In the wake of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Ibom Air conflict involving passenger Comfort Emmanson, Rev. Fr. John Chinenye Oluoma, popularly known as Fada Oluoma, has shared a unique perspective.
Moving past the usual debates of right and wrong, the Catholic priest urges Nigerians to consider the wisdom of their actions and to avoid becoming the next “Kwam”—a term he uses to describe unruly and foolish behavior.
He begins his post with a memorable analogy:
The Army General and the Slapping Woman
“During a traffic jam, two cars bruised each other with negligible scratches. The woman who drove one of the cars came out, started exchanging words with the man in the other car and next thing was a hot slap on the man. The man came down, the woman still seething in anger was releasing verbal missiles and threatened to add another slap.
The man maintained his composure, made a call and within 5 minutes a van with 5 soldiers arrived on the scene. The man was an army General in mufti. The slapper’s sense returned immediately and she went from incredible Hulk to a baby… He simply asked her to call her husband… When the unfortunate man arrived, he told her to do exactly to her husband what she did to him. She slapped her husband. The army General took a look at the man, entered his car and drove off.”Fada Oluoma uses this story to illustrate his main point: that in a country where “everyone is a Kwam,” it’s more productive to ask who is wise or foolish, rather than who is right or wrong.
A Call for Wisdom Over Righteousness
The priest argues that while we can debate the actions of both the Ibom Air staff and Ms. Emmanson, the core issue is the initial foolish decision to escalate a simple request. He draws on his own experiences as a passenger, noting the disregard for simple safety instructions like turning off phones during takeoff and landing.
“The instruction says turn off your phone during take off and landing, it doesn’t say put it on flight mode. Take off and landing are the critical stages of flight, they don’t last more than 5 to 10 minutes. A turned off phone for that period will crash kwam 2’s life?”He also observes a “sudden and radical change” in behavior when Nigerians board domestic flights compared to international ones, a point that highlights the cultural aspects of the issue.
Choosing the “Wise” Path
Fada Oluoma addresses the controversial video of Emmanson being forcibly removed from the plane. He states that a wise person would have complied and walked off the plane on their own terms, rather than resisting and inviting a more forceful and humiliating removal.
“Kwam 2 must come down from the aircraft, why not follow them gently down as they approached you? There are two options to come down from that aircraft, by force or by self, what would a wise person do? By self.”He concludes with a powerful plea to avoid being the “Kwam Next.” While acknowledging that injustice exists in Nigeria, he cautions against allowing ego and folly to lead to suffering.
“Sometimes we suffer because of our ego driven folly, not because of injustice or other ills which undeniably are there. Let’s not be the kwam Next biko.”The post serves as a sobering reminder that while society has its flaws, individual choices and a sense of personal responsibility are essential for maintaining order and avoiding unnecessary conflict.
