We Need PHIA No More

PHIA is a short way of referring to the Port Harcourt International Airport at Omagwa. But I’m afraid that the acronym sounds rather bogey; exactly the same as fear itself. And besides, the naming of airports after the towns and cities in which they are located is fast going out of fashion.
In the United States, for instance, the two main international airports in New York City were renamed after two of the country’s notable men, namely President John F. Kennedy and a former Mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia. Washington DC has Dulles International Airport, Chicago boasts of its O’Hare Airport while LAX International is found in Los Angeles.
Similarly, in England, none of the two major international airports in the City of London is named for the British capital. They are rather referred to as Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. The same goes for the French capital, Paris, where their topmost airport is the Charles De Gaul International Airport.
Here in Nigeria, among the five biggest international airports, only that of Port Harcourt is still named for its host city. Abuja has the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport; Lagos international airport is named after Murtala Mohammed; Kano is serviced by Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport; while the newly reworked Akanu Ibiam International Airport is located in Enugu.
In addition to these, the airport in Calabar has since been renamed as Margaret Ekpo International Airport; Imo Airport in Owerri is now Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport; and Victor Attah Airport in Uyo was originally conceived as Ibom International Airport.
It could also be argued that this latter group of Nigerian airports comprises mainly state-initiated airport projects which were later renamed by their owner-states before being handed over to the federal government. Yes, even our sister state, Bayelsa, was said to have embarked on a similar venture which may also be christened for one of her senior citizens before possibly being surrendered to the nation.
Why there had not been a serious attempt over the years to request that the authorities in Abuja rename the Port Harcourt airport for a prominent Rivers personality (living or dead) still beats me. At best, it is either that we are feigning ignorance of what is trending elsewhere around us, or that we are simply not interested.
Another viable postulation could be that the federal government may have decided that none of our statesmen and women is worthy of such honour, even if post-humously.
To be sure, Abuja cannot claim to have forgotten so soon the immeasurable contributions to state and nation of such Rivers statesmen as Harold Dappa-Biriye, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nwobidike Nwanodi, Rufus Ada-George, Peter Odili, Tonye Graham-Douglas, Sumner Dagogo-Jack, Claude Ake (who incidentally died in a plane crash), among several others.
Going by what successive governors had done in the state, especially in terms of naming some new and remodelled projects after prominent Rivers sons and daughters, there is no doubt that if the civil aviation facility at Omagwa was the result of a sub-national undertaking, it certainly would have been renamed for one of us. After all, there already exists a long list of eminent Rivers people for whom legacy buildings and institutions have been renamed.
Furthermore, I would not be driven to believe that politics has anything to do with it. Nobody should even contemplate such. Else, how can it be explained that between 1999 and 2013 when Rivers State belonged to the then ruling party and, even at some point, had a friend, brother and in-law as the president of this country; yet no one thought of raising this issue. Of course, the state still has one of her sons as transportation minister in Abuja. So, when else can be considered most appropriate to push this demand, if at all?
Looking beyond Rivers State, who said that naming the Omagwa airport for Alfred Diete-Spiff, Melford Okilo or even former President Goodluck Jonathan (all from neighbouring Bayelsa) would be indigenously incorrect. Was the earlier-mentioned JFK Airport in New York not so-named to immortalise slain President Kennedy who hailed from the nearby State of Massachusetts? Again, Abuja is not native to Azikiwe, just as Lagos is not Murtala’s home state. The same is equally true of Akanu Ibiam who hailed, not from Enugu, but Unwana-Afikpo where a federal polytechnic is also named after him.
Honestly, Jonathan deserves far better than mere mention at a glorified railway station somewhere in Delta State (even if for now) after six years of rendering meritorious service to this nation. For crying out loud, we are talking about the first South-Southerner to occupy the all powerful and highly coveted presidential seat in the Aso Rock Villa. And, like it or not, ex-President Jonathan still represents for us in the South South what his former US contemporary, Barack Obama, means to Blacks and other people of colour in America.
It will, therefore, be extremely delightful to stand on the tarmac of the Port Harcourt airport some day in the near future and see, for example, ‘Goodluck Ebele Jonathan International Airport’ emblazoned across the front of the new terminal building at Omagwa. Or, what do you think?
*This column promises to remain thought-provoking and a reader’s delight every Monday. Thanks for reading.

By: Ibelema Jumbo