Isympathize with Festus Keyamo the newly appointed Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development. He was depressed by what he saw during his last week’s visit to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA), Lagos, the nation’s foremost gateway and aviation sector’s major revenue earner. In his words: “The old international terminal, right from the toilet facilities to the arrival, departure halls, is an eyesore to Nigerians and foreigners. The lifts are not working and the passage is unwelcoming, and there is no air conditioner”. For him, it was also disheartening that “We have the new terminal but it cannot be used because it was designed without provision for big planes” while “everywhere else not occupied by dead planes has been taken over by powerful private aircraft owners”.
It is not difficult to understand the minister’s source of agony. He must have seen records of a petition by members of the National Union of Air Transport to the leadership of the Senate in July 2013, which alleged that, just for consultancy works on the upgrade of the airport, “Messrs. Ngonyama Okpanum and Associates; Messrs.’ Design Union Consulting Ltd and Messrs.’ Triad Associates Ltd were awarded contracts for the sums of N99, 179,507.17; N60, 986,730.46 and N95, 520,011.93 respectively. And for its actual upgrade, Zakhem Construction Nig. Ltd allegedly secured a contract at the sum of N920, 191, 147.58. For the first phase and N981, 900,300.45 for the 2nd phase, even though the petitioners swore “the entire Phase II is sheer duplication of Phase I.”
The newly built but dysfunctional NMIA terminal was financed from the $500m loan from Import and Export Bank of China. And for the new minister, it is not any less depressing that before the nation could derive some joy from the $500m loan secured by Princess Oduah, penultimate past minister of aviation to cover the rehabilitation of four other air terminals, her successor, Hadi Sirika had approved the concession of two of them (Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, to the Corporation American Airport Consortium for an $8.5m upfront payment for the maintenance of the two airports for the next 20 years.
For Keyamo, it cannot also be a pleasant assignment reassuring Nigerians that since the $8.5m upfront payment is not enough to service the Oduah’s $500m Chinese loan let alone address the process of repayment, Nigeria will not share the experience of Uganda where in 2015, and Chinese Exim Bank took over Uganda Entebbe International Airport for defaulting in repayment plan.
But perhaps more agonizing for Keyamo is the fact that he is dealing with informed Nigerians who are aware the $8.5 upfront payment may have been spent in advance by Hadi Sirika who on the same day he signed his concession agreement also signed through the Aviation Ministry, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the commencement of the African Aviation and Aerospace University (AAAU) in partnership with Abuja based University. By that act, he has given license to FAAN to spend unearned money.
Keyamo must be warned that both FAAN and NCAA remains the scourge of the aviation industry and the reasons successive Minsters of Aviation since 1999 ended up in grief. The former is “statutorily charged to manage all commercial airports in Nigeria, provide service to both passenger and cargo airlines and create conditions for the development in the most economic and efficient manner of air transport and the services connected with it”. The latter is the agency charged with the oversight of the aviation sector. Unfortunately both have failed Nigeria. Rather than serving Nigeria, the loyalty of the two bodies have been to domestic airlines whose interest they promote through government policy initiatives.
For instance because of greed, corruption and mismanagement of the aviation sector by these two bodies, Babalola Borishade as aviation minister brought nothing but grief to Nigerians. Before he was finally dropped as aviation minister by President Obasanjo, about 320 Nigerians lost their lives in air crashes including the October 22, 2005 Bellview crash that killed 117 people, the December 10, 2005 McDonald DC 100 Sosoliso crash that killed 107 in Port Harcourt and the October 29, 2006 ADC Airlines on a scheduled domestic flight from Lagos to Sokoto, that crashed and killed 96.
The then minister was in 2009 arraigned by EFCC on a 15-count charge of bribery and forgery covering alleged mismanagement of a N5.2 billion aviation safe tower contract along with others including Rowland Iyayi, a former Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency who is today a leading member of domestic Airline Operators opposed to the establishment of Nigeria Air.
In the case of Stella Oduah, her downfall was masterminded by FAAN and NCAA public servants. Although in her defence over NCAA procurement of two $1.6m BMW Bullet-Proof cars for her security before a House Public hearing in 2013, she attributed her travails to “entrenched corrupt and profligate individuals and entities who have caused the serious rot in the aviation sector, while for 38 years, our airports were a damning commentary on our status as part of the civilized world”. She however pretended not to know that the group she blamed for her travails was groomed by NCAA and FAAN public servants.
Of course there is no evidence to support Oduah’s claim that she and “her team (NCAA and FAAN) changed the game in favour of Nigeria attaining her pride of place in the comity of nations”. If anything, Keyamo’s lamentation during his visit to MMIA invalidated such outlandish clam despite Oduah’s self-glorification, media celebration and conferment of Ikenga chieftaincy title by her people.
Keyamo must be wary of not only NCCA and FAAN but crusaders who are saying because BA and Virgin Atlantic operate over 21 frequencies to Nigeria without any Nigerian carrier reciprocating the same privilege, “If Air Peace is not allowed to fly to London, then British Airways and Virgin Atlantic should be stopped from flying to Nigeria”. I cannot see any wisdom in starting a battle we cannot win as Oduah sadly discovered while in office. At the end of the day it is Nigerians travellers that will suffer.
Instead of playing the ostrich, I think we should first put our house in order. Is it true some of the airlines have problem with American authorities over the sources of their monies? Is it true some of our business men engage in unwholesome business practices, the reason some were kicked out of South Africa not too long ago? Is it true some of our business men driven by greed hardly follow rule of engagement in business practices?
Finally, Keyamo must not succumb to the blackmail of domestic airline operators. We need a national carrier not just because we have sunk N3 billion into the Nigeria Air project but because it is the most rational thing to do in our circumstances. We have since realized the likes of defunct ‘Okada, Al Barka” and Aero Contractors are no substitutes for Nigeria Airways. Like most of our seized public enterprises, we now know those who bought Nigerian Airways could not run it even with government bailout. We also now know that those who are swearing in the name of patriotism because Ethiopian Airline, which got the franchise to run the national carrier, was to have 49 per cent stake have by their past actions demonstrated their lack faith in our nation.
With a national carrier, no matter who runs it, we will use our local currency and not be held hostage by IATA over foreign airlines trapped funds which in July last year stood at $464 million (N199.2 billion) but has now risen to $812 million.
Give me an Ethiopian to run our national carrier and a Rwandan to run our refineries. For Nigerians to be saved from Nigerians, we must make use of what we have if we cannot get what we want.