Knowledge is handed down from one generation to the next, encoded in language. If Patrick Obahiagbon, with all his blistery diction, knows the meaning of every English word ever spoken, I am willing to bet my salary that he knows all subjects. After looking at the level of neglect of infrastructure in Nigeria, I have been wondering whether the word “maintenance” exists in any Nigerian language.

For example, Abuja was conceived to be the best purpose-built city in Africa, but I have seen street lamp holders hanging at the end of the wire out of the lamp post and buildings with missing letters in the names across their walls. I have seen edifice and public buildings without functional elevator; Bus Rapid Transports with broken tail lights, dented bodies, oozing exhaust fumes; roads constructed that becomes unmotorable within two years; traffic lights that barely work for 24 hours – one would ask when has it become a rocket science to make sure that traffic lights are working 27/7 or do we need a genius to accomplish that?.   If all the faucets, light switches, sockets, air conditioners, doors, computers etc, in a government building are functional, you can be certain that it is new.  I am a Nigerian and I am happy to announce that there is a word for “repair” in my dialect but I am yet to find one for “preventive maintenance”. Mind you, I am yet to master my dialect!!

At least one philosopher has concluded that the purpose of life in the physical universe is to introduce order into the chaos of the physical universe. By this theory, one would expect that today there will be more order in Abuja than say before 2007. As can be seen from the “Broken Window Theory”, cross section of humanity/life love entropy, the anti-thesis, “or do they?” Ladies and gentlemen I present to you the Broken Window Theory. Enjoy!

In 1969, Philip Zimbardo, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, performed an experiment that introduced what is now known as the Broken Window Theory. The premise is that when people perceive an item to be abandoned, even those people who are not otherwise prone to criminal behaviour, they are more inclined to steal or damage that item.  Zimbardo parked a car in a rough Bronx, New York, neighbourhood with its license plates removed and hood up, making the vehicle appear abandoned. Ten minutes after the automobile was left alone, its battery and radiator were stolen. The car’s other valuable components were stripped within twenty-four hours; soon after that its windows were broken and upholstery was destroyed. Zimbardo parked another car in the same starting condition in an upscale Palo Alto, California, neighbourhood. It sat untouched for a week, until Zimbardo smashed part of it with a sledgehammer. Within few hours, the vehicle was flipped over and demolished.

The big question is what caused some countries to develop (some so rapidly) while others are still struggling with the issues of development? Authorities and governments in many countries have expanded upon the Broken Window Theory, believing that in localities where neglect, petty crime, and decay (i.e., broken windows) aren’t cleaned up; there is an increased likelihood of not just more of the same but also more serious crimes. Minor bad behaviour, left unchecked, is believed to send the message to people that no one in authority is watching and there are no consequences for that behaviour – the leaders don’t give a damn.

If you have ever travelled to or lived in any of the developed country, what you’d seen in not just the scale and size of infrastructure and public service utilities, but you’d be impressed with the standard of their maintenance and the share volume of employment created to sustain this. Endowed with abundant material and human resources and the largest market in Africa, Nigeria ought to be the choice destination for investors; arguably not living up to its potential.  I posit that developing strong ethics for maintaining public service utilities is not only cost effective in the long term but it makes smart economic sense.  At a time when Abuja must compete with Accra and Ankara for investment opportunities, the country that has reputation for high quality public services and first-rate facilities will be the choice destination for investors. Nigeria cannot afford to be slack with the development of standard infrastructure.   A holistic and preventive approach should be adopted to keep public utilities functioning at all times. This is good for the citizens’ morale, potential tourists and to make Nigeria the investment base of Africa.

On safety

Air travel in Nigeria has had an unwholesome number of disasters in the last couple of years with its consequent damage to the nation’s image abroad.  I am often amused with the level of public outcry after an air mishap and how soon such hues fade.  Every plane crash brings to the fore challenges in the sector, one starts hearing and reading series of commentaries and “expert analysis” on what could have, would have or should have been done but was not done. Then you start wondering where have these opinion been all the while? It is always like a knee-jerk reaction to a subliminal problem (covered up).

Recently, a colleague from Europe once told me a story about how he had to travel from Abuja to Lagos by connecting an international flight, travelling almost half way round the world just so that he could boycott local airline.  Even though I laughed him to scorn, I knew he has every reason to be afraid. What are the agencies in charge of aviation doing to avert another possible accident?  Everyone needs to be vigilant and should not dim the search light on happenings in the aviation sector. The impact, like the current bad state of roads across the country, is grievous; it will affect all of us.

Many observers have likened the ongoing “decoration” of aviations terminals, across the country, to dressing the wound while leaving the sore, in Nigeria aviation, untreated. I do not agree that accidents are inevitable and an act of God. Air travel is suppose to be one of the safest means of transportation but “if anything could go wrong it will certainly go wrong”. – Universal law on safety.

OGUN Olabode

Information Technology Consultant, based in Abuja

Email: olabodeogun@gmail.com.