support of the officers and crew of the Respondent, in the circumstances of this case, are unlawful in the municipal laws of both Nigeria and the United Kingdom, as well as in international law, and violate the 1st Applicant's rights to:-

i. personal dignity, ii. personal liberty, iii. personal security, iv. freedom of movement, v. freedom of expression, vi. protection against racial and ethnic discrimination, vii. protection against national domination, viii. protection from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment , ix. protection from arbitrary arrest and detention, x. rights-compliant social and international order, xi. national and international peace, and xii. good health guaranteed him by sections 34(1), 35(1), 39(1), 41(1) and 42(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999; articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 16(1), 19 and 23 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights; and articles 1 to 7, 9, 13 and 28 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

2. A PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Respondent, its officers or crew or any of them, whether by themselves, their agents, officers, privies or servants, or otherwise howsoever, from doing or attempting or purporting to do, or letting any authority or person do or attempt or purport to do on the Respondent's flights, any of the following: arresting, detaining, harassing, humiliating, intimidating, jettisoning, manhandling, molesting, persecuting, threatening or tormenting the 1st Applicant, or in any other manner contravening the 1st Applicant's fundamental rights.

3. A DECLARATION that the 2nd Applicant, as a senior officer of this Honourable Court, a human rights activist, a public interest litigator, and as the President of the 3rd Applicant, is competent to join in bringing this suit, on behalf of the 1st Applicant's fellow Nigerian passengers, numbering over 100, on the Respondent's Flight BA075, in the public interest.

4. A DECLARATION that the 3rd Applicant, as the umbrella association of Nigerian lawyers with a huge stake in the advancing, defending and promoting the human rights of Nigerians all over the world, is competent to join in bringing this suit, on behalf of the 1st Applicant's fellow Nigerian passengers, numbering over 100, on the Respondent's Flight BA075, in the public interest.

5. A PUBLIC APOLOGY from the Respondent to the 1st Applicant, and to the 2nd and 3rd Applicants as representing the 1st Applicant's said fellow Nigerian passengers, numbering over 100, showing the passenger manifest with the names of Nigerians in bold italics, published in at least 5 major Nigerian dailies in terms of section 35(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

6. COMPENSATORY DAMAGES from the Respondent to the 1st Applicant for his unlawful arrest and detention, in light of section 35(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

7. FURTHER OR OTHER RELIEF.

C. GROUNDS UPON WHICH THE RELIEFS ARE SOUGHT

1.The Respondent's grievous desecration of the Applicants' fundamental human rights offends not only the municipal laws of the jurisdictions to which the parties respectively belong, but also international law.

2.The Respondent's heinous infringements of the Applicants' fundamental human rights constitute an arrogant attack on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the provisions of which have become part of customary international law and justiciable as such in this Honourable Court.

3.The Respondent's malicious, racist, and sinister breaches of the Applicants' fundamental human rights are tantamount to a wholesale and dangerous threat to the Applicants' legitimate expectations of and indeed rights to a rights-compliant social and international order, as well as national and international peace.


DATED AT LAGOS THIS 28th DAY OF APRIL 2008

Chinua Asuzu, Applicants' Counsel, ASSIZES@LAW.COM , 15 Ogundana Street, Off Allen Avenue, Ikeja Lagos, Phone 01 791 1575, 804 2343, Fax 01 345 1243, Mobile 0803 341 2508, Email chinua.assizes@gmail.com  Please respond. Chinua Asuzu, Office: +234 (0)1 791 1575, 804 2343, Mobile: +234 (0)803 341 2508.

Boycott British Airways from May 15th

Written by Respect Nigeria Coalition (RNC)

PRESS STATEMENT BY RESPECT NIGERIANS COALITION (RNC)

ON THE EXPIRATION OF ULTIMATUM GIVEN TO BRITISH AIRWAYS

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, we are issuing this Statement on behalf of Respect Nigerians Coalition (RNC), a coalition of organizations and persons championing the campaign against British Airways' Discriminatory and indecorous treatment of its Nigerian customers. You all know that on Thursday, 27 March 2008, British Airways officials and the police subjected Mr Ayodeji Omotade to degrading treatment and went further to eject the other 135 passengers (overwhelmingly Nigerians) from BA075 flight bound for Lagos Nigeria from London Heathrow Airport. Of course, we are acutely aware that without your unstinting support, this story would have been swept under the carpet. That is why today, we are once again calling On you to help deepen international consciousness about the campaign.

