Is Nigeria Air a Soap Opera or a Reality Show?
The Nigerian aviation industry has been plagued by controversy and uncertainty, with the recent dispute over the agreement between Nigeria Air and Ethiopian Airlines serving as the latest example. In an exclusive interview, aviation analyst and consultant, Chris Aligbe, shed light on the complexities surrounding the issue and offered his insights on the way forward for Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Aligbe, who has been following the project from its inception, expressed his concerns about the lack of transparency and clarity surrounding the agreement. Recently, the Minister of aviation and aerospace development Festus Keyamo in a live interview displayed a copy of the Nigeria Air/ET agreement alleging the contained was skewed in favour of the strategic partner, adding that, the suspension of the project was apt.
However, ET has said, the copy shown is not the original copy of the agreement as many of the claims are incorrect.
According to Mr. Aligbe, “I don’t know who is telling the truth,” he said, referring to the conflicting claims made by the Nigerian government and Ethiopian Airlines.
“I don’t want to get into the argument, but what I know is that we need to do something to give Nigerian travel passengers relief.”
He added, “The ET Consortium has also said that it is not the agreement, that it is a different agreement. Honestly speaking, I am not privy to that, so it is a question of who is correct and who is not correct but what I know is that the agreement’s correct version must be somewhere”.
“What I know also, during my years in government, is that anything passing through the Federal Executive Council, every minister will have a copy and anything legal about it. In that Federal Executive Council, there were Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN’s, like the present minister, a member of the inner bar but there were also other senior SAN’s, the vice president Osibanjo, a senior Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Raji Fashola and the Attorney General. What I think is that all of them will not have been sleeping if anything unfortunate is passing through because they would be held accountable, so, I don’t know who is now telling the truth”.
Referring to the agreement and it’s alleged questionable content, Aligbe said, “But if the honorable minister (Keyamo) is telling the truth, I find it a very serious indictment of that executive to have this number of SAN’s and they did not spot this”.
He emphasized the importance of having a national carrier, citing the example of Germany and Italy, which have both successfully floated national carriers. Aligbe argued that Nigeria needs to adopt a similar template, involving a minimum equity stake, a foreign technical partner, and Nigerian equity holders.
The analyst also highlighted the need for Nigeria to address its history of violating international agreements, which has led to a lack of trust among foreign airlines. “We have repudiated many international agreements, including those with British Airways and Virgin Nigeria,” he said.
“This has damaged our reputation and made it difficult for us to attract foreign investment.”
Aligbe also criticized the government’s handling of the privatization of Nigeria Airways, which he said was marred by corruption and inefficiency. “The Obasanjo administration repudiated the IFC’s report on the privatization of Nigeria Airways, which led to the failure of the project”.
The analyst urged the government to provide a seamless travel strategy for Nigerian passengers, citing the example of African countries like Rwanda and Ghana, which have successfully attracted foreign investment in their aviation sectors. The Aviation consultant emphasized the need for Nigeria to adopt a new approach to its aviation sector, one that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and cooperation with foreign partners.
“The earlier we stop sinning the better. Sins of the past are there, sins of today are there, let us stop sinning today and let us repent in our own interest”.