My June 12 day was hectic as usual; it started very early in the day as I led my parishioners to pray against destiny destroyers. There are many intriguing cases of destinies that were, well, inexplicably destroyed in the Bible; a few examples were Abel, whose offering God accepted but who, as a result, got killed by his brother Cain whose own offering God had rejected; a thoroughbred and conscientious soldier, Uriah the Hittite, whose brutal murder was orchestrated by a loafing King David to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife; and the conspiracy of King Ahab and his notorious wife, Jezebel, that led to the gruesome murder of Naboth. In all the three cases, the victims were blameless as far as ordinary eyes can see; yet, they were victims of destiny destroyers. In His manifest wisdom which no mortal can query, God punished the vile offenders but only after the deed had been done. That must be an object lesson for all of us!

A similar fate befell Chief MKO Abiola who won the June 12, 1993 presidential election fairly and squarely but was not allowed to enjoy the fruits of his labour. The military junta in power, led by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), annulled the election. As he was “stepping aside” from office under a barrage of protests by Nigerians led by civil society groups and activists, IBB installed an inept Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan. Gen. Sani Abacha, the most senior military officer after IBB’s exit, wasted no time in dismissing Shonekan and taking over the reins of office. Abiola’s protest and effort to retrieve his mandate led to his arrest and detention, where he eventually died. He was not allowed to fulfil his destiny by destiny destroyers.

From church I landed at the Lagos State Television (LTV) where I was one of an array of analysts that discussed the various angles to the June 12, 1999 presidential election, the protests that followed its annulment, the political impasse or logjam that dragged for years, the eventual return to civilian rule on 29 May, 1999 and the progress made so far, if any. If anything, the current Fourth Republic is the longest-running in the history of the country and if it is true that experience is the best teacher, then, Nigerians must have learnt one or two lessons on how to sustain and nurture our renascent democracy. Challenges encountered so far, and the roadmap for a better tomorrow, were also dissected.  

From there, I moved to the Oodua People’s Congress commemoration of June 12, the 30th in a row, at the Excellence Hotel, Ogba. The place was jammed packed and the atmosphere was electric. It was my first participation in OPC’s commemoration of June 12. Activists and civil society organisations, traditional rulers and various chapters of OPC from far and near made the hotel premises too inadequate for the event. Leader of the OPC and Aare Onakankanfo, Iba Gani Adams, said in his speech that Nigeria cannot achieve much if our democratic aspirations are tied to the 1999 Constitution. He enjoined President Tinubu to find a way to get the constitution reviewed. Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin encouraged June 12 activists not to give up the struggle. She demanded that Abiola be placed on the same pedestal as former presidents of the country. On fuel subsidy removal, she counselled that the sacrifice demanded by our leaders should flow from top to bottom and not the other way round.

Dr. Tunji Abayomi described the 1999 Constitution as the fruits of a poisonous tree and urged the National Assembly to pass a law that will vest the Nigerian people with the powers to give themselves a Constitution. The Guest Lecturer, Dr. Oseni Taiwo Afisi, said June 12 transcended the identity politics of ethnicity, religion and such other primordial instincts. Veteran journalist, Otunba Gbenga Onayiga, also supported the demand for a new Constitution while also calling for the immortalisation of other heroes of democracy, which included journalists. Another veteran, Dare Babarinsa, said answers must be found to why the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar regime that succeeded Abacha failed to release Abiola from detention when other detainees were being released. He urged President Tinubu, the first activist to become Nigeria’s president, to order an investigation into this.

There were many other speakers, including this writer, but space will not allow us to mention them. I left the gathering resolved to attend future activities of the OPC as I find convenient.  