On Tuesday, April 15 2008, we made five specific demands on British Airways over this issue and asked that they address these before Wednesday, April 30, 2008. We asked British Airways to: Tender a clear and well-worded apology to all passengers affected by their discriminatory and intimidatory conduct aboard flight BA075 on 27 March, 2008 in a Nigerian national newspaper; tender a clear and well-worded written apology and appropriate compensation to Mr Ayodeji Omotade for financial and emotional losses suffered as a result of the conduct of British Airways and its agents on the day; withdraw all adverse statements made to the police about Mr. Ayodeji Omotade over this incident; lift the ban imposed on Mr Ayodeji Omotade, even as he would still retain his right to decide whether or not to fly British Airways in the future, and issue an undertaking that British Airways shall improve its customer care culture and desist from such practices that give the impression that the airline is arrogant, uncaring and discriminatory.

So far, British Airways has failed to do any of the above or give any indication of its intention to do any of the above. The terrible statements its faceless officials have been making in the press over this issue, both in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, attest to the unwillingness of those who run the airline to see reason. In the face of British Airways' stonewalling, it is therefore our intention to now inform you of our next line of action. We members of the Respect Nigeria Coalition (RNC) have resolved to officially commence the worldwide boycott of British Airways goods and services as from Thursday, 15 May, 2008. We are calling on every Nigerian and friends of Nigeria, every person who loves justice and fairness and every person who has a social conscience to vote against British Airways with The power of their purse. We are calling on people to educate British Airways on the virtues of good corporate citizenship. Nigerians and friends of Nigeria all over the world will continue to sign the Petition/Protest Letter posted on our two websites -   www.nigeriavillagesquare   and www.respectnigerians.com  as long as the protest continues.

We recognize the concern showed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and the Nigerian Federal Government over this issue. We are aware that discussions are ongoing between agents of the Federal Government and British Airways, the details of which are unknown to us at this time. But we are not waiting for the Federal Government to teach British Airways that the customer is king. They will find that out as they continue to test our resolve, because we are absolutely determined to prove that it's possible for people's power to trounce corporate tyranny. Finally, you, members of the press, are the most important pillars of support we have throughout this struggle. It is you that put our issue on the front-burner of national and international discourse. Your reports have roused the consciousness of the British and international public and we know that the endless stream of messages of support we are receiving and the thousands of signatories supporting our protest have been largely due to the publicity and support you have given our campaign from the beginning. Please, stand solidly with us, for the man dies in him who keeps silent in the face of tyranny of any sort. Thank you for your support, care and attention.

Signed: Kennedy Emetulu, Michael Egbejumi-David, Tosin Awotesu.(For and on behalf of Respect Nigerians Coalition) Pius Adesanmi, Ph.D., Associate Professor Director, Project on New African Literatures (PONAL) Department of English Carleton University Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B6 Tel: +1 613 520 2600 ext. 1175 www.projectponal.com


 

