AGAIN, Nigeria wept over another avoidable colossal waste of human lives.  The crash of the Dana Air Flight 0092 was a direct consequence of disregard for safety standards in pursuit of profits by the management of Dana air coupled with the corruption in the government agencies that regulate the aviation industry.

As in prior air disasters in Nigeria, the Nigerian government reacted. The president did the usual. He sent condolence messages to the families of the air crash victims, visited the site of the crash, promised a full investigation into the causes of the crash and declared a number of days of national mourning for the dead.

And expectedly, the legislature, also, responded. It mouthed a number of traditional platitudes, and promised to conduct its own investigation on the air crash.

The objects of these investigations, governing officials said are “to make sure that this (air disaster) does not repeat itself in this country”; so that “lesson should be drawn from the incident to avoid a recurrence of such disaster”; etc.

In addition, the legislators’ investigation will also “ascertain the air worthiness of all aircrafts operating in the country to ensure that they conform to global safety standards.” What did previous investigations into earlier air crashes in Nigeria reveal? What lessons were “drawn” from them and why did these lessons not ensure that avoidable “air disaster (did) not repeat itself in this country?”

Surprisingly, the Senate is demanding that “the Ministry of Aviation release, without further delay, the investigation reports on all previous air mishap in the country and prosecute all those indicted in the reports.”

It then seems that the reports on earlier investigations into air crashes in Nigeria were never released and those indicted by them never punished? If that is the case, then, it is reasonable to think that the present flurry of promises and orders to investigate this last air mishap may just be mere playing to the gallery.

It should not take a plane crash and an investigation by the legislature to ascertain that airline companies in this country adhere to global safety standards. It is the routine duties of the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ensure the safety of the Nigerian air space and the air worthiness of all the planes registered and permitted to fly in it.

Evidently, the Ministry of Aviation and the NCAA have routinely failed in their work to guarantee safe air travel in Nigeria.

It is understandable that entrepreneurs, even in the most advanced and civilised countries of the world, may sometimes mortgage safety standards for profits. No wonder, even in those countries of the world populated by honorable and law abiding businessmen, governments still diligently labour to maintain quality and safety standards in the aviation industry.

The need for such quality and safety controls is even most desperate in this vast scene of confusion that is our beloved country with an aviation industry replete with old, second hand and frayed planes.

Mr.  TOCHUKWU EZUKANMA, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.