THE SCANDAL OF ‘NIGERIA AIR’   

Nigeria Air raises questions of transparency and accountability 

Ever since the idea to float a national carrier was mooted in January 2016 by Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation under President Muham madu Buhari, we have persistently warned against erecting another monument to waste in a period of lean resources. Given the operating environment within the nation’s aviation industry where many of the airlines are highly indebted, we argued that the proposal for a national carrier was misplaced and would lead to another waste of enormous scarce resources. Even when the dummy was sold as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), we countered that most of such agreements by our officials have ended up in court with awards of heavy cost against our country.   

In his ARISE Television interview last Sunday, Sirika, clarified that only N3 billion was released for the Nigeria Air project, and the funds were spent on consultative services and office maintenance. Even though that is a far cry from the N85 billion being touted by critics, it is still a substantial amount of public money to waste. Sirika also claimed that the House of Representatives member who described the project as a fraud demanded a bribe from him. The member has refuted the allegation. But perhaps the most egregious was the admission that the launch of a national carrier was a “marketing strategy”.  

Last week, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) disclosed that the airline was still on the first stage in a five-phase process of obtaining Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to operate as commercial airline. The disclosure came as no surprise since the entire project was a one-man-show by Sirika. The ‘national carrier’ did not have administrative and technical personnel in a defined manner; the office designated for it was not functional until the day before the deception was made fully manifest to Nigerians – when Ethiopian Airlines aircraft was displayed as ‘Nigeria Air’ on 26^th May at the Abuja airport.  

For any airline to be qualified for an operating licence in Nigeria, it must have three of its aircraft registered in the country. It must also pass through five critical steps that include the pre-application phase, formal application phase, documentation phase, demonstration and inspection phase, and certification phase. A project that was first announced more than seven years ago was still in phase one by the time the Buhari administration ended its tenure last month. That raises serious questions of transparency and accountability.  

We concede that there is nothing wrong in seeking to have a national carrier. If well-established, it can create thousands of jobs and push for improvement in the development of aviation infrastructure. Above all, it could provide a more efficient negotiating platform for the commercial part of Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA), which defines what Nigeria benefits from international airlines that operate into the country. But these are ideals that can be realised only if a national carrier is sincerely actualised, following due process and getting every stakeholder involved. This has not been the case with ‘Nigeria Air’. 

We are conscious of the fact that government projects can fail, even when there are good intentions. But to willfully pursue an expensive project without public buy-in and then have the temerity to deceive Nigerians with ‘marketing strategy’ is scandalous. Besides, the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) has consistently opposed the idea on several grounds. Last month, AON spokesman, Obiora Okonkwo warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to be “blackmailed into accepting a contraption that would definitely and ultimately hurt the Nigerian economy and destroy millions of existing jobs in favour of one or two individuals.” 

Given the opaque nature of the entire transactions on ‘Nigeria Air’, it is warning that we believe should be heeded by the Tinubu administration.