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Aviation
Ministry rubbish plus Okada
injustice
By Eferovo
Igho
E-mail: [email protected]
Giving Nigerian
leaders dexterity in strange matters, you can no longer wonder why the
very obnoxious and absurd keep making the headlines; not even with the
frequency such keep coming to embarrass our essence as individuals and as
corporate entity. The Aviation Ministry, our subject matter today cannot
then be the only under-development index in the country but also
represents a typical federal government ministry and department, those the
Nigerian Senate revealed recently have not had properly prepared account
for 20 years running. In such circumstances anything can happen, including
that Federal Ministry of Water Resources strange 'feat': inability to
account for N4 billion of the N4.9 billion allocated to it. The Senate
allegedly said so! That is four over four point nine! Dexterity, isn't it?
Where is the still small voice of conscience? Ehn! Okay, we said we would
be flying; so let's leave the water resources people alone.
Incidentally, we cannot fly.
In almost every aspect, the Aviation Ministry, with all its parastatals,
is aground. Corrupt and cavalier tendencies have occasioned this sorry
state and not any force majeure the minister, his DGs, officers and
aviators may be pointing us to, to save their heads.
Let's start with the lost they
said we attracted with the absence of a national carrier. While the
confusion about getting a new national flag carrier lasted, the foreign
airlines we were told were making brisk business and government was said
to be bothered about the attendant capital flight. The press even told us
that the Aviation minister said the nation was loosing an average of $2
billion annually to capital flight through the aviation sector, an amount
another source queried for underestimation. Let's take this minimum. With
$2 billion implied annual 'gain' while the Nigerian Airways lasted, what
then must have led to its liquidation? Why should Nigerian Airways Ltd
(NAL) liquidate? How come Nigerian Airways owing Finland-based Air Atlanta
$10 billion and that for lease of two Boeings? How come this problem of
not being able to pay severance benefit to its workers, when $2 billion
was coming annually and when you recall, of course, there is also a
budgetary allocation coming the way of the Aviation Ministry every blessed
year? I hope the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
Independent Corruption Practice Commission (ICPC) have not relocated from
our shores! The tradition of only telling us our loses and not telling us
how they used or expended our gains should stop. By the way, why do we on
earth need a "strategic investor and technical partner" in SAA or any
Airways for that matter after four decades and four years of independence?
Why?
Meanwhile, the Aviation
Ministry is noted for or rather popular in acronyms: FAAN, NCAT, MMIA,
NAIA, NAMA, NIMET, NCAA and others as if na acronyms we go chop. A recent
Senate Committee on Aviation's visit to these agencies and parastatals
threw up sundry rubbish even though the Senate Committee has done little
or nothing to remedy the situation since then. At the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority (NCAA) it is a story of a cashstrapped government
department that is at sea about what to do with our airspace policing
activities in the face of increased actors, diversity of equipment and
deregulation of the communication industry, that is, in spite of NCAA
verbose "strategic action plan". Actually, we are still being told
'jargons' as to why NCAA is having problem achieving Category 1
certification by the Federal Airports and Administration (FAA) in the
U.S.A. and as to how we cannot be ISO certified in 2004.
Like NCAA, Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is bedevilled by debt overhang, financial
insolvency, and non-release of its allocation since 2002, from a ministry
(Aviation) which has climbed in budgetary allocation to over N4.6 billion.
What we have been told is that FAAN is battling with "contract cost
inflation, over-bloated work force and ghost workers syndrome". That is,
of course, different from infrastructural decay in all of our airports.
Indeed, FAAN helmsman wanted N80 billion the other day to rehabilitate or
reconstruct runways, repair or replace terminal buildings and renew other
facilities in our airports across the country. Is it then any surprise to
hear the man bemoaning and revealing that while all our 21 airports in the
country put together have annual passenger traffic of 7.2 million,
Johannesburg Airport alone has 9 million passenger traffic, Cairo Airport
8 million, Atlanta Airport 64 million. What I think this low passenger
traffic disgrace in our airports implies, is ineptitude and corruption on
the part of the ministry and government, poverty in society, death of
tourism and serious investment-phobia. Giant of Africa Ke!
