By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
  • Home
  • International
    InternationalShow More
    United Nations
    4th International Conference On Financing For Development Delivers Renewed Hope And Action For Sustainable Development
    2 months ago
    The African Development Bank and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) scale up drive for sustainable urbanization in Africa
    AfDB, UN-Habitat Scale Up Drive For Sustainable Urbanisation In Africa
    2 months ago
    UN
    North Africa: Green Climate Fund Approves Record $300m For FAO-designed Projects In Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, The Sahel
    2 months ago
    UNICEF
    How Wars Across Middle East, North Africa Affecting Children – UNICEF
    2 months ago
    UNDP
    UN Development Programme Welcomes Historic Deal On Sustainable Development Even Amidst Global Turmoil
    2 months ago
  • Africa
    Africa
    Show More
    Top News
    From Child Soldiers To Carpenters In The Democratic Republic of Congo
    3 years ago
    Egypt: United States Embassy Cairo Organizes Women And Environment Week
    2 years ago
    PeacePro
    Military Intervention In Niger Republic Will Amount To Digging Africa’s Grave – PeacePro
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Bank Video on President Adesina’s Gender Advocacy Wins Two International Awards
    24 hours ago
    Ghana President Mahama Calms Nigerians’ Fears: No Mass Deportations
    4 weeks ago
    At Gender Statistics Forum, African Leaders Urge Renewed Commitment To Quality Gender Data
    2 months ago
    Ooni’s Wife, Olori Temitope Enitan-Ogunwusi Takes Ile Ife Royalty To ADWIN Launch In Cote d’Ivoire
    3 months ago
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
    Politics
    Show More
    Top News
    Nobody Can Hijack Our Mandate, Vows Osun Gov, Adeleke
    3 years ago
    PDP To Osun People: Oyetola Is A ‘Political Leprosy’, Run For Cover
    2 years ago
    UI Alumni Association Hails Okowa’s Giant Strides In Delta State
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    NSC Chairman To Engage With Youth And Sports Stakeholders At The Nest Centre
    2 weeks ago
    Edo District Bye-election: SDP Candidate, Hon. Isidahomhen Promises To Pursue Best Interest Of Esanland 
    3 weeks ago
    PHOTOS: Vinod Obasa Takes Oath Of Office
    1 month ago
    Gov Adeleke’s Outburst Against Aregbesola Shows Sign Of A Drowning Man – ADC Group
    1 month ago
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
    News
    Show More
    Top News
    Ondo Governor, Akeredolu Begins Construction Of First Flyover In Akure
    2 years ago
    Celebration Of Life: Reverend Adewumi Jegede Of Later House Of God Assembly Buried Amid Pomp
    1 year ago
    Pa Abdulfatah Amoo Ayanwale
    Pa Ayanwale Dies At 76, Fidau Prayers Holds 8 August
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Gov Okpebholo Rescues Over 10 Accident Victims On Benin–Auchi Highway
    8 hours ago
    Lagos SWAN Chairman, Oladunni, Elected into Fellowship of the Institute of Security Nigeria
    1 week ago
    Entrepreneurship, Mentorship, And Scholarship Are Gains Of FUTO Alumni Homecoming 2025
    1 week ago
    PHOTOS: UNFPA Celebrates 2025 Humanitarian Day In Abuja
    2 weeks ago
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
    Entertainment
    Show More
    Top News
    Temi Otedola Makes Her Stage Debut In Motherland The Musical
    3 years ago
    Discover Exciting Programmes with Ease on GOtv
    2 years ago