NCC chairman, Prof. Adeolu Akande’s golden advice to 10th National Assembly

Election of principal officers into the 10th National Assembly has come and gone and everyone must have simmered now, as they say. The next battle will shift to the composition of Senate and House committees. That will be the first litmus test of how competently Godswill Akpabio (Senate President) and Tajudeen Abass (Speaker of the House of Representatives) can bridge the gulf created by the keen competition for their respective seat and rally the chambers behind themselves. The robust intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was what made what had initially threatened to be a fight-to-finish look eventually like a storm in a tea cup, judging by the ease with which Akpabio and Abass sailed through. But the wisdom of our people says you can help someone to land a job but you will not be the one to execute the mandate for him. So, the ball is now in the court of Akpabio and Abass and the task of rowing the boat rests squarely on their shoulders. Can they rally their colleagues? Do they have the required leadership skills? Are they selfless? Will they be listeners who will be patient servant-leaders and not dictators? I came across the advice given by Professor Adeolu Akande, chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and felt that not just Akpabio and Abass but the entirety of the 10th National Assembly need it to succeed.

Hear the professor of Comparative Politics: “Now that the winners have clearly emerged after all the horse trading, I want to enjoin all the lawmakers to put Nigeria first and collaborate with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in actualising his “Renewed Hope” agenda. So far, the country is moving in the right direction. I expect members of the National Assembly to collaborate with the Executive in moving the country forward. President Tinubu, since his inauguration on May 29, 2023, has left no one in doubt on his vision and mission to make Nigeria one of the best economies in the world. This can only be achieved with a cooperative and collaborative Legislature” It couldn't have been better put!

Prof. Akande then assured that the Board of the NCC, which he leads, will continue to initiate lofty ideas that will lead to poverty reduction, wealth creation and employment generation. Since every politics is local, Akande did not forget his home base of Oyo state as he also felicitated federal lawmakers from the state on their inauguration as members of the 10th National Assembly. He told them “to consider this as a rare opportunity and call to serve our fatherland. I pray God grant you the wisdom and good health to succeed in this national assignment!” Again, well said!

FEEDBACK on “Will Osinbajo rue missed opportunities?

Hello, Bola, o t’ojo meta! Just read your piece on Osinbajo in today's Tribune: Sobering, poignant, and VERY instructive. Kuu’se o! -Niyi Osundare.

I pity Osinbajo, our gentleman professor of Law. He was a prisoner of power while in Aso villa. I believe he became a target of jealousy the few times he stood in for his principal; they were worried by his brilliance and potentials in power. That's why they ended up taming him while ensuring that he lost friendship with Tinubu. Like you, I await his memoirs on his travails in power. It would be an interesting read. More ink to your pen, as usual. Please send the e-copy of your UI lecture to me after delivery. - Dipo Onabanjo.

Very sad story! He was marked out by the cabal. - Prince Suyi Olateru-Olagbegi.

Thanks very much, Sir. Osinbajo, like Obasanjo, needs to tell us the type of devil that resides in Aso villa that makes them forget their ancestral home. - Bello Mohammed Adeola.

I greet you once again for always standing on the side of not just the fact but also the truth! To start with, those who brought Obasanjo to power only gave him the office of the president but kept the authority and power of the office to themselves. Obasanjo was only able to grab and snatch 70% of the power towards the end of his second term; that was why he longed for third term! Under the Nigerian system, vice presidents are like spare tyres. Everything you said about Osinbajo is 100 per cent true. Keep the good work going, Sir! -Titus Kosemani Ayojesu.

Osinbajo was a disappointment all the way... There was no sign of a pastoral understanding on his part. He was put in position for “such a time like this” but... he was not sensitive to the Holy Spirit and had no sacrificial calling of “if l perish l perish” in order to do the needful. I am sure he and his cronies will have tons of lame excuses. I pray God will forgive him for being a bad example of a Christian in position of authority! By the way, let me have a link, if available, to your upcoming lecture at U. l. I will like to watch it either live or later. If that is not possible, please avail me an electronic copy to read. Blessings, my big brother! Reminder, please work on the compendium of your works. Or will you want me to do it? -Dr. Revd. Demola Sodeinde.                                                             

