By Ephraim Oseji

Chairman and CEO of DAS Energy Limited, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has questioned the rationale behind recently honouring a plane passenger, who reportedly acted in an unruly manner.

He argued that in more developed countries, such a passenger would have been prosecuted and possibly jailed, rather than celebrated.

It will be recalled that renowned Nigerian musician, Kwam 1, who allegedly attempted to prevent a ValueJet plane from taking off, was later honoured as an ambassador of the aviation industry following the lifting of a six-month flying ban imposed on him.

Reacting to the honour during a phone interview, Onuesoke said it was inappropriate to reward a passenger who violated aviation rules, instead of enforcing punitive measures as outlined in aviation law.

“A plane is a highly sensitive mode of transportation, and violating aviation regulations puts the lives of other passengers at risk,” he said. “Instead of prosecuting the alleged offender, he was honoured as an ambassador. What an irony. The government is setting a dangerous precedent. Are they encouraging passengers to misbehave on flights just to be made ambassadors? Are they promoting lawlessness in Nigeria?”

The Delta State gubernatorial aspirant warned that such actions could encourage more disruptive behaviour aboard aircraft in the future.

“Sooner or later, this kind of honour will backfire,” he said. “People will start causing scenes on planes just to be recognised.”

Onuesoke called on authorities to re-evaluate the criteria for national honours and ensure that the rule of law is upheld across all sectors.