- Three years after President Buhari promised a national carrier, its unveiling recently seems we’re merely winging it
What was aviation minister, Mr.Hadi Sirika thinking when he made what may best be described as a cameo appearance at the Farborough Air Show, London, United Kingdom, last month? What was termed the unveiling of Nigeria’s national carrier turned out a presentation of logo (livery) and name of proposed airline, (Nigeria Air). And what was to be cheery news only succeeded in generating criticisms and a gale of questions.
Why do we need to unveil Nigeria’s national carrier in London; especially when it is obvious we are not ready? Why have we presented a mere banner after three years of this administration? Why is it just the minister unveiling the so-called carrier; where are the investors and other stakeholders? Where are the aircraft and offices of the new airline? If the ownership is to be largely private, why is government at the heart of the unveiling? How come something as basic as applying for Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was yet to be done for an airline billed to take off at year end? And what about the outstanding severance benefits of liquidated Nigeria Airways staff?
That there are so many questions dangling in the air suggest that serious attention has yet to be paid to President Muhammadu Buhari’s pronouncement in his inauguration speech in May, 2015, during which he promised that a national carrier would be one of his priorities. It seems therefore, that there is much to the‘unveiling’ than meets the eye.
For an airline billed to start operation in December, some basic and preliminary steps are yet to be taken. One, it has been reported that the NCAA is yet to receive an application for AOC. Another precondition for take-off would be activating the Bilateral Air Service Agreements and test-run all aircraft to various routes Nigeria Air proposes to fly.
Aviation experts are not aware Nigeria Air has signed its final investment decision (FID) with would-be investors.While acquisition of aircraft is not an over-the-shelf transaction, neither is remodelling one an overnight task. Recruitment of a wide range of various levels and cadre of staff – pilots, engineers, flight attendants, ground staff – is usually a thorough and painstaking exercise. No signs of any such on-going activity just yet.
Nigerians who have expressed worries that this new experiment would go the way of the defunct Nigeria Airways may be on good grounds after all, especially if the new carrier is already on a roadshow while the basics still appear like distant mirages.
The minister has tried to allay fears that this firm would indeed be business in the pristine sense of it and would not be tied to government’s apron strings. Sirika said: “The national carrier won’t be like others in the past. We have made it clear in our certificate that the national carrier will have a strategic world-class equity partner who will manage, operate and make management decisions.
“The government will not own more than five per cent of the new national carrier. The government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it.”
It is further said that the firm-in-making has received Outline Business Case (OBC) certificate from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), which is a sort of a clean bill of good health for the business-in-formation.
Government would apparently provide some of the take-off seed money. There would be bidding for a major core investor. A national airline is at face value, a good business proposition for any country; more so a huge market like Nigeria’s. It will boost Nigeria’s sovereign image, create jobs, especially for Nigeria’s teeming industry experts. Stave the haul of foreign exchange by foreign airlines and harvest rich low-hanging fruits from over 80 untapped routes as well as harness Nigeria’s aviation brand equity.
But we fear that the airline is taking off on shaky wings. First, what is purely a Nigerian sovereign brand is to be largely owned and managed by foreign interests. A similar experience with Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic came to naught. We ask: why can’t Nigeria manage her strategic businesses? Ethiopian Airline, one of the most successful today, is fully government owned.
In spite of the myriads of misgivings however, we urge the Federal Government to push ahead with the project while exhibiting more transparency and allowing a little more equity stake for indigenous investors. It’s a worthwhile venture but government has not applied the required rigour.
