Excerpts
The League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents recently had its annual conference themed ‘Aviation Industry: Changing Times, Changing Strategies,’ what is your say about this theme?
The time will continue to change, but what strategy are you changing? What knowledge are we lacking in any industry in this country? None!
For those of us who are privileged to take medicals outside Nigeria, when we get in there, we meet Nigerian doctors; we meet Indian doctors all over the world. In the United States, Nigerian doctors are more than any other. Are you now saying that those Nigerian doctors can’t practice in Nigeria?
It is that we are not part of solution makers, we are always identifying problems. When you meet the minister now, he will be telling you about the problems. And he is the solution. The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is talking to you about the problems, but he is the solution. In his airports, water does not run.
He knows that when a domestic passenger comes down, he cannot connect internationally. Doesn’t he know? He is supposed to be the solution. So what strategy are you changing? There is cobweb in your room, you can see it, and you left it there.
Is there no hope for the industry in Nigeria?
There is plenty of hope; resources are plenty here in Nigeria. You always see that players in the industry are saying something differently from politicians or political appointees. Check the curriculum vitae of all the past aviation ministers, who is a thorough industry person…….?
How can we stop this short life span of Nigerian airlines?
The Nigerian airlines should learn from the mistakes of the past. Go and take a case study of Bellview, ADC, Okada and many others. Look at how and why they failed. If the government was responsible for the problem, we must think, how do we handle the government?
The government has always been the problem. They tell you, you can’t fly the flag. Air Peace has been flying the flag to Ghana, Liberia, and China now. And I am sure if you look at those routes, for them not to be in red is questionable.
The guy (Allen Onyema) kept saying it and nobody is attending to him, until he rides into crisis, then AMCON will come, like they did to Arik and to Aero. That is not the way forward. You see in Nigeria, Nigeria does not love Nigeria except when we are playing soccer. The soccer that we don’t prepare for. Now the girls won and we are shouting. Thank God that the girls displayed their individual effort to give us result.
We must be result-oriented, when you are in a political office, make sure the value you are adding is not to line your pocket. Make sure the value you are adding is for posterity.