Airport security and fear of flying

I know a very rich man, who was also a traditional ruler, who lived and died, with so much money, but never flew in an aircraft. He suffered a morbid fear of flying. I had a female colleague, whom I used to enjoy flying with because of her romantic approach to even the least turbulence. After I mastered the art of avoiding her make-up, I settled in to enjoy the bear-hugs and careless grabs-all in the name of fear. Now, her case as well as that of the wealthy traditional ruler is quite understandable. Some folks actually think of the worst case scenarios once they are on board a flight and up in the sky. Too bad!

There is another category of people who are equally scared of flying, and it is not necessarily because they are afraid of the height or over-whelmed by the mere thought of being in a fast-moving object far away from the reach of people (whatever that means). After 9/11, several frequent flyers developed cold feet and either sought alternative means whenever they could avoid the plane. Some more cowardly folks took the extreme step of quitting their jobs to avoid flying. It took a while before confidence was restored in the air, so to say. For some, there was no going back there.

I was one of those who panicked in the aftermath of 9/11, especially when it came to international flights particularly to the United States. Now, recall one time when it seemed like a tradition for aircraft to fall off Nigerian skies. It was a harrowing experience for those of us who had to do the shuttle every so often to Abuja, the East and all. I remember a near-death experience last year en route Owerri. I was even more horrified that it was during the period I lost my immediate younger brother and was actually going for another funeral a couple of weeks before his  own burial. I feared the worst!

Then, I don’t know about you, but I am always too conscious of the fact of the possibility of a Boko Haram attack on a flight or any of the country’s airports. The fear is ever so present and very palpable. I mean these people are very daring and dare-devil and would do anything to inflict maximum damage and attract maximum attention. This fear has always been exacerbated by the obviously lax security at the airports.  I remember some years back at the onset of the Boko Haram onslaught in Abuja, I arrived the Abuja airport on a return trip to Lagos. The only hand luggage scanner at the domestic wing was not functioning and the security personnel had to manually search bags and baggage. I almost suffered CVA when the police woman who was smiling sheepishly asked me for coke ostensibly in exchange for a waiver from searching my bag.  I wasn’t too shocked to complain because I threated to call her boss, if she didn’t search my bag immediately. Her clownish scowl instantly vanished when she took another look at me and probably realized I wasn’t a hustler or a Nigerian politician.

All through the flight, my mind was in the hand luggage compartment above as I wondered how many people obliged the policewoman her request for soft drinks and boarded without being properly checked. What if someone smuggled a bomb through one of those bags? What if a terrorist was on board? All manner of images were scrolling past my darkly occupied mind and I was too petrified to discuss it with anybody-not even the beautiful, chatty young woman sitting beside me. It was probably one of the longest one-hour flights in my life. I literally fled out of the aircraft as soon as the doors were open from disembarkation.

So, my “flabber” was not particularly “gasted” when recently the Department of State Security (DSS) gleefully announced they apprehended some people at the Abuja airport, who claimed they were spying for Boko Haram. In fact the thrust of the report, as reported by the media, was that a terror attack was imminent at the Abuja airport. I thought it was absolutely preposterous to make such a reckless statement, however true it may be. Well, may be Nigerians are getting used to the DSS saying things that are often terminological inexactitudes, they right-clicked on ignore and moved on. But that was major indeed and I was by no means surprised as I said earlier because the Abuja airport, like others, is an “Open Sesame.”   The case of the Christmas Day “Underwear Bomber” is still very recent history. Elsewhere, in the world, it is usually easier for a pregnant camel to pass through the half-closed eye of a needle than to slip through airport security, but even so we have seen some horrific moments of madness in those otherwise organized fortresses.

Now, my point exactly is that security should be raised to the highest levels at the airports. There are still too many obvious lacunae everywhere you look. There should be perimeter fencing of the airports to protect the far-flung areas around and along the runways from being breached. Secondly, there should be 360 degrees Close Circuit Television (CCTV) coverage of the entire airport for discreet monitoring and surveillance. Thirdly, the number of security men who physically protect the airports should be increased. I haven’t seen sniffer dogs in any of our airports before. This is the fourth step, not in any particular order, which should be taken. These trained canines can smell trouble from afar. Finally, there is the issue of access control. There are way too many people loitering within and around the airports who have absolutely no business there. A stricter mechanism must be put in place to ensure that only people who should be at the airports are there at any given place and time.

Time was when nobody would believe that a Nigerian could be a suicide bomber. Those days are gone for good. Haven’t they?  So, everyone around the precincts of the airport should be seen as a suspect, no matter how decent they look, and therefore put on strict surveillance.  We cannot afford to use yesteryears’ method to deal with today’s situations. The world has moved on in these regards, and we just have to join the bandwagon in securing the lives and properties of our people.