Still On British Airways The Pendulum by Dele Momodu, Email:delemomodu@thisdayonline.com It would seem that the world’s biggest airline, British Airways bit more than it can chew when it off-loaded some Nigerian passengers recently because of what it considered their unruly behaviour. Since then, Lucifer has escaped from the pit of hell, and there is no peace on earth. Since I wrote my piece last week, I have been inundated with all sorts. My God! Our people are tough. I have decided to serve you two sizzling hot accounts from the horses’ mouths. One from the Nigerian who claims to be the victim blogged his experience on the internet, while the other is from an erudite Nigerian who works for British Airways in London. Please draw your own conclusions, as I rest my case on the raging controversy of the year. First, I got this from Olu Ayodeji: I have to admit I'm one of the great admirers of yours; in terms of your business acumen and your regular column in This Day which I do read religiously online every Saturday. Also I wish to state that I'm one of the few African 'Cabin Services Director' (CSD) working on BA flights and I've been a London based BA employee for over ten years on the 'Longhaul' fleet. I must stress that I'm not writing this rejoinder as an official spokesperson for BA, rather I'm doing this as a Nigerian who had witnessed at close quarters the attitude of fellow Nigerians on BA flights. A number of my friends had called my attention to the petition/campaign going on the internet regarding BA. I wasn't going to pay much attention to this until you alluded to it in your column. Contrary to what most Nigerians may believe, BA is not a racist company; BA employs more people from ethnic minorities than any other public quoted company in the UK, and it was also one of the first companies in the 90's to introduce positive discrimination by insisting that new job applicants must be able to speak a second language. Among the languages officially recognised were Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa; and each crew employee gets annual allowance for speaking another language. Even Richard Branson's Virgin had not managed to do this. I was employed mainly on merit without having to 'press any button' or contact any 'godfather' for favouritism. Of course, there is no disputing the fact that the Nigerian route is one of the most lucrative routes for BA, but also one of the most problematic. When I first joined BA, I used to stand up to my colleagues, at the risk of losing my job, to defend fellow Nigerians' integrity. Sadly, over the years, I've since abandoned that attitude having witnessed and experienced first hand the embarrassing attitude of Nigerians. As an employer of labour yourself, you will agree with me that employees are employed to work to certain rules and standards. Most Nigerians I've had to deal with expect you to bend the rules for them; even when you try to explain that such compromise could cost you your job. About five years ago, when BA was still flying to Malaysia, I witnessed first hand when a high ranking Nigeria Diplomat slapped a BA colleague of mine on the face for having the audacity to stop him from bringing a hand luggage that had exceeded the limit on a London bound flight. He produced his diplomatic passport to avoid arrest by the Malaysian Airport security. In my over ten years of flying, I've suffered more abuse in the hands of fellow Nigerians who were passengers on flights I operated on than from any other Nationalities. I've witnessed so much fighting - verbal and physical - among passengers on Lagos bound flights over what I will call trivial issues. While most black people I've encountered in the course of my flights are often proud of me as a fellow black man and offered words of encouragements, most Nigerians often see my presence on their flights as an opportunity to bend the rules for them, and barrage of negative comments often followed whenever such request was turned down. Only about three weeks ago on a flight from Chicago, I had to intervene to stop a Nigerian woman with three children from being offloaded from the flight because she was very abusive towards a lady colleague of mine. This woman's grievance was that she was not allocated a seat that would enable her to put her infant baby in a 'flight cot'. No amount of polite explanation that there were other families that missed out as well, and that this allocation was done on 'first come first served basis' would stop her from shouting at the top of her voice. I had to tactically intervene and spoke to her in Yoruba that she was on the verge of being off-loaded. That was when she stopped her embarrassing posturing. Most of my colleagues, especially those who had been operating for decades as crew on Nigerian routes, often spoke highly of Nigerians they had met and had made friends with. Some of my white colleagues have told me stories of how they've gone out socially with some of our Nigerian passengers and how pleasant some of them can be. At the same time, they are often frustrated especially with the present generation of Nigerians who see every shortcoming on the part of BA as a basis for confrontation, verbal or physical assault. I heard of an incidence from one of our Captains: About three years ago, a Nigerian Minister of Aviation caused a BA London bound flight from Lagos to be refused dispatch clearance by Air Traffic Control. The said minister was supposed to be on the flight, but he arrived late to the airport and the aircraft had already pushed back from the air bridge. He wanted the aircraft to come back to the stand so that he could board, this request was against the BA policy, apart from security issues involved. But the minister wouldn't take no for an answer. After the flight was delayed for about three hours on the tarmac, and intervention from BA HQ and Aso Rock, the minister sadly had his way. My colleague told me that throughout the said flight, the minister was very rude to the crew attending to him. Sir, again as an employer of labour yourself, I hope you will appreciate some of the difficult circumstances we as BA crew face when having to deal with Nigerians; most of these situations are sadly unique to Nigeria. I don't even want to delve into credit card fraud we had to endure, or so many negative experiences of my colleagues that work on the ground at Heathrow. Of course as a profit making company, I agree with you that BA could do better in the area of Air miles allocation for executive card holders and I will gladly pass on your suggestions to our products department. As for your suggestion regarding Richard Branson’s style of management, that style suits his niche market. BA is not a one man band, unless the company is bought by a maverick multibillionaire. taken from http://www.thisdayonline.com

