Can Stella Get Her Groove Back???

Nigerians stood up and gave a shout of joy on July 2, 2011, when a woman, Princess Stella Oduah, was confirmed to the post of Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, and subsequently deployed to the Ministry of Aviation. 2 years, 3 months and 30 days later. . . 

We laughed. . . We rejoiced. Wow! A woman. . . . And a very pretty one at that. . . In President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet. . . A man of our dreams. . . . Finally, a person who we were sure would ‘pilot’ the affairs of the Aviation Ministry to heights never before envisioned (especially since the last guy did such a piss-poor job).

Little did we know that her emergence on the scene would generate so much controversy that we’d all have to STOP our varied lives, and attend to what the media has cheekily termed Oduah-Gate.

What the hell did she do, anyway, to warrant having a ‘Gate’ attached to her name?

She was said to have allegedly approved the purchase of two bulletproof cars from Coscharis Motors for a whooping sum of N255 million.

Ooookay!

Let’s back up a bit.

The Aviation Industry has indeed been witnessing series of issues ranging from mismanagement, to infrastructural decay. No one seemed able to do something about it, until Madam Stella came on the scene.

Her emergence, many agreed, brought some sanity into the industry. What with the rehabilitation of about 22 airports all over the country. You could say she was fed up of seeing our airports looking like the office spaces of sole-proprietorships. She actually used the funds allocated to her ministry for what they were meant for. You could also say she was trying very hard not to entangle herself in the controversies which attached themselves like sh**t to her predecessor’s behind.

Then she set her sights on radar coverage, total radar coverage for the entire country, thus ensuring that the much desired air safety and security could be squarely addressed.

Next, we got an upgrade in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s Instruments Landing Systems, culminating in all round infrastructural development in runway lighting, weather information systems, and installation of safety systems. . . .

Now, we have laboratory facilities which make it possible for black boxes to be analyzed HERE in Nigeria, without having to spend millions of naira of public funds to fly black boxes abroad for analyses every time we have an unfortunate crash.

I mean. . . How hard could it be to run an Aviation Industry? She proved it wasn’t so hard. All you had to do was. . .

. . . What you should do. . . What you’re paid to do. . . What you’re expected to do.

We applauded her, we loved her, and some of us even wanted to marry her. She was our mother. . . the one who shed those motherly tears of emotion on June 3, 2012, at the scene of the Dana aircrash in Lagos.

She protected us and we loved her. She wept, and a whole nation wept with her. We adored her, and we wanted her to stay on as Aviation Minster. . . FOREVER!

About three weeks ago, everything changed. . .

WHY???

To be continued. . .