    Nigerian Afrobeat Artiste WONDA Drops Captivating Summer Anthem ‘Ibiza’
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Story Of A Greener Future: MultiChoice’s Journey To Renewable Energy And A 20% Carbon-emission Cut By 2028
    1 week ago
    Lagos Govt Reiterates Commitment To Nollywood Growth
    2 weeks ago
    Unlock More for Less as Big Brother Naija Season 10 Beckons
    1 month ago
    Purp vs Raymu: Who Will Be Crowned The Next Nigerian Idol?
    2 months ago
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
    Lifestyle
    Show More
    Top News
    Sanwo-Olu Receives TAMPAN Award
    6 months ago
    African Catholic Bishops Converge in Lagos for Landmark 50th anniversary of the Pan African Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS)
    African Catholic Bishops Converge in Lagos For Landmark 50th CEPACS Anniversary
    2 years ago
    Africa Tech Festival
    Africa Tech Festival Unveils Strategic Themes For 2025 Event,
    3 months ago
    Latest News
    Nigeria, Switzerland Takes Major Steps Towards Repatriation Of Artifacts And Cultural Cooperation
    2 days ago
    Archbishop Ugorji Hails St. Helen’s Choir As One of the Best Choirs in Owerri Archdiocese
    3 days ago
    Lagos Tourism Ministry Visits Heritage Sites For Inventory, Documentation
    1 week ago
    Nigerian Minister Presents UNESCO Certificate To Alaafin Of Oyo At Sango World Festival
    2 weeks ago
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
    BusinessShow More
    Nexim Bank Boss To Engage Young Nigerians With Non-oil Export Opportunities For Wealth Creation At Breakfast Session
    4 days ago
    ₦46B in pre-launch transactions.
    After ₦46B Pre-launch Transactions, Fidelity Bank Unveils PAPSS In Nigeria
    2 weeks ago
    Opay In Trouble, Caught In Alleged Fraud Allegations And Legal Controversies Between January To July 2025
    4 weeks ago
    Petralon's Nigerian Drilling Campaign to Boost Offshore Oil Output
    Petralon’s Nigerian Drilling Campaign To Boost Offshore Oil Output
    2 months ago
    Year 2025
    How Nigeria Can Unleash Its Economic Potential – IMF
    2 months ago
  • Health
    Health
    Show More
    Top News
    WHO
    WHO Raises Alarm Over Rise In Cholera Cases In Nigeria, Malawi, Cameroon, 7 Other Africa Nations
    3 years ago
    Tackling Preventable Diseases, Africa Needs To Vaccinate 33m Children To Put Progress Back On Track
    2 years ago
    USAID
    United States Partners Woman-Owned Nigerian Company To Fight Malnutrition
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    At AIDS Council Meeting, Lagos First Lady Urges Bold, Sustainable Action for Nigeria’s HIV Response
    3 weeks ago
    Africa Speaks Out, Ready To Stop Health Worker Migration Crisis
    4 weeks ago
    AIDS Society Welcomes US Bipartisan Move To Protect PEPFAR
    1 month ago
    SSB Tax: Industry Actors, Paid Mouthpieces Slammed Over Campaign To Stop CAPPA
    2 months ago
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Reading: Nigeria Air: It’s Long Road To Timbuktu By Fred Edoreh
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
Aa
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
  • Politics
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Health
  • More
Search
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
  • Health
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Independent News Express > Blog > Aviation/Transportation > Nigeria Air: It’s Long Road To Timbuktu By Fred Edoreh
Aviation/TransportationBusinessOpinion