More Reactions

Let us form networks

This saga of British Airways is a reminder to the middle class in Nigeria that charity should begin at home. Since we do not know the details of the offences of the deportee, pushing this matter far as is, may involve partaking in other mens’ sins. It is now time for the middle class to put a stop to the excesses of the politicians and the military men in khaki who have impoverished us in 48 years of slavery for no just cause due to mismanagement of Nigeria’s natural resources and commonwealth. If Nigerian airways were functioning well ,where will be the relevance of British airways? Will there be need for Nigerians to travel abroad to enslave themselves only for the reason of making ends meet that is hardly possible in Nigeria? The Banking, Insurance Telecommunication and the Oil and Gas Industry combined together hardly employ 400000 people. What other sectors of Nigeria’s economy is paying a Living wage apart from these?

Again, we need to form networks and vanguards that will monitor the excess and abuses of our public servants. The reason being that Capital formation in our country and continent is yet in its formative stages.
For this reason the Government for a long time will determine who eats or does not eat enough, lives or dies for a long time to come irrespective of what the Breton Wood Institutions are fallaciously telling us in the prompt towards neocolonisation. Who says there are not these abuses or worse of it taking place in the chambers of Multinationals against Nigerians or its interests in Abuja, Port Harcourt or Lagos?
Finally our fathers mothers brothers sisters and people have sinned against God and as a Nation we are under chastisement. Let us call a solemn assemble, fast and plead for Forgiveness upon our land. A Governor who steals $9.00billion from the government has N1,2Trillion.If he spends N500000 per day for the next 50years he would die spending only N10Billion which is hardly 1/100th of the loot If 99 Generations live after him living for 50years each and spending N500000 cach per day they need not less than 3000yers to exhaust the stolen money. Do you see that we are really in a spiritual bondage? The fault is not in our stars as William Shakespeare says but in us? Why blame the white man? The Blackman is doing worse things to his countryman here in Nigeria. Let us form networks that will checkmate our public servants first then we shall get all the respect we deserve from the outside world including British Airways.

STEPHEN O. OGUNRINDE
A chartered Accountant, Banker, and IT Consultant.
stephenogunrinde@yahoo.com


Questions, questions, questions!!!

Without going over the details already over flogged, permit me to pose the following challenges to the Nigerian Government:

1. For how long will Nigerian Travelers be subjected to these kinds of humiliation?
2. Is BA indispensable for the Traveling Nigerian public (considering their earlier ban by the Abacha administration) which did not affect travels?
3. Is someone/group in Government personally/jointly benefiting from BA to warrant no serious action being taken over the sad incidence?

If an immediate ban (even if it is for one week) is not effected now, then the answer to (3) above is in the affirmative.

One week ban idea

I make bold to say that only a one week ban on BA flights to Nigeria will get the Airline apologising, paying compensation and instantly changing their negative attitude towards Nigerians.
If the Government is in doubt, let her be brave and take decisive action!

spencer obiano
sobiano@yahoo.com 


Nigerians should stand up for their rights, enough is enough

katendidi@yahoo.com

Good job CyberschuulNews. I boycott BA

Well done Cyberschuul News for documenting all of this.
One is glad that Nigerians are at least showing hints of patriotism.
As we watch events unfold, I say bye bye BA, welcome Virgin Atlantic !!!

koleabe@yahoo.com

I am disgusted 

Infact, i am disgusted about the incident. The BA must apologies and pay compensation to Ayodeji Omotade, no more no less. If not a national boycott is just the right thing to do. 

jumoke oluwole <jummy_2k2@yahoo.com>

 As I understand it,
BA represents another face of incurable racism in our world.

