BY BASSEY EKPEYONG
AN international airport is always the first point of contact between and international visitors and the country. Being an international gateway, the airport is where the traveller forms his or her first impressions about the country. This fact is more so if the airport is such a strategic one as the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos that controls almost more than 60 per cent of international flights in and out of the country.
A a trip to or fro the MMIA, quickly dismisses the country’s erstwhile rebranding exercise as efforts in futility. How will anyone rebrand a country when the first facility an immigrant comes in contact with – the airport – is nothing to write home about? So it is with a relief when the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) began the renovation of some airports in the country including the MMIA. The renovation has progressed and more facilities are being put in place to ensure that travellers have first class experience at the airport. But, it is doubtful if a traveller will get the kind of experience he or she gets from other international airports from the MMIA.
I had to take my family to the airport on January 5, 2014 after spending their Christmas holiday in the country. Having checked in online I knew they were not required to be at the airport two hours before the scheduled flight time but, knowing what this country has become lately, I insisted they be at the airport two hours before the flight time. Coming from Gbagada, I made a generous provision of 30 minutes for transport to the airport. We left the house by 8pm and within ten minutes we were at the NAHCO junction. We did not get to the drop off point of the MMIA until one and half hours later. The traffic had built from the drop off point of the airport to the NAHCO junction.
It was so frustrating that we were within the airport premises yet were too far from it. Eventually, my wife and children had to alight from the vehicle and walked to the main entrance to deal with other travel details such customs, etc while their luggage finally made it with the car through the traffic. I could not hold back my anger when I found out that the traffic was caused by individuals who had parked on both sides of the road to await the return of their principals, leaving a narrow way for other cars to snake through.
These cars were parked in and around the “No Parking” zones with their drivers strolling around waiting for their principals. There were pedestrians walking towards these cars in an area where pedestrians shouldn’t be, cutting in front of cars with their luggage or children in strollers. It was a madhouse.
Of course, there is supposed to be a planned order to airport traffic. There is a designated parking lot, there are no parking zones, there are drop off and pick-up zones only and there are laid down penalties for people who flout these laws. These penalties were not just there on paper. FAAN officials regularly go round towing cars that are wrongly parked, not only around the airports but also cars that break down within the airport authority zone. This helps to keep the traffic at the airport sane, but not any more.
Nowadays, the police escorts who come to pick dignitaries from the airport park indiscriminately without any whiff of repercussions. The strictly drop-off and pick-up zones are usually thickly populated with patrol cars and men in uniform, wielding AK47 guns and resting lazily on the cars. FAAN officials just sit idly and watch this chaotic situation go on each night. On our way down the road, I saw the FAAN officials trying to tow a broken down vehicle belonging to a hapless and obviously un-influential person, not minding that the man had pushed the car out of the way. I am sure the owner of the vehicle will be made to pay heavily for this ‘illegal’ parking.
This trend makes one question if our laws were set aside to make life easier for the rich and much more difficult for the average man. The first impression travellers get as they step out of the airport is chaos. The blatant disregard for the law by the same people who are meant to enforce it is alarming and portrays us in a bad light.
Looking at international Airports in other parts of the world, the prevalent atmosphere is one of calm and order. Restricted zones remain restricted, and parking lots are in most cases quite a distance from the main airport area with facilities provided to convey passengers to the main airports. Law enforcement officers actually help to maintain the law.
British Prime Minister David Cameron travel without harassing other Britons. How come private individuals with the means to pay for them have police escorts infringe on the rights of other Nigerians in order to ensure the comfort of their principals? Why can’t these same “VIPs” be picked up just like every other person? Why can’t police vehicles park in the designated parking lots? Why is the comfort of the very rich superior to public law and order?
Law enforcement agencies need to take a good look at their use of power. Security should be for all and not for a select few. The prevailing disorder at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos can simply be reversed if the law enforcement officers abide by the law. Also, the privileged few should not trample on the rights of others. We need to take out time to think of others and ensure that our lives do not impact negatively on others. 2014 is a year to make this resolution.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/01/vips-faan-airport-users/
AN international airport is always the first point of contact between and international visitors and the country. Being an international gateway, the airport is where the traveller forms his or her first impressions about the country. This fact is more so if the airport is such a strategic one as the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos that controls almost more than 60 per cent of international flights in and out of the country.
I had to take my family to the airport on January 5, 2014 after spending their Christmas holiday in the country. Having checked in online I knew they were not required to be at the airport two hours before the scheduled flight time but, knowing what this country has become lately, I insisted they be at the airport two hours before the flight time. Coming from Gbagada, I made a generous provision of 30 minutes for transport to the airport. We left the house by 8pm and within ten minutes we were at the NAHCO junction. We did not get to the drop off point of the MMIA until one and half hours later. The traffic had built from the drop off point of the airport to the NAHCO junction.
It was so frustrating that we were within the airport premises yet were too far from it. Eventually, my wife and children had to alight from the vehicle and walked to the main entrance to deal with other travel details such customs, etc while their luggage finally made it with the car through the traffic. I could not hold back my anger when I found out that the traffic was caused by individuals who had parked on both sides of the road to await the return of their principals, leaving a narrow way for other cars to snake through.
These cars were parked in and around the “No Parking” zones with their drivers strolling around waiting for their principals. There were pedestrians walking towards these cars in an area where pedestrians shouldn’t be, cutting in front of cars with their luggage or children in strollers. It was a madhouse.
Of course, there is supposed to be a planned order to airport traffic. There is a designated parking lot, there are no parking zones, there are drop off and pick-up zones only and there are laid down penalties for people who flout these laws. These penalties were not just there on paper. FAAN officials regularly go round towing cars that are wrongly parked, not only around the airports but also cars that break down within the airport authority zone. This helps to keep the traffic at the airport sane, but not any more.
Nowadays, the police escorts who come to pick dignitaries from the airport park indiscriminately without any whiff of repercussions. The strictly drop-off and pick-up zones are usually thickly populated with patrol cars and men in uniform, wielding AK47 guns and resting lazily on the cars. FAAN officials just sit idly and watch this chaotic situation go on each night. On our way down the road, I saw the FAAN officials trying to tow a broken down vehicle belonging to a hapless and obviously un-influential person, not minding that the man had pushed the car out of the way. I am sure the owner of the vehicle will be made to pay heavily for this ‘illegal’ parking.
This trend makes one question if our laws were set aside to make life easier for the rich and much more difficult for the average man. The first impression travellers get as they step out of the airport is chaos. The blatant disregard for the law by the same people who are meant to enforce it is alarming and portrays us in a bad light.
Looking at international Airports in other parts of the world, the prevalent atmosphere is one of calm and order. Restricted zones remain restricted, and parking lots are in most cases quite a distance from the main airport area with facilities provided to convey passengers to the main airports. Law enforcement officers actually help to maintain the law.
British Prime Minister David Cameron travel without harassing other Britons. How come private individuals with the means to pay for them have police escorts infringe on the rights of other Nigerians in order to ensure the comfort of their principals? Why can’t these same “VIPs” be picked up just like every other person? Why can’t police vehicles park in the designated parking lots? Why is the comfort of the very rich superior to public law and order?
Law enforcement agencies need to take a good look at their use of power. Security should be for all and not for a select few. The prevailing disorder at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos can simply be reversed if the law enforcement officers abide by the law. Also, the privileged few should not trample on the rights of others. We need to take out time to think of others and ensure that our lives do not impact negatively on others. 2014 is a year to make this resolution.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/01/vips-faan-airport-users/
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