New Telegraph-Admin 
Fame drags a huge responsibility along with it which goes beyond the razzmatazz and emotional bubbles. It is like a sea wave, the more you drink, the more you thirst.
Wasiu Àyinde Anifowoshe, self-styled ‘King of Fuji’ knows better now. Billed to fly to Lagos from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on July 5, 2024, the very popular musician created a scene, like he was on stage performing.
The ValueJet flight that was to take him and other distinguished passengers, to the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos was delayed over an issue that should not have degenerated to a near suicide.
Airline officials and relevant aviation agencies had schooled him on the risk of carrying liquid into the aircraft, especially if it was perceived to be alcohol. The appropriate measure of deboarding a defaulting passenger was applied. And that was when all hell was let loose.
K1, as his fans know him as, insisted that the content of his flask was water, not alcohol. He stood on the tarmac, bent on obstructing the flight from taxiing for take-off. All appeals fell on deaf ears. The pilot began the flight without minding the consequences. The Fuji exponent had to duck to save his head from being struck by the plane’s right wing. The airport drama became big news.
However, K1, the newsmaker, painted quite a different picture of what happened. A press statement issued by his publicist thereafter, heaped blame on ValueJet, emphasising that the airline’s owner had tendered unreserved apology over the embarrassment.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) descended on the Flight Commander, Captain Oluranti Ogoyi and co-pilot, Ivan Oloba, by suspending their licences, pending the outcome of investigations.
Not much was said about the dropped passenger. It took the bold efforts of minister of Aviation and Aerospace Management, Festus Keyamo, to remind the NCAA of its statutory responsibility.
His intervention forced the agency to sanction the musician with a six-month no flight within Nigerian airspace. The agency has since said it was making the ban indefinite until the conclusion of the investigation into the incident.
Keyamo, while acknowledging the penalty on the pilots, whose action was deemed reckless and a violation of Nigerian, Civil aviation and international safety standards, called on the NCAA to extend the reprimand to KI. The minister showed leadership in this regard. It is no secret that K1 is close to President Bola Tinubu. However, we must commend the president for allowing the law to take its course.
The good thing about planes is that class does not determine character. A First Class passenger may not have the comportment of the one carrying an Economy ticket
That he did not stop Keyamo from asserting authority shows that members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) are not merely robots who are out to always please their master. It is safe to say that KI had to apologise when it became clear that he was entirely on his own.
While his apology has helped to douse tension, the lessons of that show of shame should not be lost. Knowing the Commanderin-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, does not confer on any one individual the power of arrogance. Kunle Soname, the man behind ValueJet, is of the same Ijebu background as King Wasiu Ayinde.
As a businessman, whose coast stretches from Bet9ja to Remo Stars Football Club and faraway Feirense Club in Portugal, he would not disrupt smooth operations at KWAM 1 Resort, Ijebu Ode.
If he did apologise, as claimed by K1’s publicist, it was probably out of courtesy. To whom much is given, so much is expected. KI is a Member of the Order of the Niger (MON). He represents St. John University, Bakersfield, California as an honorary degree holder.
The Maiyegun of Yoruba land should be a proud Ambassador of the people, in and out of the Southwest Geo-political Zone. As Oluomo of Lagos, Amuludun of Ibadan and Olori Omo-Oba of Akile, Ijebu Land, the carriage should be more than Talazo and Agidigbo. One unfortunate tag with fame is that just one slip can crumble fortunes and honours earned over several decades.
On April 18, 2025, the President, Art Institute of Chicago, James Rondeau, stripped himself bare on a United Airlines flight, heading to Munich from Chicago.
He was said to be high on alcohol and took prescription medicine. Police had to wade in. The drunk did the honourable thing, by stepping aside from his job, pending the conclusion of investigations.
It is this same fear of alcohol and its embarrassing consequences that played out at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport. KI insisted that what ValueJet officials saw as alcohol was medication prescribed by his doctor in the form of water packaged in a flask.
With the apologies, it remains clear that there is no need for a long legal battle that may ultimately require forensic evidence. Keyamo must also go further by asking what happened to airport security during the near fatal drama.
The Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) must learn from this. Perhaps, if the Badabarawu of Ogijo had been taken away from the tarmac by the police, that scene would not have been as ugly as shown in the video now circulating all over the globe.
The good thing about planes is that class does not determine character. A First Class passenger may not have the comportment of the one carrying an Economy ticket. Business sense does not elevate one to Business Class. In the air, all passengers share the same fear. In the event of a crash, there is no distinction between wealth and decorum.
