By Joe Obi
Abraham Ogbodo, writing in his Sunday Guardian Column “Backlash” of April 7 under the above headline, clearly had one goal in mind-to have a “backlash” at the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah. He did not appear to have proffered any convincing reason for the backlash.
Certainly, it cannot be for his adjudged lack of ‘real transformation’ in the sector because as the local idiom goes, you do not need to tell a blind man who is being drenched by rain that the rain is falling! But we have seen this before, so we are neither surprised nor totally left in the dark as to where this is coming from. Like many before him who had tried futilely to hide under a small finger, he showed his hands clearly.
Bi-Courtney. Anyone who wants to, or rather has been commissioned to be an advocate for Bi-Courtney begins to grasp at straws in a labored effort to make the point, but in the final analysis, everyone knows where they are coming from. Ogbodo is no doubt the newest kid on the block.
But for the benefit of the gullible few who might be taken in by all the borrowed rationalizations for the diatribe, we can assure that we won’t shy away from putting the records straight; at the risk of repetition and charges of immodesty. To be sure, the transformation in the Aviation sector is real and holistic-and has a lot of substance too, contrary to Ogbodo’s jaundiced judgement that it is merely cosmetic. And I sincerely do not want to believe that Ogbodo does not yet know that there is a widely publicized Aviation Master Plan and Road Map, the first of it’s kind in the industry that the ministry authored and has been implementing religiously. So to declare that there is no Road Map, “apart from a recent suggestion of a bailout fund for operators”, I suggest, is a willful and selective amnesia on the part of Ogbodo in order to drive home his illogic that all is sound and fury and no substance in the on-going transformation in the Aviation sector.
But you can see clearly how labored and futile Ogbodo’s effort at discrediting the obvious landmark achievements in the aviation sector was.
And that is the problem with trying to becloud or deny reality. You would search for imaginary flaws, create huge mountains out of ordinary molehills, poke at anything and everything just to make the point. In the end, you would only achieve one thing-confer more authenticity and legitimacy to what you set out to obliterate. That was Ogbodo’s dilemma, and it is pitiable. For once, I think people should begin to summon the courage to give credit to whom it is due. But we know where the problem lies here-it is really not a lack of courage to lend due credit wherever and whenever it is earned. It is partly the product of prolonged periods of below average performances by those in positions of responsibility. So when another person comes around and beats all known feats, it is alien to realize what has been achieved, much less applaud the landmarks. This is made worse when one is pontificating from an already compromised prism.
But we leave this for now.
The Master Plan and Road Map has various components and phases of implementation. The massive remodeling of the airport terminals, the first such exercise in more that three decades is just one of the components.
And contrary to Ogbodo’s postulation, the remodeled terminals took everything into account-safety, security, passengers’ facilitation, comfort, modern ambience, aesthetics, etc. All standard specifications in the construction of modern airport terminals are being strictly adhered to. Testimonies of ordinary Nigerians-not those who have been programmed to see everything we do in the aviation sector from a compromised lens, tell warm stories of a new and exciting airport experience at all the remodeled terminals. No objective observer, nay critic can therefore, honestly say there has not been a very radical movement from the years of agony witnessed and experienced by all those who had the misfortune of using our airports in the past and what obtains presently.
Now, Ogbodo posits on the one hand that the projects are just mere avenues to ensure monies “can flow from one end and be received at the other” and on the other, says no one knows how much is spent on the remodeled terminals. He is being willfully dishonest on both counts. The standard edifices that are springing up from the ashes of the once derelict structures are eloquent testimonies of monies well spent-not just avenues to retire sub-heads. And what is more, the costs are well publicized.
During the Commissioning ceremony of the GAT, Lagos for instance, the Minister announced to the whole world that the terminal was remodeled at a lowly cost of N648million, a far cry from the N35billion which Bi-Courtney claim to have spent in erecting a similar structure, the MM2! So it is not true that no one is asking, or knows how many “billions” were spent in remodeling the terminals. If this is not value for money for the government and people of Nigeria, then I need further education on what value for money really means.
Other aspects of the transformation taking place in the aviation sector, simultaneously that is; with the terminal remodeling are institutional reforms, a total repositioning of the Ministry and its Agencies in order to be able to deliver on the promise and expectations of a 21st Century aviation industry. Like Ogbodo argued in his warped but inapplicable example of an old engine in a new car frame, the minister recognized the futility of putting new wine in old sheep skins. That accounts for why the entire systems are being overhauled, new technologies adopted, processes automated and staff re-oriented, trained and re-trained to fit into, and help drive the new vision of the Aviation Ministry.
Even though terminal remodeling is a fringe aspect of safety, we daresay that no past Aviation Minister has put in more than Princess Oduah in the area of Safety infrastructure. The Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON), deployment and installation of Instrument Landing Systems, including airfield lighting, NIMET’s Doppler Weather Radars, Wind-shear Alert Systems, amongst several others attest to the fact that it is not only about airport terminals. In the area of Regulation, the NCAA has been strengthened to carry out it’s oversight functions in an unfettered atmosphere while most of the policies are being reviewed to bring them in line with international standards and best practice.