You can now see the deceit in human behaviour! Where are the youths shouting and hailing him on the APC primaries ground in June last year? Some of us didn't like his steps at that time but where are those defending his actions as the right thing to do? Why have they forsaken him so soon? That's a peculiarity of the Yoruba race. Similar story followed Aregbesola but as a politician he has started to apologize and shift the blame of his misbehaviour on Satan! I wish Osinbajo would follow suit! Everybody likes power; however, it was rumoured that (Borno state Gov. Babagana Umara) Zulum was approached to be VP (to Tinubu) but he said no; that they should first approach his boss, (Kashim) Shettima. If Shettima was not interested, Zulum said he would then accept the offer; unlike Osinbajo that did not look back, even when his (former) boss had signified his intention. I did not expect him to grab the offer. It was a very grievous mistake. The performance of Osinbajo as VP and a Christian made me to conclude that the religion of the VP is immaterial. When people were raising objections to the Muslim-Muslim ticket of Tinubu/Shetima, I was not bothered. Also as a lawyer of repute, he disappointed me. Nevertheless, he has done his best. Thank God he returned home safe and sound! Welcomed by a crowd or not, he has acquired the big title of "EX-VP"! Welcome, Your Excellency! -Kola Oloye.

Sir, don't mind the ex-VP, Yemi Osinbajo; he was just there for eight years for himself and his family only! l do not see anything to remember him for. l pray he sees this your write-up one day! So, the day he passes through Lagos/Abeokuta road or Shagamu/Ikorodu road, who is he going to blame or accuse of abandoning those roads? So sad that all our past leaders from the South didn't do anything tangible there! l pray President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s case will be different for good. -PST. Austin Igharoro.

An average Nigerian legislator would seize every opportunity at any gathering, public or private to demand to be recognized and respected in society. The law maker’s claim is based on the argument that of all arms of government, the legislature is the greatest symbol of democracy because the arm is usually the only casualty when dictators violently take-over the government of a nation. The contention therefore is that legislators are the only real representatives of the people. But if the truth must be told, most Nigerians are not satisfied with both the official performance and general conduct of their so-called real representatives. This article however refers specifically to federal legislators; because at state level, Nigeria does not have legislators, what we have are special assistants to state governors on law making.

Bearing in mind that the 10th National Assembly was inaugurated only five days ago, some people may consider it too harsh to begin the new legislative year with adverse criticisms of legislators who are yet to settle down to business. While there is a point in allowing them to acclimatise before analysts can begin to place any searchlight on them, many of the members are not really fresh. In fact, this is an appropriate junction to draw their attention to the fine difference between legislators in settled democracies and those in developing societies whose focus should be on how to help their nations to quickly develop so that the standard of living of the people can be uplifted.

This is the best time to plead with those categorized as ranking Nigerian legislators not to pollute the minds of those coming in for the first time. This is because so much has happened in our National Assembly in the past that is injurious to society. In addition, what Nigerians have observed about their legislators in the last one month already confirms that it is likely to be business as usual. First, contrary to the provisions of our constitution, the legislators could not on their own pick their leaders, those who emerged as presiding officers were handpicked by the executive arm of government making it obvious that the 10th Assembly may be a sharper rubber stamp than its immediate predecessor.

Why was it necessary to extend to the world at large, a process of leadership selection specifically designed by the constitution to be internal to the legislature? Why did our legislators spend millions of naira including media placements to campaign nation-wide to even those of us who were not illegible to vote? What message did the commercialization of the process send to the nation? Could those involved in such display of wealth have intended to offer service without recouping their humongous expenditures? Logical answers to these questions can easily establish that we are not about to see a different type of law makers more so as many members of minority parties reportedly negotiated to be made members of ‘lucrative’ committees before supporting the anointed candidates of the executive.

The cry of betrayal by the senator who lost the seat of senate president to the candidate of the executive suggests that senators-elect were compromised by both the winner and the loser of the election. If the executive was fighting to avoid the installation of opposition presiding officers who may through mischief sabotage the mandate of the ruling party, perhaps it would be easy to understand the interest of the executive. But such interest becomes incomprehensible when all the aspirants belonged to the same ruling party. As a result, not many people appreciated the desperation of the executive to instal ‘friendly’ presiding officers. Is it so as to get irrational requests such as excessive loans passed without scrutiny? Put differently, does the executive not intend to operate an open and credible governance system and as such requires legislative collusion?

