Nick Fadugba: A life dedicated to Africa’s aviation growth
Wole Shadare
The African aviation industry last month lost a great aviator, Nicholas Fadugba. He was simply known as Nick in the global aviation industry. He died aged 69. Fadugba was widely respected for his leadership, advocacy and unwavering dedication to advancing aviation across the African continent. As African Business Aviation Association chair from 2018 to 2023, he played a pivotal role in promoting business aviation within Africa, earning recognition for his integrity and vision.
His efforts were not limited or confined to business aviation alone. Nick was also the Founder and CEO of African Aviation Services, where he worked to develop and promote the broader aviation industry across Africa. His commitment to the industry extended beyond advocacy. He was instrumental in initiating high-level international aviation conferences specifically tailored for Africa, providing a platform for the continent’s aviation growth to engage with global stakeholders. He also pioneered aviation publishing in Africa with the launch of African Aviation, a publication dedicated to promoting the African aviation industry on the global stage.
Fadugba’s contributions were widely recognised, including his election, as Secretary-General of the African Airlines Association and his advisory role to the Association of African Aviation Training Organisation. He was also a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a prestigious honour reflecting his achievement in the field.
The death of the foremost aviator last month shocked the global aviation industry. His impact on global aviation was unequalled just as he helped to bring global consciousness of the world to Africa, showing that Africa is the next frontier for aviation exploration. Nick was humble. He was very knowledgeable and understood aviation like the palm of his hands and was very much at home while discussing any topic in aviation, ranging from aircraft leases, airline development, aeropoliltics and the intricacies of airline business models and a very good arbiter in resolving tough disputes between airlines and lessors. He was a consultant par excellence and one who despite his enormous success was humble and carried himself with dignity.
This tribute to the memory of an outstanding aviator should have come earlier. I found it extremely difficult to come to terms with his demise since the announcement was made public by his publicist, Louise Mulvey. Nick means so much to many people. He means so much to me because he was one of the few who encouraged me in the early days of my sojourn as an aviation reporter with The Guardian Newspapers from 2002 until when I left The Flagship as The Guardian is known to New Telegraph in 2014.
I got to meet Nick through our common friend, the late Francis Ayigbe, one of the best aviation journalists and a former chairman of the League of Airports Aviation Correspondents. Ayigbe contacted me in 2003 to be part of the conference he held in Nairobi. That was the beginning of our relationship and my participation in many of the conferences he organised across many cities in Africa Johannesburg, Cape Town, South Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and other African cities.
Nick’s conferences were always packed full of delegates from across the world representing firms and sponsors like Boeing, Airbus, aircraft engine firms, aircraft lessors and top government officials from around the world who are seeking investments in Africa and the best possible way to gain market share in the continent.
In August 2009, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Virgin Nigeria, Capt Dapo Olumide, ran to Nick for help when the carrier severed ties with Virgin Atlantic founder, Sir Richard Branson, and signed a cooperation agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to share aircraft maintenance and staff training. The partnership separated Virgin Nigeria from British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, which was looking to sell its 49 per cent stake in the airline.
The deal was tough to arrive at. I was part of the three journalists invited to be part of the trip to Addis Ababa where a former Chief Executive Officer of Africa’s most successful airline, Ethiopian Airlines, Ato Girma Wake, supervised the deal. It was a tough deal as Virgin Nigeria’s hope lay on the deal as the carrier was sitting on a thin rope. Olumide and Nick frequently visited the room where the three journalists sat at the headquarters of Ethiopian Airlines to paint a grim picture of the entire deal. It was tough as Nick expressed confidence that the deal would sail through. We reported to the headquarters of Ethiopian Airlines at 10 am and sat through, waiting anxiously for the good news that did not come until 2 am. The room erupted in jubilation.
