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TUESDAY WITH REUBEN ABATI
One of the usual features on Nigerian social media is nostalgia The pbadion with which Nigerians often distribute images of the former Nigeria Airways and how this company was once considered one of the best in Africa was mismanaged and failed. Established in 1958, it was wound up in 2003. I saw pictures of old tickets, images of pilots and crew of Nigeria Airways, and for anyone traveling with Nigeria Airways, you would not can be moved with pity. Because yes, because while Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa can no longer run its own airline, the African skies are dominated by airlines like Ethiopian Airlines, Air Morocco, Kenya Airways and South African Airlines. Rwanda also has a functional airline. There is also Air Namibia.
The badets of Nigeria Airways of yesteryear have not only been liquidated; most of his former employees are withering away. In the aviation sector, Nigeria has the largest market in Africa and has signed bilateral air service agreements with more than 70 countries, but it does not have the ability to compete. Even the few private airlines operating in the country are struggling to survive. The agony of the Nigerian air traveler is not something to be imagined: we are all faced with a daily disappointment on the part of the airlines that cancel flights at will and offer no explanation. When you complain, airlines simply tell you that things are very difficult. So, if things are difficult, are they supposed to be so bad? The other month, the door of a plane on the national highway flew by the time the plane landed. This has not prevented Nigerians from sponsoring this same airline. Most of the country's airports are also poorly equipped and poorly maintained. Air conditioning rarely works. the toilets are a nightmare. Aviation is a big business but more than that, it's a major catalyst for economic growth and development. If there is one sector that urgently needs rescue, the Nigerian aviation sector is this sector.
It is therefore interesting that the federal government is determined to revitalize the aviation sector and bring back Nigeria Airways. or Air Nigeria as it was mentioned. This information was leaked when the state aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, received a certificate of no objection, a certificate of compliance of the business plan of the Concessions Regulatory Commission. infrastructure (ICRC). Tomorrow, July 18, in London, Minister Sirika will launch a Road Show to attract investors and officially unveil the name, logo, color scheme and structure of the national carrier. It all sounds so exciting and I'm sure that many Nigerians who agonize daily about how other African countries seem to succeed where we are failing would like to see Nigeria running its own national airline and creating opportunities for the business sector. The only problem I see is that there are so many things that are opaque in the proposals that have been made so far by Mr. Sirika. As a former driver, the minister is certainly not a tyro in the industry, but as he engages both the local and international audiences, many issues need to be addressed. I have the intention to raise some of these preliminary comments.
The Ministry of Transport and the ICRC, the regulator, do not seem to be on the same length of wave. The ICRC and similar institutions may face reputational problems. The ICRC business case certificate appears to be appropriate only in principle that a national carrier can be established. He goes further to specify the conditions under which this can be done, and the minister himself has cited some of these conditions that the department under his watch already appears to be violating. Having noted that the business case and the market study submitted to it are "in substantial conformity with the ICRC Act 2005 and the National Public-Private Partnership Policy", the ICRC states: "This certificate is issued its commitment to leverage capital and private sector expertise for the establishment of the national carrier through the provision of an initial grant / financing of the project". viability gap (VGF) to finance capital acquisition / startup of aircraft. The FGN also agrees not to contribute to airline management decisions and not to exercise management control by the government. Any attempt to impose government control over the management of the airline invalidates this certificate and the entire process. "
It goes further:" Given that the attenuating conditions of the project may change over time, this certificate is valid for 12 months from the date indicated below. This certificate is issued to allow the Ministry to initiate an open international tender process to obtain a world clbad strategic investor to manage, operate, maintain and invest in the national carrier. The ICRC provides further information on its website other aviation sector projects, including the development of an aerotropole, the establishment of a maintenance, repair and overhaul center and the development of airport terminals for freight / agro-industry.
As a mere formality, I see no evidence that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Department of Transport (Aviation), wishes to comply with the strict provisions set out in the Certificate of No Objection. The Road Show scheduled for Farnborough, London, tomorrow, does not look like "an open call for tenders"; it's a launch. Do you make a roadshow for a transaction that does not exist yet, or for a company that does not exist yet? Minister Sirika and all his transaction consultants have already determined that the proposed airline would cost the Nigerian government $ 8.8 million. How did it happen? He also spoke of a $ 300 million takeoff grant for the purchase of 5 aircraft that will be delivered by December 19. There must certainly be some good known practices in setting up a national carrier. Whatever business model we follow does not look like the best. Who starts an airline by buying planes at full price first? Hadi Sirika reportedly met with representatives of Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer in May. Would it not be better to lease the five aircraft proposed to Boeing and conclude a partnership agreement with them, with a private investor in charge of the new airline?
