Any Nigerian who could see to the evacuation of 503 Nigerians from South Africa during xenophobic attacks in 2019 free of charge, bring back stranded Nigerians from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Dubai and South Africa at the height of the dreaded Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, using his airline, Air Peace, and paid to bring home 584 Nigerians from the UK deserves to be celebrated.

But that is not all. This Nigerian is an enigma!

Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, 59, a lawyer, peacemaker and entrepreneur is a reporter’s delight. He is the proprietor of Air Peace Airlines. He just shocked the airline world again. Possessed with courage, patriotism and an uncanny love for country, Allen Onyema just crashed the prohibitive Lagos/London fare with his proposed commencement of flights from Lagos to London next week. From a callously exploitative cost of N15m/N17m business class ticket and N4m economy class, to about N4m business class and N1.2m economy, and a further 15% discount for students, this Anambra-born entrepreneur deserves an applause. Once he announced his Air Peace fares on that route, other international airlines started reducing their air fares.

Last Tuesday, Onyema hosted the quartet of Onochie Anibeze, Editor, Saturday Vanguard; Jide Ajani, General Ediror; Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor, Sunday Vanguard; and Clifford Ndujihe, Politics Editor. It was the presentation of the letter of award as Vanguard’s Personality of The Year. Formalities over, an interview session followed. And Onyema spoke. He was blunt – in fact, too blunt, some times, for his own good. But we had to take it all in. After all, every statement he made represented an over-swirling lava of patriotism. Here was a man who almost singlehandedly created the process that led to the surrender of Niger Delta militants through his nonviolence advocacy and the ultimate Amnesty Programme.

From contemporary issues of the economy, governance, President Tinubu and what Nigerians and Nigeria need to do to regain her esteem in the comity of nations, Onyema waxed avuncular, suggesting apolitical and nonpartisan pathways to progress and development.
Excerpts:

On being nominated as Vanguard Personality of the Year, 2023

I thank the Publisher, staff and everyone in Vanguard, who deemed it fit to consider me Personality of the Year, 2023. I cherish this award because it is not for all-comers. I really appreciate it. Receiving this is a huge honour for me and a challenge to do more. An award of this kind helps in nation-building. It is part of the reasons I recognize those who toiled for the nation in the past.

On Air Peace London route and impact on the Aviation industry and Nigeria’s economy

If not for anything, I am one of the happiest persons on earth today. Even if Air Peace is told not to go to London again, this airline has achieved something for this nation at a time when the country is in doldrums. At a time this country is going through social and economic stress, Air Peace has come in to give this country succour. If nobody wants to praise us, we are praising ourselves. If nobody wants to recognise what we have done for this country in the last two weeks, we will praise ourselves.

In the face of daunting hostile problems even from government agencies, we did something great. Therefore, I will praise myself. Three weeks before now, Nigerians were paying N15 to 17 million to do a six-hour direct flight (business class) to London. Nigerians were paying N5 to 6 million (economy) to go to London. In order to avoid paying N17 million (business class), N6 million (economy), Nigerians had to travel round the world to get to London. There were situations in which Nigerians would fly to Qatar, an eight-hour flight, stay over for two hours before flying to London, which is another eight hours.

A whole 24 hours would be spent flying for a six-hour flight because a kind of fare regime was deliberately brought on my nation by foreign airlines. Over time, I have complained and I have been targeted both within and outside the country for my efforts towards building a nation. I am happy because I have been vindicated for those things I said.

How Nigerians suffered to fly to London

Nigerians were going to Rwanda, Morocco, Egypt even South Africa to go to London. To save money, they would fly down to South Africa (six hours) to get to London. No one can blame them. Like I always say, it is only indigenous investments that can protect this country. Foreign investments are good, but you also have to encourage indigenous investments to stabilize and succeed. Indigenous investments provide the real jobs and when the chips are down, they are the ones to save the country. When I talked, nobody wanted to listen to me, but I beat my chest and I am happy today. I am absolutely happy for what I have done for this nation in the last few days.

Do you know the millions of dollars or billions of Naira Air Peace has single- handedly saved for this country by what we did? From N17 million, we brought a Business class flight to London down to N4 million. From N6 million we brought economy class flight down to N1.2 million and even afforded our students a further 15 per cent of the N1.2 million.

What happened? Pandemonium in the aviation world. All the foreign airlines started scrambling for safety. They started scrambling for cover. Within 24 hours of Air Peace releasing its fares, those airlines brought their fares from N15 million to N5 million. As I speak to you, the fares are coming down. They are advertising and begging people on social media to fly with them.

