Air Peace, the Nigeria’s flag carrier commenced Lagos-London flight services last Saturday March 30 after seven years of test of endurance. Allen Onyema, the airline chief executive officer (CEO) deserves accolades for a hard-won victory which has also been hailed by many as victory for Nigeria and Nigerian air travellers.

And to discerning Nigerians, it cannot be anything less.  To those who are passionate about our country, it is a victory over swindling of Nigeria of about N3.7 billion annually by foreign airlines including British Airways that was by 2014 charging non-competitive fare of $10,070 for a First Class return seat from Abuja to London while the same facility through Accra costs $4, 943. It is also a relief for Nigerians relieved of the burden of having to travel to Ghana, South Africa or Morocco in search of cheap foreign airline tickets. It is also hoped this victory will bring into a closure ex-minister, Stella Oduah’s battle against deliberate violation of Nigeria’s aviation laws by foreign airlines.

And for those who have faith in our country, it is also a victory over local powers and principalities who cannot stand the success of their fellow compatriots but will rather cooperate with outsiders to kill their own “sun’ (apologies to Saro Wiwa) whether he be Chinua Achebe’s Okonkwo, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Congo’s Patrice Lumumba or Nigeria’s Obafemi Awolowo.

The betrayal by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), as narrated by Onyema during his ARISE TV interview was despicable.  And no less repulsive was the complicity of corrupt bureaucrats in the  avoidable  frittering away of N200m by Air Peace to secure the services of consultancy firms from IATA just as  the action of unpatriotic government officials  who deliberately derailed the commencement of services operations long after the Nigerian flag carrier had  “actually procured their three-triple seven because of this route’,  because they wanted to give it the blow that it deserved at that time” cannot be anything but loathsome.

Onyema also did not forget to remind us of the international aero-politics which he admitted while speaking with ARISE Television on Monday, can be very dirty. He must  have been referring to having to clear his name over U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia’s  November 22, 2019 press release alleging fraud and money laundering for moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through United States bank accounts out of which ‘over $3 million of the funds used to purchase the aircraft allegedly came from bank accounts for Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Centre for Non-Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited, and Every Child Limited.’. Added to this international conspiracy was the Gatwick authorities’ unusual demand of non-refundable 20 million pounds deposit, before Air Peace could start operation”.

Last Saturday victory lap was anchored by Onyema who took a leading position in the private airline operators’ battle against government’s proposed national carrier they argued was detrimental to the survival of airline local operators.

Buhari had in 2014 disclosed that President Jonathan fleet of about 11 aircrafts would form the nucleus of his planned national carrier.  It was not until July 18, 2018, that “the name, logo, colour scheme, structure, and types of airplanes of Nigeria’s national carrier were unveiled at Farnborough International Public Air show in London”. There we were informed about $308.8m had been set aside to cover aircraft acquisition and running costs for the airline’s take-off, with five of the projected 30 aircraft needed expected in Nigeria by December 19 2014. The new national carrier, we were told would operate 40 domestic, regional and sub-regional and 41 international routes. And that it would be a private sector driven ‘Nigeria Air’ in which government would own only 5% with Nigerians owing 46 per cent equity, while 49 per cent shares were reserved for strategic foreign investors.

Unfortunately, Buhari had credibility deficit especially with Hadi Sirika last minute stampeding of Air Ethiopia as favoured strategic partners on terms the current minister whose official report is yet to be released said was unfavourable to Nigeria,

Nigerians derived little joy from government past interference in the activities of the airlines especially the Stella Oduah’s ‘N330b Aviation Intervention Fund meant to address the financial challenges faced by airlines in the country” with N232.6b of it paid to 21 participating banks.  But records as at 2015, when Jonathan left government, showed that domestic airlines like Arik, Aero and Air Nigeria whose managing director led the crusade and got N35.5 billion government bail-out were owing AMCON over $700m debt

The mishandling of Nigerian Airways, Virgin Nigeria, Nigerian National Shipping Line, the four public refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, of Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Company, Nigeria Railways Corporation” NEPA PHCN, banks oil companies, insurance, hospitality industry only increased Nigerians apprehensiveness about involvement of government in setting up of a national carrier or involvement of government in any business for that matter.

 And counting in favour of anti-national carrier, domestic airline operators and Air Peace this time around is the fact that they are not asking for government bailout. Their battle cry is that past government interference had been a disaster.

But while we celebrate the success of Air Piece and the triumph of domestic airline operators, it is important to remind Nigerians youths who lack a sense of history and the rest of Nigerians, who often suffer from collective amnesia, that there is nothing wrong with public enterprises. The problem was with our ill trained military men and their thieving new breed politicians

Our founding fathers following in the footsteps of Europe adopted the Keynesian macroeconomic model which supports government intervention for the purpose of national development instead of depending on market economy to liberate our people from poverty.  And this paid off as most of the public enterprises established by our founding fathers brought rapid development until after the civil war.  For that season, public enterprises formed the backbone of our economy. In fact, it was the golden era of Nigeria when the naira was as strong as pound sterling and stronger than the dollar with Nigeria giving interest free loans to some African and European nations. Up to 1983, estacode for those visiting Britain who by the way needed no visa, was N500 (five hundred naira).

Our nightmare started with Babangida’s ill-advised commercialization and Structural Adjustment Programme which saw many thriving federal and state-owned public enterprises sold to retired military personnel and their fronts who were never equipped to run such enterprises. Obasanjo and his military baked new breed politicians completed this betrayal when from 1999, they sold Nigeria’s total investment of about $100 billion acquired between 1959 and 1999 for a paltry $1.5 billion.

From then on, public enterprises became the scape goat to cover up the greed of politicians. It was used as an excuse by politicians without vision to justify underfunding of public universities to allow those who have access to state funds set up their own private universities, sabotage public water supply, the mainstay of our urban centres in the 60s and 70s to pave the  way for a regime of private water merchants  and to destroy Nigerian Airways to justify the setting up of Albarka, Okada, Oriental, Concord, Harka, EAS, Triad, Harco, Savannah, Bellview, ADC airlines their today’s reincarnations.

Onyema, like Dangote and other members of their tribe might be good corporate citizens, always aiding Nigerians in distress, celebrating Falcons, after victory and flying our national colours. But at the end, he is profit-driven business man running aviation business, perhaps one of the most sophisticated businesses in the world. He has to recoup costs of all the aircrafts he claims to own while the aircrafts must be certified globally.

Onyema is not into charity. He is in business to make money. And making money under market economy means taking advantage of the less privileged that our abandoned public enterprises were designed to protect.