Nigeria Air: It’s Long Road To Timbuktu By Fred Edoreh

Last updated: 2023/06/08 at 8:16 AM
2 years ago
Share
SHARE

It’s been like a decade that I last paid any close attention to talks about the revival of Nigeria Airways or the re-establishment of a national carrier.

Sometime in 2012, it was said that it had been revived as Nigeria Air with the partnership and management of Mr Jimoh Ibrahim and his NICON investment group and, in patriotic zeal to support its success, many Nigerians opted to fly with it on several trips to and fro London for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

In September of that year, when they were to return, it was announced that the airline had closed shop on the 6th, the regulatory authorities had suspended its worthiness and operation licence, the lessors of its aircrafts had taken some of them back, it was highly indebted and had sacked over 500 of its workers for what was termed “disloyalty.”

The passengers became stranded in London with one Indian man who didn’t even understand what was going on to contend with at the stand in Gatwick Airport.

After much hue and cry, a single last return flight was arranged on September 9. Of course, it couldn’t possibly accommodate all the passengers it took to London, not to talk of those whose return dates were still days ahead.

It was said that, on that day, the crew requested a contribution of £40 from each of the passengers to enable them fuel the aircraft for the journey back to Nigeria. The process took almost the whole day and the flight which was to depart by about 8.30am managed to take off by about 5pm, even as the passengers starved for the long hours of wait and through the journey.

The flight landed safely in Lagos, but without the luggage of the passengers. It took them days, even weeks, with several trips to the airport, to recover their belongings.

Those who couldn’t make the flight had to cough out unforeseen and unbudgeted N400,000 plus for a one way ticket on other airlines to get back home. There was talk that they would be compensated but I didn’t hear much of that again.

What I heard was Ibrahim’s explanation that the airline was like a normal human being who can fall ill and would require either corporate surgery or treatment at the hospital. I also heard the then Director of Finance of the airline, John Nnorom, continue to insist that all that Ibrahim did was to, on the strength of his involvement in the revival project, obtain a N35 billion aviation development loan specially granted by the government, which he allegedly converted to personal use while pretending to be reviving Nigeria Air, an accusation which Ibrahim equally continues to deny.

Sometime in 2016, I began again to hear the former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, talk about reviving the national carrier. In fact, at the 2018 Farnborough Air Show in the UK, he unveiled the return of Nigeria Air, boasting that it will be the biggest and best in Africa.

That was, perhaps, after leading the Buhari government to approve $8.8 million as preliminary cost and $300 million as take-off cost for its relaunch.

I didn’t hear much of it again until, on May 26, three days to the end of Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidency, when I saw footages of Sirika and some fellows in a ceremony at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, purporting to be unveiling the return of Nigeria Air.

Just then, Dan Agbese of Newswatch fame immediately came to my mind. Sometime in 2022 when Sirika spoke about the revival of Nigeria Air, Agbese wrote this in The Guardian:

“The Federal Government expected applause, it received none…Not a few experts and non-experts alike criticised the decision, telling the government to find something better to do with its wealth, as in buy more SUVs for Niger Republic, rather than waste it on a new national carrier that will, at best, have its five minutes of fame in the aviation industry and sooner than later become history.”

Agbese’s scepticism notwithstanding, sometime in March 2023, Sirika got louder to announce that a revived Nigeria Air was all set and would commence local, regional and international flights before the end of Buhari’s tenure.

“Before May 29, we will fly,” he said. That snowballed into the May 26 unveiling ceremony in Abuja.

Explaining that the ‘magic’ was achieved in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines and investors, he enthused that the revival had come to a glorious realisation.

“It’s a very long journey that we started in 2016 and ended up today. There were challenges but we did not allow them to make us lose focus and today we are here,” he waltzed, further revealing that operations would commence in a few days while there are plans for the carrier to acquire 35 aircrafts in five years.

But as Agbese predicted, few hours after the cameras, we began to hear that the aircraft displayed at the ceremony was an Ethiopian Airline plane with merely a painting of Nigerian colours. This became the subject of probe at the National Assembly.

As summoned, both the Managing Director of the new Nigeria Air, Dapo Olumide, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Emmanuel Meribole, tactically rescaled the essence of the May 26 event to a clear variance with the impression Sirika conveyed.

“This is not a launch of the airline. We have no airline. It was a chartered flight. When you have money to charter an aircraft, you can paint it any colour you like. It was to come to Nigeria for 48 hours. It has nothing to do with the airline launch,” the MD said.

“(the launch) has a process to go through with the regulators. We have phases one, two, three, four and five until you get the AOC (Air Operation Certificate). Until then, you don’t have an airline,” he explained.

Meribole concurred that “we have not gotten an AOC for us to do official launching. The process is ongoing. The unveiling is “aspirational” to allow people to see.”

My question is: For which people to see what? An aircraft licenced to Ethiopian Airlines and painted in Nigerian colours being displayed in Abuja as Nigeria Air?

Also, having not completed, not even achieved half of the process of certification, what was the compelling need for the unveiling ceremony?