Nigerian Airspace Management
Agency (NAMA) does not present a better picture. Actually, its entire
board was recently sacked with the exception of its managing director who
was retired. Perhaps the place is just grossly financed crunchy. The
greatest shock of all, as I suppose, is coming from the Nigerian
Meteorological Services (NIMET), Oshodi. NIMET, the newest parastatal at
Aviation Ministry created under four years ago, is reportedly a tale of
dilapidated infrastructure, ancient and dilapidated equipment. Are those
infrastructure and equipment Nnewi delivered for Osaka price? Are they
okrika-wake-up stuff sold and bought for brand new? How come these things
becoming ancient within three years plus. I think the corruption that has
become Nigerian sickness, like myxomatosis come upon rabbits, is terminal.
NIMET is not also spared in
the non-allocation of funds. Since its inception it has received no
capital vote. So, who or which agency or parastatal under the Aviation
Ministry is getting the budgetary allocation which today is closer to
N5billion than N4billion? Is it for salaries, allowances and ... while
NIMET cannot even afford vehicles to enhance monitoring and inspectorate
activities across the country nor the technology to help weather forecast?
We must come to the Okada Air
sad story presently. Some two months ago, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, in a
press interview blew the lid off the absence of Okada Air, the pioneer
private sector airline in the country. Established in the 80s, the airline
came to have about 46 aircraft, including two Boeings 747, '`the largest
in Africa". Some years ago, the airline was made to collapse according to
new revelations coming from its chairman as it is. According to him, the
airline's present predicament was orchestrated by those who wanted it
dead. Why? Because they perceived Igbinedion was too powerful and for
reason of ethnicity. Alleging further, Igbinedion said: "they paid four of
my pilots and within three months, the entire Okada fleet was brought
down".
Meanwhile, "I was given
Counter 36 at Gatwick Airport. In this country, my Boeing 747 was
grounded, according to them because SOMEBODY FROM THE NORTH HAD NOT BOUGHT
ONE". (Caps mine). Continuing he said; "they wanted to test my power when
they told me if the British Government gives me permit, they would give me
and I proceeded to the UK and within four days, they gave me permit and
Counter 36. They told Captain Joji not to give Okada route". And the
airline died: The airline that was employing 4,000 workers, having two
Boeings 747- a feat no Nigerian has achieved to date! Not even the Federal
Government has achieved that. I mean somebody or people just decided to
put the airline off business: an airline that is still having a valid
operating licence and with aircraft still in good shape, according to
Igbinedion.
I cannot but share this worry
with Chief Gabriel Igbinedion: "they should ask if Igbinedion has sold his
747 and you designated somebody who is using 737 on international routes
leaving out somebody with two 747. What double standard!" And while
government recently gave five people, new entrants and obvious underlings
in business, five African routes it left out the man who started it all,
with all the risk involved as pathfinder. Since there has been no informed
counter to Igbinedion's serious allegations, we cannot but nail our
colours to the mast.
We just hope this country
remains one indivisible country. If it must be, then Daniel Webster (1782
- 1852), American lawyer and leading Whig may want to admonish us:
"justice is the ligament which holds civilised beings and civilised
nations together". And now we do not know whether to say fortunately or
unfortunately; but since the president of this united country, the person
of Olusegun Obasanjo was also reportedly said to have told Igbinedion in
1999 (five years ago) that "Okada will fly", he should ensure it flies,
and that local and international routes especially since Chief Gabriel
Igbinedion is not only a bona fide Nigerian but a full-blooded and astute
businessman whose unflagging poise to bring poise, dignity and safety to
flight became his sad undoing.
Certainly, Mr. President does
not need the years of Methuselah to redeem his pledge. He must resist
every pressure to the contrary because there is an extent we can go with
this tyranny of the majority. Mr. President must overrule those Aviation
Ministry people and restore the airline which popularity, occasioned by
its resplendent beginning and enthralling snowball, knew no
bounds.
� Igho wrote in from
Lagos
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