 Some fear that the airports in the country will be shot, local and international flights were hearing, maybe shot in Nigeria today, Monday and Tuesday. As the unions, we're talking about the aviation unions in, or the unions in the aviation industry, said that there is no going back on the two-day warning strike declared to demand for improved wages for workers in the sector. The unions had on Thursday declared the warning strike on Monday and Tuesday, or for Monday and Tuesday following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum earlier issued to the federal government through the aviation minister Senator Hadi Sirika, which unions are we talking about here? The unions include the National Union of Air Transport Employees Noate, the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Aksan, the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAPE, and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, ENAB. Now they're demanding, amongst others, that the plan demolition of aviation agencies headquarters in Ligas be halted. If you remember, the unions and the minister have been at loggerheads over his plan to demolish the Ligas offices of aviation agencies to build what calls an Aerotropolis, an airport city. It's been on for some time now. And Hadi Sirika, aviation minister, said there's no going back on the plan demolition while the unions have said their benefits are not befitting of this rather in a boujah for thousands of the aviation agencies whose staff are currently in Ligas. Well, I think that issue will be touched very soon because when it involves aviation, when it involves flying up there, it affects a lot of people that are the policymakers, it affects a lot of people that are they who we saw in Nigeria and all that. So they will do something about it. I know that, I know that for a fact. But what I keep asking myself is that why at this day and age or in this day and age do we still have to go back to or resort to strikes before we can get anything solved? Something as basic as minimum wage implementation. Why is it not implemented? And the federal government is modelling an increase in salaries. As they said, they're thinking about an increase in salaries for workers, especially the federal workers, even though it is not this administration that is going to implement it, but they're talking about it and they're saying that is going to happen. Landlords have already heard that. People in the market have already heard that and it's not being done. Meanwhile, the minimum wage that was promised a long time ago has not been implemented. And I'm wondering why do we always have to get here? Do we have to go on strike before the needful is being done? Do we need to always be kidnapped before the needful is being done? Because sometimes the kidnapped Chibok girls that we are celebrating, let me not use the word celebrating, that we are marking nine years since they were kidnapped. The ones that were rescued were sent abroad on scholarship and all that. Did they need to be kidnapped first before the government? That's a good question. So, I mean, it's just a simple thing. Keep to your word and that is all and people will move. So if it is something that you cannot do, don't promise. Federal government keeps doing this and it's unfortunate. Yes. For me, I know that these aviation workers always go on strike for one thing or the other. The other unions always go on strike for something and the pattern I've observed is even if it's for greater good, they will still go on strike. For example, the telecommunication sector when they said they want to privatize a night out, they went on strike because they don't want to lose their jobs. When we hear they want to downsize, for instance, or right size in the electricity sector, they want them to take exams to know who is who and to know who qualifies to be there, they go on strike. When the governor says he wants to give teachers exams to know whether they actually know what they are teaching, they go on strike. So the workers really don't want to be put through some of these things. Now the question for me would be this Aerotropolis, the airport city that we're talking about in Lagos, is it going to benefit the country? Because I mean if there's anything that stands to benefit Nigeria and to make aviation better, I mean is it more important to have offices for aviation companies, you know, aviation agencies, or to have a befitting airport for Nigeria that would make things better? Yeah, wonderful question, but you see all these things stem from the fact that government is not trustworthy, that people don't trust the government. Okay, I'll give you an instance, in France they're having protests, you know why? Because the government said they were going to raise the retirement age by two years, they're going to add two years to their retirement. In Nigeria, people go all out to make eight declarations, to be younger so that they don't get to retire. The reason is that if you retire you don't even show that you're going to get your retirement benefits, you're almost always sure that you're going to retire into a life of abject poverty because they're not going to pay your pensions or give you your retirement benefits and all that. So people struggle to stay in service because at least they are they're sure of their salaries. So if government comes to you that okay we're going to break this place and reveal something else that is better, that is a good thing. But have you ever gone to somewhere for instance where there is flood or there's been a storm and the houses are off? Nema will come and tell you that they're giving you relief materials and then they come to you five or six years later and give you two roofing sheets, I've seen that happen. So when they tell you that okay leave this place we're going to build a city that is going to be very very befitting for the aviation workers, the first thing that comes to your mind is will they implement it, will they go out and do what they're supposed to do, how soon are they going to do it and when they do it who is going to benefit, is it going to be the same us or they're going to bring their cronies, people that are loyal to them to benefit from this scheme. So questions come to the people's minds, it all boils down to trust. If we trusted our government we will always know that this thing they have said they will do it and it's for our good. So the question now for me will be had the Syrica is her project, Fedagma has a project, they want to demolish some parts of the airport so they can build what they call air droplets. The aviation workers are saying no we have offices there you can't pull it down and because of that they want to shut down aviation in the country, it doesn't make sense to me, they want to shut down aviation in the country. It reminds me of the electricity workers where when it was they were asked to write some exams so they could know who is who and who knows what. They shut down the national grid in the name of strike. One day someone is going to come along and will