Comments on naijablog: BA follow-up

I think the last anonymous is hilarious! But he/sh...

2008-05-15T21:04:00.000+01:00

I think the last anonymous is hilarious! But he/she makes a good point - after we show BA pepper what next?

I'm not saying they should shut up and take it, i'...

2008-05-08T12:39:00.000+01:00

I'm not saying they should shut up and take it, i'm asking why don't you apply some of the fire you're putting into this relatively unimportant issue to some of the more important ones that are happening here.
or do you just want to fly in peace?

As you too have missed my point entirely. It is al...

2008-05-06T19:29:00.000+01:00

As you too have missed my point entirely. It is almost certainly because those 130 middle class Nigeerians as you call them, were black, African and Nigerian in particular, that what happened happened. Citizens of Nigeria while abroad should not be treated differently from citizens of other countries, irrespective of the injustices that we suffer in our home country. As I have said, several countries are guilty of human rights abuses, and I have not heard it argued that citizens of all those countries should acept being mistreated in the UK, or in any other country for that matter, because of the human rights issues in their own countries. Nigeria is no different, and your argument cannot stand.

i think my point was clearly made and you missed i...

2008-05-06T10:40:00.000+01:00

i think my point was clearly made and you missed it entirely.
Of all the things that people should be protesting about, why is this the issue they take up the cudgels for?
So 130 middle class nigerians don't get to fly today... erm so what?
ok, i'll grant you its bad, but is it really as bad as say, an innocent teenager mistakenly shot by police and kept in a cell for eight years to prevent him from telling anyone about the incident?
that really happened.

...and don't try and tell me that could happen in the UK, cos that is straight up bullshit.

@ anon 2.39pm what is your point? Britain is not a...

2008-05-02T19:09:00.000+01:00

@ anon 2.39pm what is your point? Britain is not a perfect country, and there are myriad societal problems there too. It cannot be right that because Nigeria is still in the process of developing and our society less sophisticated, that our citizens should be treated differently from others. Regardless of the state of affairs in Nigeria, there can no justification for the treatment that deportee and those passengers received on that aeroplane.

please help me to understand something.Why, in thi...

2008-05-02T14:39:00.000+01:00

please help me to understand something.

Why, in this country CHOCK FULL of injustice: murder, hunger, rape, incest, prejudice, and violence, do middle class nigerians get hold of this particular issue?

And its not the only instance of airport related uproar from Nigerians.

Some part of me thinks that the major reason the government made the efcc was because they were piqued at the treatment they were receiving in airports as a result of their country's image.

It seems as long as the elite have un-fettered air travel everything is fine in your cuontry, ie country's economy going to shit: fine; leaders running rampant criminal empires: fine; oil companies polluting another part of the country: fine; women being beaten in the home: fine; innocent people locked up for no reason: fine; BUT fuck with my air journey (on money which may or may not have been earned through questionable means): OUTRAGE.

To me the message is clear, your own leaders can pillage Nigeria as much as you will let them, but as soon as a white airsteward/immigration official says "boo!", you go into paroxysms of rage.

what a country!

@ omidanbellafricaine: it doesn't really matter wh...

2008-05-02T10:30:00.000+01:00

@ omidanbellafricaine: it doesn't really matter what has transpired between the deportee and the police...what matters is the ill treatment of a totally innocent party.

Are we to become so afraid that we cannot even utter words in public for fear of being the scape goats?

All he said was "dont kill him"..

You and I would have probably said more, All the foreign airlines/companies in Africa need to get their acts together and start behaving with a little sense at the fact that we make thier money!!

It has to start with we Africans, stop making them live like kings in our own country.How can you pull someone out of the crowd and take him to the front of the cue?

I traveled with BA to london once and Maryam Babangida and Daisy Danjuma were on the same flight. At heathrow they stayed on the hour long queue till it got to their turns, they were offered no special treatment why should we behave otherwise?

A lawsuit??? Hopefully some light will be shed tow...

2008-05-01T20:54:00.000+01:00

A lawsuit??? Hopefully some light will be shed towards this issue of point blank racism.

A collective boycott of BA by the Nigerian travell...

2008-05-01T11:07:00.000+01:00

A collective boycott of BA by the Nigerian travelling public will definitely bring BA to their senses. For me the real question is, are Nigerians capable of pulling off a boycott successfully? I doubt very much that we are, because it seems that we cannot even agree that BA has singled out Africans, and Nigerians in particular, for treatment that is degrading. @omidanbellafricaine, the British police is not the Nigerian police. The event that sparked this controversy occured on British soil, where British standards of treatment of detainees applies. The fact that the person being forcibly removed is a Nigerian was definiteely a factor that weighed in the minds of the immigration and police officers engaged in the removal.