 BA says it has a proud history of serving Nigeria. It says for over 70 years the Airline has flown from the Uk to Nigeria. It does not say it has been milking Nigeria and getting away with undeserved profits.

Other countries also maltreat Nigerians. Behaviour and perception of Caucasians to “blacks”, people of African descent, has not changed nor is there likely to be a change.

A Nigerian deportee was brought into Nigeria stone dead aboard BA, without heavens falling. Who knowns what has happened thereafter? Has there been cover-up  in high places?

Some foreign countries are fond of handcuffing Nigerian deportees and/ or sealing their mouths with adhesive tape, without repercussions. We had  always gladly accepted the slavish role assigned us in Anglo-Nigerian relations.

REMEDY:

The only remedy I can see is, to run a country where things work; a country that is truly deserving of respect. Is it not so that Nigerian Airways has been sacrificed on the altar of mismanagement? If it were flying what would we have to do with BA?

Meanwhile, any sanctions imposed on BA by whosoever would not make any impact. Simply ban BA from ever flying Nigerian skies, like the late General Abacha (bless him for it) did in the late 1990s. Make BA feel it is not the only airline in the world and that Nigerian can do without it.

 OMOKHOGIE ADAMU
Bookwork70@yahoo.com  

Ban, the answer

I will support the Nigerians all over the world and the Nigerian government in their action to barn BA flight from entering into the country. Lets call a spade a spade. The inhumanity is too much. I don't think USA will treat us the same. It is time for us to tell them that slavery is only in the old centuries and not in this 21st century. 

charles chukwu <needinso@yahoo.com>

 Boycot BA 

I am in full support of this boycott and I hope our government will support and seek redress for the aggrieved passengers. I have commenced the boycott on my part and will no longer fly with BA

 OLUFEMI A. ADEWOLE <femi_adewole@yahoo.co.uk>

 Sanction please 

The British Airways must and should be made to pay for every misacts both in the past and present towards Nigerian citizens. 

KENNY KOTTY <kennykotty@yahoo.com>

National Assembly. Please act!

   Sorry about the incident, actually it is not their fault at all but that of Nigerian leaders. Many of them have crossed the river so they can sink the bridge. If what happened was to a single Briton, the whole Britain will be quaking for concern of its nationale. If Nigerian leaders could be blackmailing their fellow Nationale and encourage other nations to disallow or restricting them from participating in one activity or legal business you will discover that our problem is from within. Everybody can not be terrorist now!!! I know a small nation like Israel will never take things like this with a waive of hand. If you will reason with me you will notice that the crime rate in all these so called advanced countries is greater than what we have in Nigeria the only difference is just that they may get to its root later when investigated (the case of Damilola Taylor). Even if there is a suspect on board that is not enough for them to let other feel unsecured and be feeling that the plane will be crashed by the agent of terrorism.  

  If truly Nigeria is a member of UN, EC e.t.c, it is high time we let them realised that racism has gone extinct. The protest of 1,000 Nigerian is not enough but immediately this happened Nigerian government ought to have suspended B.A activities in Nigeria pending a serious apology and adequate compensation. Is it possible to know who rapped your beloved daughter and continue to house him and be feeding him?  

  Please let the National Assembly handle this issue well, because it is our last hope.  

  Thank you.

  Abimbade Gbenga. olabab2@yahoo.co.uk

Ban him!!

In addition to whatever measure that is being taken against BA, I suggest that the captain and crew of flight BA 75  that was involved in the xenophobic act of 27th May 2008 at Heathrow Terminal 4 be banned from entering Nigeria for life. In this day and age when WTO has mounted a crusade to dismantle trade barriers in Africa in order to allow access to foreign goods and services, the world should resist attempts to renew any trace of the barbaric age.

Emma Dike <emmadike@yahoo.com>

Sorry

I read the pathetic story of that chap on the internet and i really think he should be compensated. Also his luggage should be found. He shouldn't stop at nothing. Anyway personally, i'm not and never will be a fan of british airways. Had he known, he wouldn't have traveled with that airline. I feel so sorry for him.

Modupe Owolabi <hypedk@yahoo.com>

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This page was last updated on May 12, 2008