Was it to amuse and massage President Buhari’s ego before he left, to deceive the people with a false sense of achievement or possibly to justify an spending that may yet be under wraps until tomorrow tells, or all of the above?

I am not alone in my disgust and suspicion. The House Committee on Aviation has recommended that all persons involved in the possible “fraud” be questioned and all appropriations made in respect of the “shenanigans” of reviving Nigeria Air since 2016 till date be audited.

As Agbese would put it, it is funny but the seriousness of the matter does not afford us the luxury of laughing.

Gabriel Olowo, a Nigerian who was Managing Director of Varig, a Brazilian Airline, and an industry player for over three decades says the problem with airlines operation in Nigeria is caused 30% by the mismanagement of the owners but 70% by the government.

This perhaps would explain the experience of Richard Branson who had earlier bought into the Nigeria Airways revival project with his Virgin Group in 2004.

When he came to Nigeria in 2001 to launch the four-times weekly Lagos-London route of his Virgin Atlantic Airline and to request further seven weekly slots, then President Olusegun Obasanjo cornered and talked him into a partnership to revive the national carrier.

The deal was consummated in 2004 with Virgin Atlantic acquiring 49% stake in what then became Virgin Nigeria while the government and local investors retained 51% stake.

According to reports, the arrangement was to enable Nigeria effectively utilise the 16 flights per week allocation on the Lagos-London route and dominate domestic and regional routes.

In the memorandum, Branson said, it was agreed that Virgin Nigeria would operate from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, with the cutting edge of providing quick and convenient domestic connection for passengers to other local destinations.

Under the arrangement, Virgin Nigeria as a national carrier recovered it’s place as a preferred airline, airlifting over 1,000,000 passengers under two years, providing over N3 billion in profit to the Nigerian partners and planning to open shop in Abuja as well as increase flights to Kano, Abuja and other top domestic destinations.

Just then, “yawa” bust. Under the succeeding government, Virgin Nigeria was ordered to relocate to Terminal 2 of the Domestic Wing built under concession by Wale Babalakin.

The new directive would compromise Virgin Nigeria’s business strategy but, hoping that the government would protect its newly revived national carrier, Branson thought to engage the authorities to see reason.

While he was at the negotiation, thugs marched on Virgin Nigeria offices and stands at the MMIA and left them with smashed properties.

Branson did not recover from the psychological horror and it was only a matter of time before he bolted from the scene.

First he divested into Nigeria Eagle Airline and eventually pulled out completely, giving room for Jimoh Ibrahim to take over as Nigeria Air.

From then, with all that story of the London 2012 Games flight, the sound and fury, motion without movement of the Sirika era, including the Farnborough show, the latest May 26 “aspirational” unveiling and the House Committee’s description of the ceremony as a fraud, it has indeed been a long journey for Nigeria Air with lots and lots of tales by moonlight or, should I say robbery in broad day?

You Might Also Like

Makinde’s Rising Profile: Can Oyo Governor Lead PDP’s 2027 Presidential Charge?

The Pressure To Appear Rich In Harsh Economy

Nexim Bank Boss To Engage Young Nigerians With Non-oil Export Opportunities For Wealth Creation At Breakfast Session

Omo-Agege’s Toy Soldiers And The Needless Flex Over 2027

BBNaija, Piracy, And The Hidden Cost Of Entertainment

TAGGED: Nigeria Air
INadminNG June 8, 2023 June 8, 2023
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Telegram Email Print
Previous Article 2023 Mandela Washington Fellows From Ghana Make Their Way To America
Next Article Ikeja DFA Super League: Magboro FC Coach Hails Team’s Display Against Tops Academy
about us

Independent News Express (iNews Express), a publication of 4Ds Nigeria Limited, is birthed out of the desires of the founding fathers to report News as it is.

We value Professionalism, Excellence, Service, Creativity and Integrity.

The Company

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy & Policy

Quick Links

  • Advertise with us
  • Newsletters
  • Deal

Categories

Find Us on Socials

© Independent News Express. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?