President Goodluck Jonathan and Nigeria’s Aviation minister, Stella Oduah, who was recently caught in a scandalous and fraud-ridden purchase of two armored BMW cars, have begun a new round of propaganda, targeting Nigeria’s jobless and gullible youth, and aimed at portraying the minster as a “stellar performer.”
This comes as official reports in which the Minister was indicted have been tucked away by the president.
Ms. Oduah took a trip to Jigawa state on Monday and had an elaborate meeting with Governor Sule Lamido in Jigawa State, where she promised to complete an airport project. The trip was designed to please the northern part of the country where several critics have pointed out she has ignored airports and traveling passengers and refused to grant several Middle East-based airlines permission to fly into international airports in the area. Shortly after the scandal broke, the minister quickly approved some flight requests that were pending, and also increased the frequency of a few of them.
On Tuesday, the minister moved further on the new agenda, proclaiming at a Public Hearing of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the FCT Land Swap that she is setting up a “Nigeria Aetropolis” project that will employ 10 million Nigerians within two years and generate N100 billion in annual revenue.
According to a statement by Joe Obi, a special assistant to the Minister, Ms. Oduah told the Representatives that the project will be sited in Abuja and other major international airports across the country.
''The development of airport cities (aerotropolis) is a 21`st century phenomenon that is gaining ground all over the world. It is no longer fashionable to have an International Airport without the support facilities and amenities such as shopping arcades, hotels, packaging industries, Residential Estates, modern airline offices and recreational facilities. The proposed aerotropolis will definitely boost the Nigerian economy and generate the much-needed employment for our teeming youth.''
But people familiar with her propaganda say the claim the project will create 10 million jobs is not only dubious, it is not feasible either, especially under the ravenous quality of leadership shown by President Jonathan and Ms. Oduah.
A SaharaReporters investigation into one of the busiest airports in the world, the John F. Kennedy airport in New York, backs up the cynicism. JFK generates over $30 billion yearly for the US economy but while the number of jobs generated by the airport stands at 213,000 people, the actual number of persons employed at JFK is only 35,000.
Observers say this begs the question as to how the Aerotropolis project will manufacture 10 million jobs out of thin air. Some of them pointed out that the nation’s principal airport in Lagos which has the potential to employ thousands more if operated properly cannot even guarantee air-conditioning or working luggage carousels.
“If a ruthless Minister can order two cars for $1.6 million from the resources of a ministerial unit, how many cars will she order from the wide pockets of a colluding president and several nationwide airports,” a newspaper columnist asked.
Under the current propaganda machinery, Ms. Oduah is expected to make a few more high-profile public appearances, including a plan to launch a new airline for Nigeria. There is also said to be a plan to commission a refurbished part of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
These high-profile appearances are designed to make Nigerians and concerned citizens of the world who are alarmed by the sheer size of the BMW fraud and the presidential ineptitude in confronting it to start to see Ms. Oduah differently.
At least two reports in which the Minister was indicted for the large-scale fraud are in the hands of President Jonathan.
In pursuit of the new propaganda, the Minister has created a blog at: http://nigeria-aviation.blogspot.com/
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