Fani-Kayode, a former minister of Aviation, had criticised the Peoples Democratic Party for expressing confidence in Oduah despite the air crashes that had happened during her tenure as minister.
“How many more people have to be killed in air crashes before our President (Dr. Goodluck Jonathan) realises that he needs a new Minister of Aviation?” Fani-Kayode had asked.
But Oduah said in Abuja that Fani-Kayode was misleading innocent Nigerians and needed sympathy.
She spoke at an aviation safety event organised by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation and hosted by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency.
Oduah said, “I have huge sympathy for them, the ignorant people in particular. Because when you speak out of context, when you speak under the influence of whatever it is you are under, you speak incorrectly and you mislead innocent Nigerians and that is what he has done. And he really should hide his head in shame.”
Fani-Kayode, while reacting to Oduah’s comments about him, asked the minister to grow up and stop being petty.
He said, “My advice and counsel to her is to grow up and stop being petty. She is meant to talk like someone who befits her office and not like a market woman or a fish wife.
“I do not like joining issues with women publicly which is why I was very gentle with her in my essay though I made my point.
“But this particular woman is endangering the lives of our people with her incompetence and insensitivity and we cannot just keep quiet.
“This is a woman under whose watch almost 200 people have been killed as Aviation Minister and instead of focusing on how to save lives her obsession has become smearing and abusing Femi Fani-Kayode.”
He said it was wrong for the minister to tell Nigerians that ‘’accidents are inevitable’’ and that they were ‘’acts of God.”
“This is a woman who thinks more about how her headscarf looks, her jewelry and the jewelry of others more than she does about protecting Nigerian air travellers,” he added.
He said if anyone should bury her head in shame it should be the minister and not him.
Aviation Minister Under Fire for Attributing Crash to God
Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, came under heavy criticism on Tuesday for describing the crash involving an Associated Airline plane, which killed 14 people in Lagos as “inevitable” and an “act of God.”
The Associated Airline Embraer 120 ER aircraft conveying the corpse of the former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, crashed last Thursday moments after takeoff at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, killing 14 of the 20 passengers on board.
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| Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah |
They argued that such a statement could only be permissible, in the event of a natural disaster and such other events outside human control.
Commentators, who reacted to the minister’s comment, noted that she should have kept quiet and sympathised with the bereaved families instead of blaming her alleged failure and incompetence on God.
There was a similar disaster last year when a Dana aircraft crashed at Iju, Lagos, killing no fewer than 150 passengers.
Following Oduah’s comment on Monday, a former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, curiously opened the floodgates of criticisms as he practically took the incumbent minister to the cleaners.
Fani-Kayode noted that the God he serves must have been different from the one Oduah was referring to, saying his God does not cause accidents.
Fani-Kayode tweeted, “God does not cause accidents. Only the devil does that. You can say a fatal accident is an act of God only if the devil is your god. If you can steal from the dead, you can kill the living and drink their blood. May God deliver us from this vampire minister.”
A correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation in Nigeria, Will Ross, described Oduah’s statement in a tweet as a “terrifying reaction.”
Another angry Twitter user, Waley Kay, said he was appalled at the manner Nigerian public servants shirk responsibilities and shift blame arising from such on natural causes.
Kay said, “Under the watch of Stella Oduah, as the Aviation Minister, many souls have been killed in air crashes. Such insensitivity is rarely seen anywhere in the world. Only in Nigeria, can this happen. Not only am I surprised but I am also utterly sad. Have anyone noticed how Nigerians attribute every act of irresponsibility to God or destiny?”
Another commentator, Babatunde Rosanwo said, “For Stella Oduah to term this air crash as an act of God is insensitive, idiotic and irresponsible. It is insensitive and early to make such a remark, especially when the bereaved families are grieving. ‘Act of God’ is a special patent for systemic and cascading failure in Nigeria. Until investigations are concluded, then the minister should not utter such insensitive statements anymore.”
According to Tokunbo Omole who wrote on Facebook, statistics shows that Nigeria has had many frequent disasters occasioned by negligence. He argued that since air safety is the responsibility of the government, public servants should desist from standing logic in the head.
Omole said, “Minister, your comments are very disturbing and careless. About 15 individuals lost their lives and their families are still mourning. Is this the best way you can react to this?
“A lot of these victims are breadwinners and major contributors to the society. Please keep quiet before you spew more disgusting comments. Communication is very important minister and I’m sure you should know better.”
Beyond these scathing criticisms against Oduah, some other Nigerians have demanded her immediate resignation from office as aviation minister.
A prolific Twitter user, Japheth Omojuwa, who said the minister’s utterance was “absolutely irresponsible”, urged her to tender her resignation immediately.
He said, “If God is in charge of safety in the aviation sector, we are then duplicating roles by paying people salaries for the same. Whom do we sack? The first name on unrepentant and incompetent people’s mouth when they fail to perform their responsibility is God.
“When you arrive at a point where you start passing the buck to God, you have arrived at the point to pass your resignation letter too. When we renovate airports, we claim it is in line with the transformation agenda and leave God out. However, when there is a plane crash, we blame God. If not because God will not descend so low, some people will be talking and God will slap them into dumbness forever.”
Berating the minister, a respondent on nairaland.com with the name Burger01, wrote, “Inevitable air accident, right? Well, not for me in Jesus name. As inevitable as it is, would Oduah pray that she or any member of her family have a portion of these inevitable air accidents? I cannot imagine this is coming from a minister of aviation. I see a level of low competency and professional misconduct in all of this.”
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