With
the election for the Presidency of the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) round the corner and heating up, candidates are attempting
to garner support through political maneuvering and lobbying efforts.
ICAO
is a specialized agency of the United Nations, which codifies the principles
and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and
development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly
growth.
The ICAO Council elects its president for a term of three years.
Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, who is into his second consecutive term, is the
fifth and current President of the ICAO Council. The Nigerian is vying for a
third term.
Aysha Al Hameli, who is a Permanent Representative of the United
Arab Emirates at ICAO, and Italian Salvatore Sciacchitano, are challenging the
incumbent president's ambitious bid. Aliu's decision to contest again has
rattled Ms Al Hameli in particular, who appears determined to derail the
Nigerian's aspirations.
The Emirati candidate, who is a pilot by profession, was declared
as a presidential candidate by UAE in September, 2018. For the past one year,
she has been travelling extensively, seeking to influence most of the 193 ICAO
members to vote in her favour. So far, she has made foreign tours to the US,
most of the African countries, Russia, major European countries, Malaysia,
India Japan, China and many more.
Negative campaigning
Ms Al Hameli's messaging and tactic is classical. She is going on
the offensive through negative campaigning or mudslinging to worsen the public
image of her oppoenent. For many, this is construed to be the ugly side of
politics. But for some, winning is all that matters.
Rather than highlighting her strengths and what she would do to
improve the standards of ICAO going forward, her campaigning revolves around an
unfortunate incident that took place in 2016, when the Montreal-based UN
aviation agency became a victim of a cyberattack. It was alleged that the ICAO
attempted to play down the attack. The buck stopped at Secretary General Fang
Liu and Dr Aliu.
The incident, though, underlined the importance of a quick and
coordinated response when an organization faces a cyberattack. Since then, the
agency appears to have made robust
improvements to its cybersecurity posture and approaches to mitigate further
incidents.
Ms Hameli, though, is not letting go and is exploiting it to her
advantage.
Money matters
The candidate who spends the most money usually wins. While money
is a necessary component of a campaign, big money provides a disproportionate
advantage to a selected few, and
creates an uneven
playing field.
With the backing of the UAE, Ms Hameli appears to have
unrestricted access to funds to influence Council members.
Recently,
she reportedly organised a party on a UAE-hired yacht in Montreal, Canada,
where she was seen hobnobbing with a number of ICAO members. It was charm
offensive at its best.
Ms
Hameli has also conducted a private dinner with African groups and has
requested for closer coordination with the other groups. Astonishingly, she
appears to have succeeded in making inroads into the Nigerian Government in
May, 2019. Reportedly, Nigeria has offered its support. The Nigerian ministry
of foreign affairs also seems to be promoting Ms Hameli in other African
regions.
Does
it all mean that Dr Aliu, Nigeria's own, has been abandoned? If so, there is no
stopping Ms Hameli.
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