Interestingly, events of the last 8 years have shown that it is not in the interest of the executive to have a so-called friendly legislature. For example, during the last 4 years of President Buhari’s administration, the president became so irritated by the legislature’s exploitative posture that he had to cry out over what he described as the latter’s “worrisome changes” to annual budgets. At a point, there were as many as 6, 576 new insertions into the budget, different from those discussed between the relevant officials of the executive and the legislature. Many of the inserted items were found to have fallen outside the scope of a federal budget. It was also discovered that about 500 items amounting to not less than N380 billion were duplicated. Buhari must have suddenly realized the difficulty of fighting a ‘friendly’ legislature. The new narrative of trusted friends therefore runs against the lessons of history.

The National Assembly did not also seem to know that it did not impress Nigerians. During the Covid 19 pandemic, legislators did little or nothing to help Nigerians. They also did nothing about palliatives that were hoarded and kept away from the masses by the political class which includes legislators. During the ill-fated new naira policy, no one came to the aid of the rural masses by putting up temporary finance structures to ameliorate human sufferings in locations with no banks. The male-dominated legislature also rejected all pro women bills. These are the specific peculiarities of an underdeveloped society that those in top political positions ought not to discountenance.

Alas, our legislators like their predecessors in office remained self-servicing. When for once, the Auditor-General of the Federation was able to summon enough courage to expose discrepancies and illegal expenditures in government, the legislature gave itself immunity and began to investigate and talk down on officials of all other government institutions indicted by the auditor’s report. Till the end of its tenure no one heard anything about the financial scandals in the report about the National Assembly. Yet, the House of Representatives was specifically indicted for spending over N5.2 billion at different intervals on several unexecuted projects along with advances of N258 million granted to 59 staff who never retired any. Will the new House retrieve these sums to boost revenue for development?

This time around, the public should be educated on the terms and boundaries in the friendly relationship bond between the executive and the legislature. If it is about collaborative federalism, then the legislature must get out of its toga of constructive timidity and become more diligent about its constitutional mandates. The senate for instance is empowered to clear certain nominees before they can be appointed into office. To retain a system in which some nominees are requested to ‘bow and go’ amounts to abdication of responsibility because everyone ought to be properly screened and found fit before being cleared. There is no known law in Nigeria today which empowers senators to exempt any nominee that the law says should be cleared.

The legislature should assist its friend, the executive, to appoint only fit and proper persons into offices, otherwise project Nigeria to which both should be committed would remain a mirage. For a more diligent performance therefore, the senate should demand that positions to be filled should accompany the nominees proposed to fill such positions. This is neither negative nor difficult to agree upon. If not, the old invidious system of blind clearance will never achieve the desired purpose. A major reason why we had a controversial general election earlier in the year was because of the number of unqualified persons that the executive mischievously inserted into the otherwise impartial INEC and which the senate delinquently cleared.

Can the 10th Assembly assure us that it will not in the name of friendship with the executive plunge the nation into political disasters as the 9th Assembly did? It is an assurance required to be solemnly made by the legislature that it is ready to work assiduously for the growth and development of Nigeria. There is no better way to do so than by desisting from the egoistic pursuit of material gains especially hidden monetary allowances that have made the presidential system too expensive for a developing country. The National Assembly should take the lead in making all sectors of Nigeria appreciate the expedience of sowing one’s coat not according to the desired size but according to the available cloth.

In order that the current euphoria over the reintroduction of students’ loan scheme may not be another post-inauguration gimmick that is just full of sound and fury signifying nothing, the new administration that is beginning to gain attention from some actions so far, should pay significant attention to fixing education beyond the student loan meretricious distraction. The reasons are not too far to seek.