Just last year, the NCAA rolled out the Passengers’ Bill of Rights as part of it’s Consumer Protection function. So if passengers are not getting their due, it is not as a result of absence of protection by the regulatory authorities. This bill of Rights was widely publicised and passengers are being encouraged to demand for their rights whenever they feel such have been abridged by any operator.
Now, Ogbodo is also alleging that the transformation in the industry is not addressing issues that will encourage new entrants and players that will engender competition and force down the prices of airfares. Of course this cannot be true and I am pretty sure Ogbodo is aware, or must have read of the several initiatives introduced by the present Minister to address these concerns. A quick run down:
The Minister championed (yes, she is the Champion Newspaper Man of the Year 2012) and successfully secured approval from the Federal Exeutive Council for the removal of Customs duties on all imported aircraft spare parts as well new aircraft. This had been a major cause of concern for domestic operators who had been advocating for such a policy for years.
Currently, negotiations have reached advanced stage to secure approval for the procurement of brand new aircraft for domestic operators at very competitive and highly discounted rates. Also on the table is the relaunching of a new National Carrier that will be private sector driven and professionally run. Now, if you remove Customs Duties on importation of new aircraft and spares, help re-fleet domestic airlines through procurement of new aircraft at competitive rates and follow that up with a new national Carrier, the net effect is never in doubt. Operators will be able to bring in more aircraft, competition will be engendered and airfares will inevitably crash in response to the laws of demand and supply.
Moreover, the policy governing the importation of aircraft and licensing of operators has also been reviewed and liberalised, without compromising safety; in order to open up the sector to new entrants. Already, Medview Airline has benefitted from this policy and has since commenced operations. Hak airline is another operator that is billed to commence soon, amongst others. This is a clear and deliberate policy aimed at achieving what Ogbodo is accusing the Honourable Minister of ignoring and it is a major aspect of the Aviation sector road map and transformation master plan. The question of “where are the airlines” to make use of the remodeled terminals was anticipated and has been adequately answered.
Ogbodo’s fears are therefore highly misplaced.
We now come to the crux of the matter-Bi-Courtney. Demuren and Dana airlines were just thrown into the mix to confuse unsuspecting readers by giving a semblance of genuine concern for the goings-on in the industry.
However, we hasten to add that the scars of the tragic crash of a Dana aircraft last year are yet to heal fully. Once beaten, twice shy. Now, there was a snag in one of the aircraft in Dana fleet recently. The Minister did what any responsible officer would do in the circumstance- halt the operations, re-ascertain the safety and airworthiness of the fleet before the planes are permitted to be airborne again. When that exercise was completed, the airline was allowed to resume operations. All this was also explained in two separate Press Releases. Now, if what ought to have been done was not carried out, and another tragic incident occurred, Mr Ogbodo would lead the choir to traduce the minister over charges of negligence and incompetence. The alleged “back and forth”
dealings with Dana were necessary safety precautionary measures that served the right purposes.
On Demuren, the only thing to say is that he had served his time. At one point or the other, he was bound to leave the stage. The mark of good leadership is the ability to build strong institutions that would outlast the tenure of a particular office holder. So if Dr Demuren had served as meritoriously as Ogbodo claims, then he needs not fret about the fortunes of the NCAA since strong institutions would have been left behind to consolidate his legacies.
Ogbodo finally alleges that the “terms of engagement between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Bi-Courtney, a private concern…” are still hazy. This is not true. The terms are clear and unambiguous. Problem is, Bi-Courtney, flaunting connections to High places, to paraphrase the late literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe, tried to be smart by half. It did get away with the impunity in the past though, but this aviation minister says the Nigerian government and people cannot be handed the short end of the stick in any Concession or Lease arrangement through the unilateral machinations of one party. Period. I suspect some of the questions surrounding this matter are pending before the courts so I do not need to say more than this. However, it beggars belief that the likes of Ogbodo have not bothered to interrogate the integrity of the Agreement which Bi-Courtney is bandying about.
This brings us to the question of “transgression” in the aviation sector.
In all reality, the Aviation Minister is not the one committing the alleged transgressions in the sector. To the contrary, from day one in office, she has consistently been engaged in trying to remedy the innumerable transgressions committed by the very persons in whose care the sector had been entrusted. Plus the likes of Ogbodo who are their willing accomplices in the unholy enterprise of continuously attempting to hold down a sector that holds so much promise for Nigeria, it’s people and economy.
In the end, Ogbodo’s Treatise is what it is-a failed attempt to obfuscate the obvious and unprecedented achievements of the aviation Minister for reasons that are not entirely altruistic. The real consolation is that Nigerians know better.
Joe Obi is SA (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Aviation. He contributed this piece from Abuja.