The aftermath of the December 25 failed attempt to bomb a US-bound airplane by Nigerian teenager, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been the ratcheting up of aviation security all over the world. The United States responded by listing fourteen countries as state sponsors of terrorism and countries of interest including five African countries namely Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Algeria and Nigeria. As a background Mr. Abdulmuttalab, who had his education in Britain and Dubai, in circumstances yet to be ascertained, went to Yemen and was recruited as a suicide bomber. Abdulmuttalab purchased his ticket from the KLM office in Accra on December 16, 2009.

The ticket was paid for in cash. Original routing was Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit-Amsterdam-Accra which was later re-issued with the return journey to end in Lagos. No contact addresses or telephone contact was given by the purchaser of the ticket. Mr. Abdulmuttalab boarded the airplane and connected from Amsterdam enroute Detroit. According to reports, about an hour to land, Mr. Abdulmuttalab while trying to activate the explosive inadvertently caused a fire which drew attention of fellow passengers and crew and led to his arrest.  As a result of the incidence several countries have responded in varying degrees to up security at their airports especially those countries where the suspect passed through. Presently, the Federal Executive Council, Nigeria’s highest decision-making body, has ordered full-body scanners for deployment at Nigeria’s international airports. Ditto is being done in the US and Netherlands despite reports of opposition from the European Union.

The international dimension of the plot more than anything calls for international cooperation and vigilance in the fight against terrorism. According to reports, passenger Abdulmutallab’s flight started from Yemen through Dubai, Accra, Lagos, and Amsterdam, then to Detroit. It is very instructive that he passed through Amsterdam and the scanners were unable to detect the contraption hidden in his pants. If the highly sophisticated and well-equipped security and gadgets at Schipol airport could not detect the explosives one can then see the huge aviation security challenges that face the world’s poorer countries, without international assistance.

A listing of countries may not resolve the challenge. The terrorism-backers chose vulnerable countries; and there are many other even more vulnerable countries that could fall prey. Training in future threats to civil aviation must be conducted for developing countries if the fight against terrorism must be won. It must be acknowledged that some of the substances employed in bomb making can pass many airports security worldwide in one form or another. The same regional and international support which has produced the remarkable achievement of improving air safety worldwide must also be brought to bear on security. Many observers see the failed December 25 terrorist plot as basically an intelligence slip given that the father of the suspect had informed the United States and Nigerian intelligence community of the extremism of his son in Yemen in addition to other intelligence sources which reports say the United States had that pointed to a planned plot on December 25.

The major focus on the Christmas-Day failed attempt should be in the learned lessons. That the plot probably would have succeeded if not for the apparently slipshod handling of the explosive devices generates cold shivers. An expedient option for aviation authorities all over the world is to work closely and give assistance to vulnerable countries. Same must also be said for the intelligence community. For an aviation industry still smarting from huge financial losses and low traffic, a successful terrorist attack would have had unprecedented consequences on passenger confidence, and sounded the death knell on the industry. The industry is yet to recover fully from 9/11.

There is also need to ensure that passengers’ rights are protected in the upped security at the airports. More delays are expected as airport authorities subject passengers to more thorough checks. Full-body scanners now border on discomforting privacy violations, many already argue.

However, the major challenge that faces the world remains to stop terrorists before they enter the terminals of airports, or indeed any other mass transit system. Now, renewed vigilance is the keyword. And everybody must watch out.

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