First, if the President can look beyond his political party, mobilise all the governors to make the issue of fixing the education broken walls a priority, the world will begin to pay attention to Africa’s most strategic nation again. The critical challenge in education isn’t about getting the so-called indigent students of tertiary education to have access to education, there are issues too with fixing infrastructure and welfare and wellbeing of teachers. I have been writing on this since 2016 and I will just rejig some of my thoughts on this platform since 2016. Doubtless, we need to encourage our new leaders to fix their bureaucracies to be able to do what bureaucracies did and succeeded before we lost our country to bandits in power even before the 1999 constitution.

Let’s not get it twisted, there are still sound intellectuals here that can assist the ‘New Sheriffs in Town’ (the president and governors) to restore the paradise we lost in education quality from basic education to university levels. All the institutions of governance including university administrators need is discipline of enforcement of extant laws, rules and regulation. Strong institutions can only come through strict adherence to existing rules. At the moment, there is anarchy in the critical sector.

In October 2017, I did a serial on ‘Shortlist for Fix-Nigeria 2019’. In the course of writing the serial, I deconstructed Education Quality as a critical success factor for the country. I wrote, for instance that: ‘…we need to consider some issues that are germane to making Project 2019 a desideratum… we need to encourage our leaders at all levels who can still use the so-called mandate we gave them in 2015 before the cock crows at the dawn of May 29, 2019, to consider one thing needful even as they go into re-election politics. The one thing needful is attention to quality in education from primary to university level. But for the need to avoid confusion in this contextual analysis of what we need to sustain our nomination as the leader of the black race, I would have suggested to President Muhammadu Buhari and his party chiefs that they should pay attention to restructuring and education quality alone….’

I had earlier suggested the attention-to-education quality issue to the then President Buhari on this page when I specifically mooted the idea that he should just focus on restructuring Nigeria politically as most people would want him to do then. I had then argued that Nigerians would remember him as a leader ‘who changed Nigeria from redundancy to abundance.’ Remember as I had reported here in this same context, that it was the iconic Nelson Mandela who nominated Nigeria to lead the black race in this new world when he (Madiba) was quoted as saying, “The world will not respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect. The black people of the world need Nigeria to be great as a source of pride and confidence.”

I continued then that: ‘But considering the way the world is now being constantly shaped by the power of disruptive social technologies, we should not be tired of reminding our leaders daily too that if they really want to rebuild the country’s broken walls, construct critical infrastructure, create more jobs, fight poverty and inequality, fight criminality and insurgency, confront the bogey of agitation, among others and have their eye on country and global competitiveness, the thing to invest in is education quality. I am fully persuaded that the only known modern weapon of achieving sustainable competitiveness is attainment and sustenance of education quality. Though this may not be a good campaign slogan in a country ravaged by material, moral and spiritual poverty, I still believe that those who would like to fix Nigeria tomorrow should begin to gather all kinds of resources on how to fix education in Nigeria. It is not going to be easy; it is expensive but it is the right thing to do. I have devoted more than half of the articles here to this campaign but no one seems to be listening. I will not rest about this thing called education quality until something happens.

The first major article on this (June 4, 2016) was titled, “Why we need better universities, not more” (https://guardian.ng/opinion/why-we-need-better-universities-not-more/.

It was followed by another on June 11, 2016 titled, “Better universities will lead to Nigerian exceptionalism” (https://guardian.ng/opinion/better-universities-will-lead-to-nigerian-exceptionalism/. The third in the series was on June 18, 2016 titled, “Better Universities will trigger organisational learning” (https://guardian.ng/opinion/better-universities-will-trigger-organisational-learning/.

In the same vein on August 13, 2016, I wrote to draw attention of the federal government’s complacency about the plight of Law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) who were still not being admitted into Nigerian Law Schools in this big data age when education is fast getting out of the classrooms. I had asked then why the federal authorities that created the school (NOUN) should be loitering about NOUN accreditation to Law School when the U.K National Open University enrols students for even Medical Sciences. The article, “Before Legal Education Council Ruins Open University’. (https://guardian.ng/opinion/before-legal-education-council-ruins-open-university/ received rave reviews. That was one issue the Buhari administration attended to as the Obasanjo legacy, NOUN has been accredited to get Law School admission.