arrest people like this and imprison them because it's a crime, it's national sabotage. You can't say because you are going on strike for something that just consents you an exam that they are saying you should write as an electricity employee who's been there since the days of NEPA and you say I don't write the exam, fine. But you don't shut down the grid that is serving the entire country or entire Abuja because of that. That's wrong and then they went and they filmed it and they celebrated. In the country where things worked those guys would be in jail prison. You know that in countries where you can't sabotage an entire country. You know how many people would have had to be on oxygen in the hospital maybe because of the high cost of diesel and all that because I've been in such a scenario where there was no diesel, there was no oxygen, they don't like to pump the oxygen and all that. How many people would have needed that electricity to just make sure that their daily bread would have been met. Now we're talking about aviation. Is this what's shutting down the entire economy for some so these unions and I'm tired of some of these labor unions not standing up for things that concern the real issues okay so NLC and all these guys. The real issues that affect Nigeria. When it comes to the ones that affect them they want the rest of us to suffer. It's not right. There are some germane things that we need to see labor standing up for in this country that affects okay less of a police brutality ensars for instance where are these guys. These guys don't care about all these things you know. It's like when Nigerians are shouting for ASU. You know what I was saying to people ASU they have their issues they're not they're not saints you know so I think we'll move on from that but what I'm saying is you cannot shut down aviation in their country for such matters. I agree that there are some things that are extreme but it's good that we're arguing from both sides. Government stand up to your responsibility and the people do what you are supposed to do that's it but you know sometimes you give someone the opportunity to do evil and in this case we will blame the government and if someone has committed a crime and you know that your your part of the story is genuine enough government has done its part and they're shutting down they should have the moral standing to arrest these people and imprison them perhaps because they cannot do that that is why strikes will go on all the time because you're arresting them for what what they're demanding did you do no and even if you did that thing and then because someone who is among these people is loyal to you and I cannot I cannot arrest this person because he's close to me or there's something I benefit from him and all that these crimes will still continue so government do your part people do your part it is our Nigeria at the end of the day we are all going to suffer or enjoy it. You want to suffer? Well let's see what happens for me you know no Union has a right to shut down what benefits the entire country because of a matter that is in a sector I mean do all you can but people are traveling you know people are moving from and and these guys will have the power you can't go and shut down an airport as a union you try this in oh try it in America okay we're talking about global standards talking about democracy government you can try the America a vision union the the flight that the airport the pilots can see they're not going to work it's between the pilots and the company that's okay the airline the pilots can see they're staying at home you know but a union saying we are locking the airport nobody's coming in I don't think it's it's fair no but this one includes pilots it includes other workers so if they don't go to work even if they open the airport what will you do in the airport nothing well it's the same thing well so you have a point governments will just stand up to their responsibility because we shouldn't be talking about minimum wage for race time so I look at also things like cost-benefit analysis like you have this Eritrepolis they want to remind them that the new international airport they built really cannot be used efficiently because of this positioning when planes land and all that so that's another issue they made a mistake you know so I don't know the benefit to Nigeria benefit to the economy aviation is a big deal all over the world you know you go to airports like like like Abu Dhabi like Dubai and all those places and you're almost like you're in a mall you're like you're in a in a gigantic mall now will this be a benefit to Nigeria or not this is what I think we should be talking about because this is the same minister who you know said he spent spending them how many billions to buy is it 12 or 10 12 billionaire to buy 10 firefighting trucks the airport which means that one is down to 1.2 billionaire and people are why people shouting don't they know don't they know it's part of what we're talking about but anyway hopefully so which means there's that much money in the aviation industry and these things are not done minimum wage is not implemented I mean look from both sides of it it's it's crazy how how we showed the kind of wealth we have and that it cannot come back to us it's crazy but as it is please people in the aviation industry it is going to affect our economy so much and we're hoping that this matter will be resolved all right all right um how how how is going to affect the economy I mean because it's a it's a serious economic economic issue you know um I think that I'm sure we'll get some of the those who crunched the numbers tell us you know how much we lost in a day to the Nigerian economy if this shutdown is implemented yeah that's that's another serious issue look at you know so um I don't know let's talk about the cost of the economy you know and even the cost of importation and exploitation yeah even within the country because do you know how many people will need to go to Abuja for instance for a business transaction that cannot be done online uh do you know how many people even will go for interviews that tomorrow will put food on their table do you know how many people are waiting on goods that need to arrive by plane do you know how many people need to be somewhere even for health issues that cannot travel now because of that so it's a whole lot even if we don't have the numbers but we can we can deduce the implication to the economy and the people of Nigeria as a whole all right well we'll keep watching this um this space you know there's a lot to look at as far as that is concerned them uh and of course the evasion success really very very important term uh we'll take a break when we come back we'll look at what the traffic says you know want to know what traffic in Lagos is like you know even if you're listening to us from outside Lagos so outside Nigeria you can also you know tell us what the traffic is like in your city um we'll take a break when we come back we just took all the traffic uh says and um stay with us