The official campaign musician for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, KWAM 1 escaped death on the tarmac after his failed attempted to block the path of an Air Peace aeroplane, whose crew deboarded him for bringing on board a suspicious flask of liquid.
A video, which has since gone viral, showed the Fuji singer seen standing in front of the aircraft, with ground personnel making a futile attempt to persuade him to vacate his dangerous position at the domestic terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Seconds later, KWAM 1 and the ground personnel were seen dodging the wing of the ValueJet plane as the flight forcefully took off.
Following the drama involving Wasiu Ayinde, a veteran Fuji musician, popularly known as KWAM 1 or K1 De Ultimate, two ValueJet pilots have been suspended by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
KWAM 1, who had already boarded and taken his seat on ValueJet plane on Tuesday August 5, was seen drinking from a flask and was approached by a flight attendant who suspected that the content was alcohol — a substance prohibited onboard aircraft in Nigeria.
The attendant was said to have asked the musician to surrender the flask, but KWAM 1 refused, saying it was medication prescribed by his doctor.
Subsequently, the flight crew deboarded the recalcitrant passenger.
Enraged, KWAM 1 blocked the path of the aircraft to prevent it from taking off.
Responding officially to the episode, the NCAA, on August 6, announced the suspension of two pilots over the incident.
The authority said it received reports of a serious breach of aviation safety protocols involving a ValueJet flight.
NCAA said the pilots commenced departure procedures from the designated bay without adhering to the mandatory pre-departure clearance protocols.
“This reckless action endangered the safety of ground personnel and other airport users, contravening established civil aviation regulations and international safety standards,” the NCAA had said.
Apart from the suspension of the pilots, the aviation authority is considering punitive measures for KWAM 1, such as being put on a ‘no-fly list’, over his unruly conduct.
