"Vada a Bordo/ Go on Board!"-

A Call to Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan by Nkiru Oh


On the 13th of January, 2012, the cruise ship, Costa Concordia, with 4200 passengers and crew, hit a rock and capsized off the cost of Giglio, Italy. The conversation that ensued between the Coast Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco and the ship's Captain Francesco Shettino was one of the most interesting pieces ever! I want to share what I found very interesting and commendable, and use the incident as a premise to appeal to the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to get back on board.

Captain Shettino was said to have abandoned his responsibility by leaving the ship while passengers were still on board. Obviously, because of an unwritten code which exists that the captain of a ship is the last to leave, Captain Shettino's action was decried all over the world. Captains who exhibited such bravery as staying until the last passenger was rescued, or the risk became too dangerous, were hailed as heroes. Some of those heroes even perished with their vessels. Those who abandoned ship in a time of emergency were few and were forever castigated.

Delay, they say, is costly. One hour after the ship had run aground, Captain Shettino was still heard giving excuses. Several orders by the coastal guard, Captain De Falco, were ignored. Shettino's excuses hinged on the realms of absurdity: "...it is dark and we can't see anything; I am with my second in command; ...the other boat here...it has stopped; I am here with the rescue boats...I am here to co-ordinate the rescue..."

The shirking of responsibility by the ship's captain is striking. How can the captain of a ship co-ordinate rescue operations from outside of the ship? As the commander, isn't the captain the best person to give situational report and from inside the ship? Long ago, Nigeria hit the rock and capsized. Poor governance and corruption have held the nation captive all these tears. For years, Nigeria has been aground ready to sink! The activities of the boko haram militants coupled with the endemically corrupt leadership are fastly submerging the country's ship of state, and the captain has been giving all kinds of excuses!
The boko haram menace has cost many lives and maimed many more. From the bombing of the UN headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 23 people, to the Christmas day bomb blast where about 37 died, to the Kano bombings with over 150 deaths, and today's killing of more than 12 civilians in Maiduguri, the boko haram seems to be winning.

Acording to President Jonathan, the members of this sect have infiltrated every aspect of government including the police, army and security, and they "operate without a face". Are these excuses or what? Really? Whoever though they would operate "with a face"? Is acknowledging that they operate without a face a sound of despair and hopelessness? Does it mean that the president has sounded, or is ready to sound the "abandon ship"? Is he willing and ready to take the next life boat and co-ordinate the rescue of Nigerians from the outside of the ship, like Captain Shettino?

Nigeria is undergoing  a very dark period in her history. So what? Boko haram has infiltrated the government. And so what, President Jonathan? Who is the real commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: is it still President Goodluck Jonathan or the militants? Nigerians are looking up to their Commander-in-chief to be in control. The world is watching too! He needs to get back on board! Posterity will thank him for that. Or as Captain De Falco asked Captain Shettino, does the president "want to go home...? It is dark and [he wants] to go home?" As a good leader, it's advisable that President Jonathan should "get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and [take charge and instruct his staff on what needs to be done]...Now!"


Nkiru Oh