There have been other articles on education-related subjects but the point today is on the attitude of our leaders to funding quality education. I had also in the same vein then noted that it was gratifying to note then that on Monday November 13, 2018 at the State House Old Banquet Hall, the Buhari administration could set the tone for serious attention to education quality when the president presided over a “Federal Executive Council Retreat on the Challenges Facing the Education Sector in Nigeria.” The Retreat I was invited to attend because of my consistency in writing on education, was to solidify an already prepared roadmap for education for the Buhari administration. It was well attended by even some governors. The President and the Vice president also attended till the end.

I had hoped then that the gathering of all the top people in the administration would not result in just another Abuja declaration that would eventually be regarded as a re-election time gimmick. It turned to be another jamboree as the president and his men failed to take the Retreat on future of education in the country as a serious national assignment. If they had taken the content and declarations of the colloquium on education right and thereafter followed up with the right spirit and discipline of execution of action plans, there would have been some significant leap in education funding –before the student loan saga. I had then noted here: ‘…Here is the thing, unless all the authorities in Nigeria can recognise that until our schools at all levels are good enough to produce graduates that can solve our problems – from farm to industrial operations, we will continue to lag behind. And our nomination as an African giant will continue to fall through.

Specifically, the president and education minister should not allow the congenital procrastinators in the house to delay action on quality education funding till the beginning of another term in 2019. What if 2019 becomes a mirage, after all!

Let’s get to the brass tacks again, the new administration should not allow public relations impresarios to just overstress the strategic importance of the revival of the Student Loan and all concomitant agencies to make it happen. They are expedient at this time. But I would like to draw their attention to the fact that there are multifarious challenges in the country that are related to absence of education quality at this time. In other words, what is the purpose of education if it cannot solve the country’s problems through its scholars and researchers?

How can innovation in agriculture, governance, health sciences, digital technologies, etc., be addressed without commitment to robust research and development (R&D) funding? How can we hope for a better tomorrow if today’s beneficiaries of student loans cannot find job tomorrow to pay back? How can education quality that can serve the needs of the 21st century be guaranteed when any close friends of the president or governor who may not have any competence or capacity can be appointed Minister and Commissioner of Education? How can we lead the black people of the world in 21st century if there is no robust policy to attract good teachers at all levels? How can education quality be achieved without making training of teachers a big deal as it once was in Western Nigeria before what Patrick Alley called ‘Very Bad People’ began to seize power in the same zone?

As I was saying here, let’s look at how two countries Singapore and South Korea have, without petroleum resources, developed human capital to wealth through education quality…

Remarkable Lessons From Singapore:
Most orators and motivational speakers may have been entertaining us with the story of the good man, a leader who inspired Singapore from Third to First World, Lee Kuan Yew. It is always a good read, a wonderful biography of a significant Asian. But not many of our leaders may have studied some of the specific strategies the very educated Asian employed to achieve his goals that have become a national and organisational culture in Singapore. It is important for us to note that the unique but least-talked about strategy Mr. Kuan Yew used was remarkable investment in education quality.

This is a contextual reporting of the strategy for Singapore’s success through education quality:

According to Stavros Yianouka, of Project Syndicate, Lee Kuan Yew’s achievements have been the subject of much global discussion before and since his death. But one aspect of his success, which has been under-reported is his investments in education. His strategy, he would often remark, was “to develop Singapore’s only available natural resource, its people.”

Today, Singapore routinely ranks among the top performers in educational attainment, as measured by the very influential Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment.

The powerful Asian country is though a city-state of just about six million people, it normally boasts two universities among the top 75 in any Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the same number as usually China, Japan and Germany. You may ask, what did Mr. Yew and Singapore do right?