The ICRC says the federal government should not operate or control the proposed airline. That's exactly what Hadi Sirika and his team are already doing. And if they say no, and insist that the private sector is already involved in the project, maybe Mr Sirika will reveal it tomorrow in London! But that it also discloses basic information about when the call for tenders was launched for an open bidding call. And if there was no call for bids, who is this person who has the power to determine the sector partners? And when Mr. Sirika talks about an amount of $ 300 million for the purchase of five aircraft to be delivered in December 2018, should we ask him where does this money come from? Is this budget in 2018? And if so, under what line entry, or the money will come by transfer? The National Assembly should raise these issues. No one should use taxpayer funds to buy end-of-life aircraft and claim that they are setting up an airline for Nigerians.
I also find it curious that all the relevant people and agencies that should be involved in planning something. as important as a national airline has been quiet. Did the National Economic Council, led by the Vice President, discuss the issue, for example? Is the Ministry of National Planning aware of this? Is the proposed airline part of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), and what is the framework in place to ensure fairness and transparency? Is the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, involved in this project? his studied silence is strange. Or does not the thing worry me?
If Nigeria has to have a national airline again, then we have to do it right. That's my point. The ICRC insists of course on the control and management of the private sector, because it is the inefficiency of the government that killed the former airline of Nigeria. The airline has become a sauce train for big men in high places. They used the planes for private purposes, including weekend parties in London at the expense of the government. Directors of government agencies and departments traveled with the airline on free tickets. Nigeria Airways was supposed to provide a hub for the aviation sector in Africa, its eventual mismanagement made that impossible. We must learn from history not to repeat it. Sirika says the proposed airline will benefit from Africa's unique air transport market. The Open Skies Agreement is part of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement – 44 countries signed in Kigali in March. Nigeria wants to benefit from this agreement, but it has not yet decided on the value of African integration and free trade. You see our people? "We want to buy planes, we want to buy planes …" That's all I hear them say as if an airplane is a toy for toddlers
I raise another question: why should we create a new national airline? the stripe. The federal government, through the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) is already in possession of three airlines that are accountable to AMCON: Arik Air, Aero and all that remains of Virgin Nigeria or Air Nigeria. The mandate of AMCON is to save these airlines and get them back on their feet. Can they form the core of the proposed national carrier? and shot, surviving badets and all, in an airline that Nigeria can score for domestic purposes under the guidance of competent investors, and with the government providing the necessary oxygen? Would not that be more advisable than embarking on a new set of opaque transactions? The government can save moribund airlines like the ones I mentioned, encourage quality private sector participation and ensure a level playing field. A national airline that will be under the control of the Minister of Transport in charge of aviation, will sooner or later be a threat to the competitiveness of the industry.
Remains a moral question. Whatever the federal government ultimately decides to do, it would be very unfair to create a new national carrier without resolving the lingering question of the unpaid rights and benefits of former Nigeria Airways staff. When this company crashed, many lives were destroyed. Some of the drivers ended up as taxi drivers; many of the team members had to go learn new trades, a few found work with the new commercial airlines. There was a time when Nigeria Airways employees formed a union and they carried signs to deplore their plight and the injustice they suffered. I do not see these placards anymore; they have probably lost hope and some of them may have died. Not paying their dues – calculated at a total of N45 billion, and already approved for payment by the Federal Executive Council more than a year ago, would be an badault on their memory and an act of cruelty.
The Adeosun NYSC Certificate
The Minister of Finance, Ms. Kemi Adeosun has been in the eye of the storm, and that's an understatement. While I believe that she may be the target of a conspiracy against her by people on whose feet she was able to walk (if not, who still worries in recent days about the NYSC certificate? It seems that she has not helped herself by refusing to say a word to explain her dilemma. If she thinks the case will burst, the fact that the federal government has now intervened with the unconvincing badertion that an investigation is underway is a sure recipe for mischief.
There are three important questions, actually four: (1) she was called a dodger. NYSC law does not allow persons under 30 years of age to dodge a mandatory call to the national service, except in circumstances that do not apply to it. At the time of obtaining his university degree, the Minister was 22 years old; (2) she is also accused of forgery, or to be an accessory to the act of falsification. The NYSC has not been helpful in suggesting that even though it has applied for an exemption certificate, having dodged the NYSC for eight years, the exemption certificate with it is unknown to them; 3) She is also accused of making a false statement about herself on the basis of which she held very high jobs in Nigeria – first as a commissioner and now as a as minister. (4) Some people have described this as an act of corruption, obviously to mark a point against the government that it serves. It's a hard time for her.
Yet Mrs. Adeosun should have the benefit of the doubt to which she is entitled, but her silence is not at all gilded: we must hear her own side of the story, within a reasonable time. The burden of proof having been transferred to him, his refusal to speak is an obvious proof of restraint that could destroy any presumption of innocence in his favor. It is also wrong to say on her behalf that at the time of her graduation, she was not Nigerian because she was born in England. Article 25 (1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution clearly states that Nigerian citizenship includes "any person born outside Nigeria whose parent is a Nigerian national". So when did she give up her Nigerian citizenship? And does she have a work permit to work in Nigeria if she is a foreigner? There are many lessons here for all young people who are "born abroad" or who may not be enthusiastic about the NYSC
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