I have said this overtime but because some people suffer from colonial mentality, slave mentality, they think everything foreign is okay. Do you know how much Nigeria is saving now because too much strain was put on the Naira? Within 24 hours, Air Peace brought foreign airlines to their knees. Air Peace and other Nigerian airlines deserve to be supported.

What kind of support do local airlines need from the government?

The problem we have in this country is that the public and government officials look at private investments as investments belonging to individual owners. What they don’t understand is that when Air Peace is going to London, it is representing Nigeria. As such, both the government and the people of Nigeria must support Air Peace wholly because things won’t be easy there (London). They are going to find faults to destabilize the airline.

It has happened before. When we went there to bring Nigerians back during COVID-19, they unleashed dogs on our aircraft. They didn’t even allow us to do a walk-around. They committed a certain breach and Nigeria protested to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, protested to ICAO because that plane could have fallen out of the skies.

Once an aircraft takes off, even if it is for five minutes, that plane can never take off again until the engineer or the pilot does a walk around because anything could have breached the fuselage as of the time of flight. Such a situation can only happen to a Nigerian airline. If that is tried with America, they will come after that country. It is only in this country that people think that if Air Peace is supported, Allen Onyema has been supported.

Let me state clearly, it is no longer Allen Onyema’s airline, it belongs to the over 220 million Nigerians. At times I wonder what is driving the hate because to the best of my knowledge, I have paid my dues. I have sacrificed my family to be out there in the creeks when people could not look into the faces of militants. My activities, among others, brought down militancy. After all these interventions, you would expect to be supported, but nobody is supporting.

The kind of support we need is a sincere one from everyone. If these foreign airlines knew they could charge N5 million, why didn’t they do so before now? What has changed? President Bola Tinubu and his government should not be swayed because these foreign airlines undermine his government. When they overcharge, Nigerians take it up with the government, saying it is because of the dollar. They put everything on the doorstep of the president.

Nigerians unfair to Tinubu

Frankly, we are being unfair to President Tinubu by blaming every woe in the country on him. As a citizen, you have to play your part.

Allen Onyema has played his part. I have shown that with patriotic acts, we can move this country forward. If you are patriotic, you can’t engage in corruption. If you are patriotic, you will engender the ease of doing business in your country and encourage businesses to grow. If you are patriotic, you won’t stifle businesses out of wickedness. If you are patriotic, you will drive a positive narrative for your country. One doesn’t need to be president or governor to bring about social change. When I brought about social change in the Niger Delta, I wasn’t a councillor. If every citizen is contributing his or her quota, the country will move forward.

One thing I will say is the present government owes it a duty to support Air Peace, not only on the London route but also other routes. It also owes it a duty to support other Nigerian airlines because we have done something for this government that has cleaned its image.

Most Nigerians travelling abroad blame all their woes on Tinubu, saying it is because of him that fares escalated. The foreign airlines cashed in on the (exchange) situation to escalate their bills to N15 million.

Internal, international conspiracies against Nigeria’s economy

Unhealthy competition with foreign airlines for London, other foreign routes

It has started happening. Look at the fares they are publishing now on social media, they went below cost. We all know the fixed cost of both foreign and local airlines. When they brought down their fares to N5 million (business and N1.9 million (economy) that was okay. Now, the plan is to take out Air Peace from the market. If they succeed in taking us out now, they will return to the status quo. Nigerians will be fools to embrace their new love. Currently, foreign airlines are doing all sorts of market gimmicks. For instance, one airline published $98. That is why the government should support Air Peace wholeheartedly with whatever it takes. It is not about money. I am not asking them to give me money. Government should show that this airline belongs to Nigeria and must be protected.

When Delta Airlines came to Nigeria in 2007, the entire US State Department followed them. Go and touch Virgin Atlantic, the highest echelon of government in Britain will come calling. Touch Air Peace, they will tell you the owner is an Igboman, religion will also come in. Who did this to black man? I don’t know.

It is a pity that even government officials also say Nigerian airlines do not have capacity. It is a pity. It is unfortunate the way we treat our investors or indigenous investments. We did Hajj over a year ago but we have not been paid. Apart from that initial payment that was meagre, we have not been paid. About $9 million or $10 million they owe Air Peace and Azman, non been paid.

The requests for Forex by Nigerian airlines have also not been met. Our funds are trapped with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. Air Peace borrowed money from the bank at 26 per cent, now the bank has changed it to 30 per cent. I also have my money stranded at CBN for almost a year.