TO BE CONTINUED…

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride – that is a Scottish proverb which implies that if yearning could make things happen, then even the most impoverished people would have everything they craved.

If airlines were candies, Hadi Sirika would have a dozen in his pocket – that’s my despondent self trying to wrap my head around the invisible airline Nigeria’s former minister of aviation threatened to establish but which has now turned out to be another mirror in the sun.

Let’s be clear: a mirror can reflect the sun and direct its rays to a desired target. But the mirror is not the sun; neither does it generate any heat or light. All it takes to render the mirror impotent is for the sun to go to bed. If there is darkness all around, what can the mirror reflect?

It is difficult to imagine any national wind chase in recent memory that could compete with Sirika’s Air Nigeria in promising the moon and delivering a mirage. The minister had promised to deliver a brand new national airline that would re-enact the glory days of the defunct Nigeria Airways. 

Perceptive Nigerians were not fooled by the gusto with which Sirika plunged into his self-appointed assignment. It seemed that what mattered to him most was the approval of President Buhari, not the economics of the project. The graveyard of aviation is littered with the carcasses of dead airlines — some in infancy, several at the peak of their glory, and yet others which were so old that they had become institutions. 

Had this former uncelebrated pilot done his homework with regard to his sudden fancy? Had he studied the history of Pan Am (Pan American World Airways), a tiny, airmail carrier that hopped from Florida to Cuba and back beginning in 1927, to become the world’s largest airline and an industry innovator until it gave up the ghost in 1991?

Had he studied the circumstances that made Belgium’s national career, Sabena, throw in the towel two decades ago after 78 years in the air? Sabena’s co-owner, Swissair, tried unsuccessfully to find an investor to take them out of their stake, but keen-eyed aviation watchers and financial analysts recognised a dying goose when they saw one. Since European Commission rules forbade government bailouts, Sabena struggled until it could struggle no more. 

Until the independence gale of the 60s, air service in Africa was operated largely by airlines based in Europe and the United States, or by colonial governments. The earliest national passenger airlines were established in the 1930s with South African Airways, and in the 1940s with Ethiopian Airlines, Liberian National Airways, and Egypt’s national airline, Misrair. The airlines served as flag-carrying symbols of national identity, economic expansion, modernity, technological advancement, international pride.

Nigeria Airways was founded in 1958 after the dissolution of West African Airways Corporation (WAAC). It ceased operations in 2003. Originally, the Nigerian government owned a majority of the airline (51%) until 1961, when it acquired 100% shares to become sole proprietor, making the airline the country’s flag carrier. In its glory days, its fleet consisted of about 30 aircraft, with some of the best flight crew and profitable routes on the continent, in Europe and America. But a mix of the Nigerian virus of bad corporate governance and corruption grounded the flying elephant and the giant of Africa, rather than soaring high, kicked the dust.

In addition to the well documented sleaze that characterised the destruction of Nigeria Airways, anyone can inspect the remains of various local airlines that have since shared the fate of the much violated Nigeria Airways.  

According to Daily Trust, “Investigations showed that no fewer than 62 airlines at different times in Nigeria’s aviation history have become extinct due to many factors… While this is happening at a time the federal government plans to float a new national carrier, experts have cautioned that the new airline might not be insulated from the current challenges, which have weighed down existing airlines and even prevented new ones from starting operations.”

Some of the defunct airlines since independence include; Flash Airline, Kabo Air, Hold Trade Airline, Gas Air, Jambo Express, Chachangi, IRS Airlines, Savannah Airline, Albarka Airline, Intercontinental Airline, Air Mid-West, HAK Air, EAS Airline, Nicon Airways, Virgin Nigeria Airline, Air Nigeria and Falcon Air.

Others are; Sosoliso Airline, Zenith Airline, Barnax Airline, Space World International Airline, Dasab Airline, Fresh Airline, Triax Airline, Bell-View, Freedom Airline, Okada Air, Concord Airline (owned by late Chief MKO Abiola); Associated Airline, Air Taraba (serving Taraba, Borno and Adamawa).