The team of Olumide, the late Francis Ayigbe who was communications manager for Virgin Nigeria at the time and the other journalists returned to Nigeria with an air of accomplishment. This joy was short-lived when businessman Jimoh Ibrahim took over the airline. That action led to Olumide’s resignation from the company. Ibrahim was shocked that Olumide resigned. He accused journalists of publishing his resignation when he had not intimated to him of his planned resignation from the company. Olumide sensed the danger of working with Ibrahim and opted to throw in the towel to save his reputation.
The last encounter I had with him was in April 2024 in Addis Ababa where he had his last conference. As usual, he invited me, Mr Chinedu Eze of ThisDayand Mrs Sola Adekola of The Nigerian Tribune to what happened to be his last public engagement. He and his team managed to make our travel arrangements work even in serious health conditions which we were not aware of until we came face to face with him. He had lost so much weight; an indication that he was going through a difficult health challenge. It turned out to be Nick’s last conference.
About 10 years ago in Cape Town for one of his conferences, Nick prevailed on Ayigbe and me to visit Robben Island; a tourist attraction which is famous for the incarceration of Nelson Mandela. He suspected that we didn’t have enough cash to make the trip from the hotel in Cape Town to Robben Island and offered to lend his credit card. He jocularly told us that the card was loaded with more than £ 300, 000. He disclosed the PIN or passcode. He pleaded with us to handle the card with care because the loss of the card would cause so much inconvenience to him.
Fadugba established African Aviation Services in 1990 with the pan-African vision of promoting aviation development throughout Africa. He believed that aviation could be a vital catalyst for Africa’s economic and social transformation. Since 1988, he provided a wide range of consultancy and advisory services to international aviation, finance and leasing organisations and African governments.
He was also instrumental in fostering business relations between Africa and the international aviation community in critical areas such as aviation finance, aircraft leasing, aircraft maintenance, air safety and aviation training. Nick had unique experience in aviation finance and aircraft leasing negotiation, arbitration and dispute resolution in Africa. Other areas of speciality included developing airline business plans, fleet planning, aircraft leasing and finance advisory services, airline route network development, market information research and analysis, reconciliation of aircraft leasing/finance accounts and debt recovery, negotiating the acquisition of airport slots and air traffic rights, and establishing London Heathrow Airport operations for foreign airlines.
He was appointed an Interim Non-Executive Director to the Board of South African Airways on December 9, 2020, and acted as Chairperson of the SAA Technical until April 2023. He was elected Chairman of the African Business Aviation Association in May 2018, handing over the chairmanship last year. He was a former elected Secretary General of the African Airlines Association; a launch member of the African Business Aviation Association and Vice Chairman of its Safety and Training Committee. He was Chief Advisor to the Association of African Aviation Training Organisations; a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, United Kingdom; a member of the Aviation Club of the UK; a member of the German Aviation Research Society; the European Aviation Club; the Institute of Directors, UK; the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading, US; a volunteer for Airlink, the international aviation charity, and a member of the ISTAT Scholarship Programme for African Students.
In 2021, he was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading Foundation which was founded in 1994 to support individuals and institutions that promote the advancement of commercial aviation and humanitarianism. He worked on the ISTAT Foundation’s Grants Committee which manages fundraising and programming that meets the Foundation’s objectives.
Nick helped pioneer international aviation conferences focusing on aviation finance, leasing, aircraft maintenance and aviation training, specifically tailored for Africa, providing a unique forum for African and international airlines, airports, aviation, finance and leasing organisations, industry regulators and government officials to discuss key commercial, financial and regulatory issues affecting the African aviation industry and to seek practical solutions through mutually-beneficial cooperation.
In 1990, he also helped pioneer aviation publishing in Africa with the launch of AFRICAN AVIATION, Africa’s aviation industry journal, to promote the African aviation industry globally. For over 30 years, Nick organised the Air Finance Africa Conference, the MRO Africa Conference, and other aviation events. Adieu, Nick and thank you for your dedication. You gave your all to African aviation.
Shadare is an aviation editor with the New Telegraph
