Re: Nigerian Aviation Still Too Far?

Mr. Iredia message is principally centered on seamless air travel and the provision of aviation facilities, using Dubai and Abuja airports as bases of comparism. To get a fair assessment we should use country name. Does Nigeria have the same standard with the United Arab Emirates in projects and facilities? Can the NTA be compared with Arabian TV network? Neither can we compare communications, power or even selfless leadership. In aviation, we will swallow the humble pie and humbly accept they are far ahead of us, but they must also give us credit for opening UAE to Nigerians and the sub-region in general. The defunct Nigeria Airways invested a lot in opening and developing the UAE route by operating direct flights to that country. Nigerian government through WT built that route and lost everything to UAE in terms of investments, tourism, business, etc. The most painful is the present aerial rape on the route; today we have Emirates, Etihad, Kenya Airways. Air Maroc, Egypt Air, Ethiopian, Libyan Airlines, Sudan Airways, Saudia, Qatar, MEA. Even Rwanda Air that recently survived the worst genocide in black Africa has joined in ferrying Nigerians to UAE, these carriers are using the 4th, 5th, 6th air freedom. It’s so sad that we don’t have a single Nigerian carrier on that route despite being designated. It’s a collective problem, the low finances of our carriers, unprotective policies of the ministry of aviation, penchant for flying business class on foreign carriers using government funds, the concurrent blackmail by state governors, legislators and other ethnic parrots for flights to their domain have weakened the capacity and operational prowess of our carriers. For foreign airlines wanting frequencies to cities outside the negotiated ones, should honourably, relinquish same number of frequencies to Lagos and use it for the new city of choice, rather than capitalize on our ethnic divide to the detriment of our airlines and the industry in general, but a skewed benefit to the ministry who are extremely excited in collecting and quickly spending the BASA fund.this will reduce the incidence of graft allegation and increase boldness to speak. I will reiterate that the agreement with Israel and Singapore signed last year by the government is more beneficial to Ethiopian Airlines than Nigerian Carriers. Ethiopia Airlines got Enugu route almost simultaneously while they also opened and signed codeshare on these routes thereafter. The Singaporean Minister made it clear that Ethiopian airlines are coming to Singapore to operate Addis-Ababa –Lagos. Did the government carry Nigerian airlines along during these negotiations? Did they pick our best to negotiate and to compete? On concession, we all applauded the dismantling of concessions that did not go through the refine process of transparency, competitiveness and productivity. Sadly somewhere along the line the ugly process came back. How was the Abuja GAT concessioned? Also the great carcass opposite MM2 (not my words), in all fairness is an investment and the sweat of some fellow Nigerians, FAAN should negotiate to pay off rather than jeer and attempt to confiscate. If they are eager to have a befitting HQ as espoused by their incoherent unions they should take their income and expenditure slip to their Chinese clients or any of the Nigerian banks. On the national carrier, it’s the same old broken tune. These elites never flew Nigeria Airways only if the ticket was free or rebated which is usually influenced by the corporate affairs department, their comfort zone. A government that cannot strengthen its flag carriers with strong corporate policy will further weaken and in debt us all with a national carrier.