Foreign airlines have been paid, why can’t the local airlines be paid? I remember the former acting governor of CBN, Mr Shonubi, he had compassion on me because I spoke about it at a conference held by the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. I said I had 15 aircraft stranded abroad that needed to be brought back. However, the money ($14 million) was tied up at the CBN. Shonubi flew to Lagos and came to this office, which I respect because that is what a government official should do. Before the day he came here, I never knew him from anywhere. He didn’t treat me like I am an Igbo man and he is a Yoruba man. He realised that this is a major stakeholder in the economy of this country. He realised the importance of aviation and came here to explain what the issues were. Even though he couldn’t help me, I felt respected. He carried me along and made me understand the pains of President Tinubu’s government, that there was no dollar in the coffers. He asked if there was anything that could be done, he suggested if I could take some of it in Naira and see how I could get dollars. To date, I respect that man.

However, what happened to those after him? Do they pick calls? Do they even listen to you? The problem is not President Tinubu. He means well but he should look at his appointees. It is the appointees of the government that cause problems, not the elected man. They block the elected man from seeing the truth about things.

As far as I know President Tinubu, he means well for the country. When Tinubu came on board in 1999 as governor of Lagos, on the back of Brigadier General Buba Marwa’s successes, people were not patient because Marwa created a large shoe. For anyone to fit into those shoes, he had to outperform Marwa. When Tinubu came in, people were crying, just like it is happening now. But when he hit the road running, he outperformed whatever Marwa had done.

Sincerely, I believe it is the same way now. He inherited something not so good and I believe he has that vision, goodwill and good intent to help this country. What he needs is the right people to work with. That is all.

Back to Shonubi, who came here and pleaded with me. I told him, okay, maybe I would apply for some of that money to be given to me. Can you imagine an indigenous investor borrowing money at 26 per cent for the past one year? These are the same airlines they are saying are weak. As I speak, $14 million has not been paid and nobody is talking to me. When you call, the powers that be at the CBN, they are not answering. Let them know that we own this country together. I am a huge player, I have intervened for this country at the worst times, I have even intervened for this government with what I did 10 days ago.

When the government announced fuel subsidy removal, I was the first corporate body to announce an incentive for staff. I also called on other corporate bodies to do as I had done to cushion the effects of the rise in costs of items. How else do I support this government? Yet the powers that be look down and don’t want to do what is necessary. Let them give me my money.

On challenges the government is having in paying…

They will say it is the documentation. Which documentation? The bank has provided everything. Let them give me back my money or treat me like Shonubi treated me. I still respect that man to date and that is what government officials are supposed to do. Government officials are not your lord, it is the mistake they make in this country. Elected officials or appointed individuals are our servants. They should treat the polity and citizenry in that manner.

For the Hajj, they have not paid either us or Azman. Do you know why I keep telling you the problem of this country is not the President and his Vice? I went to the Vice President, who called the minister of Finance in my presence, asking: “What are you people doing about Allen Onyema’s money stranded on this Hajj issue? We can’t leave our private investors to suffer. Myself and the president are very worried about things like this. How are you people sorting it? It has lingered.”

The minister responded: “We are treating it.” The Vice President continued: “I want that payment to happen and I am going to meet Mr President on this.”

The Vice President met with the President. In fairness to President Tinubu, he approved the payment. President Tinubu ordered the release of about N24 billion to offset whatever is owed through Hajj operations. The Hajj Commission has collected it.

I pity the president of this country. People will do things that they are not supposed to do, act when they are not supposed to act and the president will be blamed. The president is not God and he cannot see everything at the same time. Vice President Kashim Shettima did what he was supposed to do, President Tinubu acted swiftly, but that money is still with the Hajj Commission domiciled at the CBN for almost one month now. As I speak, we have not been paid. We went to the Hajj Commission and they keep telling us tomorrow. Nobody will stop me from intervening for my country, I will never be dispirited from doing what I do for this country.

What really informed your participation in the Amnesty programme and de-radicalization of former Niger-Delta militants?

That was in 2004. I believe in broad nationalism. I hate ethnic and religious nationalism that has been the bane of this country. The fact that we don’t speak with one voice is a problem. This country has potential, which we have not been able to harness. I love our diversity and I think the numerous ethnic groups should be a source of strength. This country ought to be one of the greatest places under the sun, but we have not been able to realise our potential because of our inability to manage our diversity. From Government College Ughelli to University of Ibadan, I have been like this. I love this country. Dead or alive, I have no apologies to anyone for my love for Nigeria. I believe in one Nigeria.