It is not uncommon for deportees from all over the world to resist removal. Many are known to have refused to board the aircraft. Even if the Nigerian police are known for beating people, sometimes even killing people, so are many police forces in many countries all over the world. Shall we then say that because of the human rights abuses by the authorities in Myanmar of the country's citizens, Burmese nationals in the UK deserve to mistreated? I am in total agreement with Anon 5.58 AM. We need to be resolute, and firmly object to the discriminatory treatment that we receive from BA, and British officialdom generally. We should collectively stand and demand to be treated equally. It is what we are entitled to as human beings.

nigerians certainly have to treat nigerians better...

2008-05-01T01:42:00.000+01:00

nigerians certainly have to treat nigerians better, but omidanbellafricaine what does how the deportee may have behaved have to do with kicking off fellow passengers?

Aren't you all too ready to jump on the let's have...

2008-04-30T16:36:00.000+01:00

Aren't you all too ready to jump on the let's have BA's head wagon. Do you know what the deportee might have put the policemen through? He probably made them chase him. I bet he was weeping wailing and screaming all the way to the plane. Have you ever seen a nigerian being deported it's as if they have no dignity and pride. Some woman was dragging her butt on the floor what nonsense. I am sorry even I would be grossly irritated and cranky.

And first anon is right imagine if that was Bellview and the Nigerian police had to handle that they would beat the guy to pulp and no one would do jack.I have seen policemen beat someone to death because of N20. Let Nigeria treat it's citizens right first before it starts dictating to other people how to treat Nigerians

Now who wants to bet that this legal action would turn into a disappointing mess in months?

sorry, i ddnt read all that. i find law & law lang...

2008-04-30T14:16:00.000+01:00

sorry, i ddnt read all that. i find law & law language very confusing so i don't ever bother to interprete. so, 4 illiterate ones like me, pls break it down. how does all that legal jardon translate in layman's language? wot does it all mean? daz all i really wot 2 know.

u r british, Jeremy. woz ur take on this? someone was wondering if a collective boycott of BA would stand. i doubt it, if u ask me.

Wonderful!!

2008-04-30T11:12:00.000+01:00

Wonderful!!

Yes,we get all kind in our country but thats not a...

2008-04-30T08:28:00.000+01:00

Yes,we get all kind in our country but thats not a reason for us to accept it from others.Its high time we start asserting ourself as nobody will do it for us but us.BA is so full of all that crab and must be resisted by all means.We are keeping them in business by patronising them and so,deserve to be treated with respect.

I just stumbled across another story about airplan...

2008-04-30T05:58:00.000+01:00

I just stumbled across another story about airplane ejection of passengers protesting the mistreatment of an illegal immigrant being deported to the continent

"Serge Fosso: Why I was Kicked Off a Brussels Airlines Flight To Douala" - http://www.dibussi.com/

This is definitely becoming an epidemic and until Africans take a resolute stance on this issue, it will only get worse

I find it odd that u had to first mention u are N...

2008-04-30T02:07:00.000+01:00

I find it odd that u had to first mention u are Nigerian, hmm...
Well I guess we have to start somewhere, so BA would be the scapegoat....the starting point. Sadly though, u seem to have missed the point...

@ ANON 7.23That is the subject-matter of a differe...

2008-04-29T23:49:00.000+01:00

@ ANON 7.23

That is the subject-matter of a different discussion!

I am Nigerian and I find it terribly confusing tha...

2008-04-29T19:43:00.000+01:00

I am Nigerian and I find it terribly confusing that Nigerians suffer 'racial' discrimination at the hands of fellow Nigerians on Nigerian soil in every aspect of their lives and stay silent yet we choose to attack BA.

Imagine the following real-life scenarios:

1. A caucasian happily joins the end of a Virgin Nigeria check in queue at Murtala Muhammad Airport, guess what? Some airline or airport official moves him/her to the front of the queue!

2. A Nigerian and a caucasian tender for a contract or attend a job interview in Nigeria with equal qualifications. Who do you think gets it?

3. That on Virgin Nigeria, on a flight from Nigeria, the inability to purchase on-flight items in NAIRA!

4. And when it comes to customer service, who are the worst offenders; Bellview, Virgin Nigeria, Virgin Atlantic or British Airways?

I'm a believer that if you pay for a service then you deserve to receive the best service possible but I'm disgusted that in an industry where all parties are guilty that one airline is being singled out.