The list also includes; United Air Service, Aras Airline Ltd, Nigeria Global, Nigeria Eagle (which commissioned an aircraft but didn’t fly and had to take it back); Harco Airline, Premier Airline, Al Bashir, Trans-Sahara Airline, ADC, Oriental Airline, Axiom Airline, Forward Air, Slok Air, Das Air and Cargo, Dornier Aviation Nigeria, Al-Dawood,  Premium Air Shuttle and Chrome Air Service.

The rest are; Easy Link Aviation, First Nation Airways, Earth Airlines, Afrijet Airlines, Afrimex, Air Vanni, AlHeri Airlines, Arax Airlines, Arab Wings Nigeria, City Link Airlines, Discovery Air, Delta Air Charter, Hamsal Air Services and Emma-Nik Aviation Service.

There is absolutely no indication that things will be different with Sirika’s pipe dream. Indeed, if morning shows the day, Nigeria Air seems destined for a worse fate: still-birth.

Although he kept most things regarding the proposed airline to his chest as if it was his exclusive patrimony, Sirika was not without a small band of supporters who drummed it loud and clear that the minister was an aviation expert on account of having trained as a helicopter pilot at the Petroleum Helicopters Institute, USA. That much was confirmed in his CV. He was also said to have attended Flight Safety International and Delta Aeronautics, both in the US. If that is all the expertise that Sirika was bringing to the table when he was appointed, then the process of recruiting top political appointees has to be reviewed. There is no esoteric expertise that a two-bit helicopter pilot can bring to transform the aviation sector in Nigeria. He simply cannot give what he does not have.

Looking back now to the period when President Buhari forwarded his name to the parliament for confirmation, many members of the public were not hoodwinked and some of them openly said so in their online reactions. One doubter, @Issysmooth, criticised the candidate’s CV: “Pilot, yet no job experience and date of educational qualification not provided. These men are all impersonators”.

Since age 39, Sirika has been in government. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011. He was elected as the senator representing Katsina North Senatorial District for 2011-2015. 

His flip-flops and verbal somersaults in respect of the Nigeria Air project have been difficult to rationalise. Last year, he announced, through James Odaudu, a deputy director in his ministry, Emirates Airlines was ready to help in the process of establishing a national carrier in Nigeria. Sirika was reported as saying, “The offer is an encouragement to the many bidders currently preparing their public-private partnership bids for Nigeria Air in response to the Request for Proposal advertised by Nigeria.” The minister disclosed that the process for the acquisition of the Air Operator’s Certificate and the Air Transport License was well on course for the expected launch date of the national carrier.

Later, Minister Sirika announced an engagement with Ethiopian Air as the designated preferred partner. The share distribution (Ethiopian 49%, Nigeria 5% etc) looked like the amateur plot of an apprentice scammer. The identities of the shareholders announced by the minister kept changing. Local airlines mounted the rooftops in protest and also approached the courts for adjudication.  Mercifully, the marriage was never consummated before Sirika’s tenure lapsed. But curiously, the Chairman of Ethiopia Airline,  Girma Wake, tendered his resignation letter and quit his role as the chairman of the Airline shortly after Sirika ‘unveiled’ the proposed Nigeria Air, using an Ethiopian Air Boeing 737-800 specially repainted for the occasion which local Nigerian airline operators have described as a scam, insisting that the aircraft displayed was a Boeing 737 MAX owned by Ethiopian Airlines and covered with Nigeria Air sticker. 

As I noted at the beginning, the mirror can reflect the sun, but is it the sun? Somebody ought to have credited Nigerians with more intelligence.

Mr Sirika is welcome to establish an airline in his name. But he cannot appropriate our collective identity for his ill conceived misadventure.

The new administration of President Tinubu has to put all actions taken in respect of the proposed airline under the magnifying glass. My wager is that the entire opaque dealings cannot withstand even cursory scrutiny before being consigned to the garbage bin. And any tail found to have been wagging the cow should be cut.