Having said that, in 2004, we were at Emab Plaza in Abuja when I saw on television a clip where a kidnap of foreign oil workers was announced. I was preparing to do the first Nigeria Forever project, which I took around Nigeria and funded with hundreds of millions of Naira on my own just to bring peace to the motherland.
I remember that late President Shehu Shagari hosted me in Sokoto, brought me and my executive to his house to request that I stay with him for one night as I was doing great things for this country.

While making inquiries on how to deal with the Niger-Delta issue, I discovered the Niger-Delta people took to arms because nobody listened to their plights. I remember politicians had armed them in the past for political gains, so they had arms. If you go to the Niger-Delta, you will see that the water they drink is polluted. It is as black as ashes. They agitated against it but nobody listened to them, so they took up arms. They believe that, through arms, they would get attention and solutions to their problems.

Having studied the situation, I thought that their choice (violence) would lead to nowhere but further disruption. I realised that nonviolence was the way out, so I studied India and Mahatma Gandhi, who led the struggle against British rule without encouraging his people to take up arms. I also learnt about Martin Luther King Jr, who brought down official segregation in the United States without encouraging violence and Lech Walesa of Poland who, through the Solidarity Group, used nonviolence to bring down the communist government at a time it was almost impossible. It is instructive to add that South Africans ended apartheid when they embraced nonviolence.

Having carried out these studies, I now decided that I would bring nonviolence education to the militants, but I didn’t know how I would because I had never studied nonviolence in my life. Therefore, I applied to the University of Rhode Island Study Centre for nonviolence and peace study to attend their summer course. Having admitted me, I gave them 22 names among my staff for admission so that they could train us all after which we would come back to Nigeria and train the militants. They gave us admission and I paid. However, when we went to the embassy, we were denied visas.

I appealed to them that it was not about granting visas. I told them to come to Nigeria and train us. They came to Nigeria to train us. The rest is history. We now went in and started doing the programme. For every violent person, he wants out of violence but doesn’t know how to achieve that. Nonviolence education provided a route to liberation from the clutches of violence for the militants. They also saw the sincerity in purpose and embraced it. We took them to South Africa to deepen their knowledge.

So, America called us, gave us visas so they could deepen their knowledge. The rest is history. When Shell saw what was happening, it embraced the programme, bankrolled it, then Chevron later entered, Akwa Ibom State government and other oil companies also joined. Therefore, it was a matter of time before the death of militancy.

After a while, then late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua asked Timi Alaibe about me, saying there were positive reports about what I was doing with the militants. Yar’Adua brought the idea of training Tompolo, Asari and the rest so they could come and have a meeting with him. That was how they brought me in and the rest is history. I trained the over 30,000 people who registered under the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP when the so-called United Nations agencies and companies charged about N60 billion because they said it was a dangerous assignment.

On their own, the militant leaders held a meeting in Yenagoa to say that without the man who liberated us, we were not reporting to any camp. That was how I was brought in, even though I was not interested. To me, I was happy to walk away knowing that I had helped my country. The first time the government paid a kobo into my account, I became a suspect for money that wasn’t even enough. Everybody had forgotten that it was my billions I used in bringing solutions to the problem before the government came to me. In 2005, I charged as much as N250,000 for my programme per person and people sent their wards.

The military was coming, lawyers were coming. People wanted to acquire knowledge on nonviolence and I brought in Americans to teach them. How much was I supposed to charge five years later? When you look at inflation, dollars and everything, I was supposed to be charging like N3 million. Do you know how much I was offered by the government to teach the militants five years later? N112,000 per person and there were 30,000 persons. Though I told Timi Alaibe I wouldn’t do it, he begged. When the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, saw the contract, it marvelled. It was about N4 billion then. Meanwhile, they would have paid about N58 billion to foreign agencies.

Those foreign agencies were waiting for it to collapse but it didn’t. In fact, nobody was killed at the Obubra camp. The UN, European Union, British and American governments all visited there and couldn’t believe it. When they visited the camp in Obubra, Cross River State, they thought nothing was happening because everywhere was silent. To their surprise, the boys were in the halls undertaking their lectures without creating confusion. We used 13 halls. Everybody was amazed and they praised it. Foreign diplomats came to my house to dine and find out how I did it. Today, it is a different story.

[Vanguard]