MEMO TO FESTUS KEYAMO

 Kayode Soremekun urges the minister to ensure a national airline comes on stream soonest

I am writing to congratulate you on your appointment as the Honourable Federal Minister of Aviation. As a fairly frequent traveller, I feel diminished anytime I get to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.

What is evident is that many airlines have emptied themselves into Nigeria. On the other hand, Nigeria lacks the capacity to reciprocate. This is indeed a clear violation of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement.

Among other things, since BASA provides those airlines with landing rights in Nigeria, their parent governments must also accord us the privilege of landing rights. Till date, we are yet to take up even one single slot under the BASA scheme.

This is clearly a man-made problem. On this note I remember that an entrepreneur came here from the United Kingdom. He was hoping to help us to establish a national airline. But ultimately he was frustrated by the rentier and grasping mentality of our public officials.

Yet, things were not always like this. At a point in time there was an operational and functioning airline, called Nigeria Airways. Honourable Minister, it is not impossible for us to recapture this era. On this note it is instructive to note that even within the African continent some countries have remained successfully in the aviation industry.

Needless to say, they continue to hold their own by serving as superlative brands for their respective countries. Entities that readily come to mind here are, South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

Consequently, and in their respective ways, Addis Ababa and Johannesburg have turned out to be hubs for the aviation industry in Africa. These airlines are not only generating revenues. They also provide employment for their nationals. It is time for Nigeria to pick up the gauntlet in this vital area.

Luckily, in the light of our human capacity, we have the ability to even outstrip South Africa and Ethiopia. In the light of the above, Honourable Minister, this should be one of your priorities. Nigeria must have its own national airline-soonest.

There are several ways of doing this. One sure way is for the Honourable Minister to have a sustained interaction with members of the Aviation Round Table. This is a body of Nigerians, veritable stakeholders who have solid ideas and experience as regards how the Aviation industry should be run.

Experienced journalists in the Aviation industry are also well-placed to offer ideas as regards how the industry can assume a new momentum. If the new Minister takes this advice, chances are that his learning curve will be very short. And in the process, he will achieve a lot for Nigeria in this vital sector.

Soremekun, former Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, writes from Lagos