Nigeria (Scam) Air

If there is a prize for con artistry, the proposed national carrier project, Nigeria Air, as midwifed by former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika gets it. 

When a Boeing 737-860 aircraft in the carrier’s colours and logo was unveiled at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (NAIAA) on 26th May, the ex-minister rhapsodized about accomplishment of a long nursed dream. He trumpeted the arrival of the aircraft via a celebratory tweet, saying: “We are here. To Almighty God be all the glory. It has been a very long, tedious, daunting and difficult path…” Later same day at the unveiling of the aircraft, he suggested that the carrier was a project delivered, saying inter alia: “We started in 2016 and it ended today. There is a history behind all of these. There were challenges for that matter. We didn’t allow them to make us lose focus. We stayed with our eyes on the ball and today we’re here.” Sirika postured like the aircraft that came in on 26th May was a first of many aircraft expected to make up the new carrier’s fleet in the coming years. He told whoever cared to listen that it was envisaged that within the next five years, the fleet would hit the 35 aircraft mark: “You don’t come in one day to dump 35 airplanes. You can’t come in one day and start going to London. So, it’s a gradual process. The airplanes will be coming one after another. And in the next five years, according to the business case, we’ll achieve the 35 aircraft mark,” he said. 

But it was all too obvious the aircraft flaunted by Sirika was neither Nigeria Air’s nor a maiden flight of the carrier as should be standard industry practice, because the proposed national carrier hasn’t even secured an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Industry stakeholders and watchers wasted no time pointing out it was an Ethiopian Airline registered aircraft that flight tracking information showed had flown to Turkey, Somalia, Mogadishu and other routes prior to being brought into Abuja for static display. And few hours after the Abuja ground pose, the aircraft returned to Addis Ababa, with tracking information showing it was back in Ethiopian Airline service on 31st May  and operated Addis Ababa-Mogadishu and Mogadishu-Addis Ababa flight as of 1st June. The four-day lapse between the aircraft’s return from Abuja and restoration to ET service was believed to be when it was on ground at the Ethiopian capital to undergo rebranding for that airline and necessary checks for operational fitness.

On the heels of the static display in Abuja, industry stakeholders on the platform of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) described the carrier unveiling as a charade. Spokesman of  the group and chair of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, said the process adopted by Sirika in establishing a national carrier lacked sincerity and transparency. Besides, according to him, there were indications that the Federal Government which has only five percent of the shares in the planed carrier is bankrolling the project, whereas other shareholders that have 46 percent are quiet while Ethiopian Airlines that is the core investor with 49 percent controlling share has not contributed funds to the airline. Okonkwo said AON was in court to stop the establishment of the airline because of the lack of transparency. He further argued: “There is an attempt by somebody to hang on to Nigeria Air, using it as cover to take over Nigeria’s aviation industry. So, the purpose is self-serving. The cost of establishing this airline is about $250million. Who paid the money? MRS and Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) listed as shareholders are not talking and have not made any contribution to the company and indications show they are not interested… Nigeria Air unveiling was meant to confuse Nigerians.” According to the AON, interests behind the national carrier project are eyeing Nigeria’s Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) rights worth about $20billion.

“Sirika delivered Nigeria Air national carrier project that is all up in the air.”

The carrier unveiling was the last major outing by Sirika as minister and, according to him, it was in fulfilment and delivery of the core component of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency’s aviation roadmap. Against wise counsel to avoid rush, the ex-minister insisted the new carrier would take off before the expiration of President Buhari’s tenure on 29th May; and just when it seemed commonsense had prevailed otherwise, he announced two days to the Abuja display that Nigeria Air’s aircraft would arrive Friday, 26th May. And like he touted, the aircraft came in with fanfare to a water salute at NAIAA. The choreography was propped up by Ethiopian Airline Chief Commercial Officer, Lemma Gudeta, who lauded the Federal Government’s effort and assured that the project under the watch of his organisation would ensure Nigeria’s economic development. “Based on the initial business plan we are working on in collaboration with stakeholders in the consortium, Nigerian Air will be a $1billion company in five years’ time,” he said. adding: “As a company in Africa that has operated for the last 77 years in aviation, Ethiopian Airlines is very much pleased to be part of the beginning of the Nigeria national carrier…” 

But all who had hoped to start patronising the service of the new airline drew a blank with the evidence that the Abuja show was only a ghost launch. Not only did the displayed aircraft swiftly return to ET service, it’s now officially made known that the proposed carrier is far from being in shape to fly – having taken only the first step in a five-step procedure to secure an AOC. Last week, Dayo Olumide, Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, confirmed that the aircraft that landed at NAIAA on 26th May was a chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines. Responding to queries by the Senate Committee on Aviation on Tuesday, he told the members: “The aircraft that came in and left was a legitimate charter flight. Anyone of us here, if we have a destination wedding in Senegal, we can charter an aircraft. You don’t need to have a licence to do that, you just charter an aircraft, you pay for it and it will be brought here, take your passengers and off you go. And that is what we did. But in this case, it was to unveil. Ever since 2018, all you have seen about Nigeria Air were pictures and drawings, not the real aircraft. And we thought it was time to show what the real aircraft will look like and also to let shareholders know.”

Olumide confirmed that the proposed carrier is yet to be certificated. “For us to get that licence, which is my mandate, we must among other things have three aircraft before the NCAA would give us a licence, and those three aircraft must be Nigeria-registered. There are five steps that one goes through to have a licence. We have gone from the first to the second one, but the problem is when you change what we call post-holders,” he said. “Post-holder is a technical term for director of maintenance, or chief pilot. When you change them and replace them completely, you have to go back to phase one to interview them to be compliant to the civil authority. But having gone back to phase one doesn’t mean you have done anything thing wrong. That is a correct and normal process,” the airline chief added.

Well, you heard it from the horse’s mouth: what Sirika hyped as the launch of the national carrier penultimate weekend was only a charter flight meant as demo to investors! That is not mentioning the insulting irony of enlisting a foreign flag carrier that had operated successfully in its own right to come hoodwink Nigerians over the false start of their own flag carrier. Meanwhile, NCAA being under the Aviation ministry, there were reports of frantic attempts by the ex-minister to arm-twist the agency into handing the national carrier an AOC without following established procedure. Top officials of the agency were kicked out by him and only safeguards stipulated in the new Act regulating the authority saved the Director-General, according to industry experts. And so, Sirika delivered Nigeria Air national carrier project that is all up in the air. It is about time he got invited by investigating authorities to account for all that went down.