Supo Atobatele
Nigeria, before the return to democratic government on May 29, 1999, was a pariah nation following the annulment of June 12, 1993, presidential election by the then military government. The aviation industry particularly suffered from the spontaneous reactions from the Western countries that were unwilling to do business with the country on all fronts.
Coming shortly after the annulment was the suspension of flights from the nations premier gateway, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to the United States of America by that country’s Transport Secretary, Federico Pena, on August 11, 1994. Pena, who had invoked section 1115(e) 2(c) of the United States Federal Aviation Act, explained that MMIA did not maintain and administer effective security measures.
The flight suspension, contained in the department’s order 93-8-15, was a follow-up to an order 92-10-17, served on October 8, 1992, giving a public notice that the Lagos airport did not maintain or administer effective security measures. Nigeria’s reaction to the ban was that the action was informed by the spate of pro-democracy protests against the annulment of the presidential election by the Babangida military administration, and was politically motivated. But the American government, which obviously opposed the annulment, denied the political undertone attached to the flight ban, insisting that the action against the airport was hinged on security.
The economic implication of the ban was enormous for the country, considering the expected accruable revenue from airfare, airport charges and taxes. It was particularly glaring for the defunct Nigeria Airways and American carrier-Trans Air on Lagos-New York route, the aviation agencies like airport authority, defunct Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA)and the ground handling companies that lost more than N10 billion for a period of six years while the ban lasted. During the period, officials of the Nigerian Custom Service in Lagos claimed then to be losing over N500,000 weekly, apart from duties on imported and exported cargo freighted on that route.
Travellers on the route were neither spared in the imbroglio as they travelled through various destinations in Europe before connecting flights to the United States. This brought additional burden of having to wait for several hours at foreign airports before connecting flights, apart from the extra cost on airfares.
The Nigerian Airports Authority (NAA) then moved swiftly with the support of the federal government to address the technical issues raised by the American transport officials by installing sophisticated screening machines, closed-circuit television (CCTV), putting in place stringent access control around key operational areas of the airport and introduction of colour coding on duty cards. Surprisingly, the expected lift on the ban was not effected despite meeting the demands of the US transport officials who had expressed satisfaction at the required facilities. The delay in lifting the embargo lingered, making the ban more politically-inclined than technical.
This was the scenario of the industry, an obvious hangover from dictatorial military regime when democratic government, headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, was inaugurated on May 29, 1999. The government, prepared to bring about a quick turnaround in the seemingly ailing industry, made positive diplomatic moves with Washington to restore flight between the two countries. To further cement this relationship, Nigeria quickly signed a new Air Transport Agreement (Open Skies) on August 26, 2000, with the US. The agreement allowed unlimited number of airlines from both countries to operate into and beyond their territories. However, this was heavily criticised by industry stakeholders, saying that the agreement would be to the advantage of the American carriers as they had all that was needed to dominate the Nigerian market. The following year, specifically, April 2001, Nigeria made the UK route a dual designation by reviewing the existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with that country which since then allowed Virgin Atlantic Airways to join British Airways, the dominant carrier on that route.
The advent of democratic government brought some significant progress to the industry within a short period as Obasanjo, in late 2006, signed a new Civil Aviation Act, thereby repealing the Civil Aviation Act of 1964 and the NCAA Act of 1999. The new act not only gave autonomy to the NCAA but also domesticates the International Civil Aviation Conventions and this allowed for aviation operations in the country to be more secure, safer and regular.
Obasanjo’s tenure could be described as the golden years of the aviation industry, as a lot of reforms were brought to bear with the aim of repositioning the sector as pivotal for the foreign investment drive of the new democratic government.
The reform involved policy review and implementation, legal instrument for the relevant agencies and evolving master plan to achieve short and long-term projects. These are products of various committees set up by government to review the facility gaps in the aviation agencies and the verification of the status of operating aircraft in the country.
Most of the policies were aimed at sanitising the industry, which almost collapsed following a spate of air crashes involving three commercial jetliners between 2005 and 2006 with over 500 people lost. The NCAA introduced tringent measures, which banned one aircraft operator and subjected airline to go through IOSA certification to further step up on safety operations, and this is paying off as the airspace is devoid of fatal accidents of recent.
That facility upgrade, which was non-existence before the advent of civil rule, could best be appreciated when it dawned on government that the nation’s airspace was still operating with outdated Selenia radar facility inaugurated in 1979 by Obasanjo when he was military head of state. He wasted no time during his first term in office, as the Federal Executive Council awarded the contract in 2003. The contractual agreement of the 66,500,870 Euros was signed between NAMA, representing the federal government, and Thales ATM of France on April 7, 2003. The aviation minister then, Dr. (Mrs) Kema Chikwe, spearheaded the drive for the execution of the multi-billion-naira project.
The vision of upgrading the nation’s surveillance system was realised when the project was eventually launched on Monday, October 18, 2010, in Abuja by President Goodluck Jonathan. This was made possible because the Yar’Adua-Jonathan administration keyed into prospects of the project in enhancing air safety.
The project suffered a temporary setback for almost 15 months, but the timely intervention of the then aviation minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, saved the project from becoming another white elephant by directing the then managing director of NAMA, Captain Ado Sanusi, to commence negotiation with officials of Thales ATM.
“This project will ensure a secure airspace across the country; this equipment marks a major step in the safety and security milestone, in the history of aviation in this country. The aviation sector is currently undergoing unprecedented transformation, coming after the many years of disrepair of facilities after the blacklisting of Nigeria many years ago. Today, TRACON has taken Nigeria to a new level of more secure aviation sector,” enthusiastic President Jonathan remarked during the inauguration.
As postulated earlier, the industry gained more under this political dispensation, as the nation’s airports, especially the international airports in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt, had their respective facilities upgraded to international standards. The opening of new terminals in Abuja and Port Harcourt international airports by President Muhammadu Buhari of recent was a pointer to the commitment of government to further transform the industry to world class.
Lack of functional a national carrier befitting a nation like Nigeria has, however, beclouded the outstanding achievements so far recorded in the last 20 years of democratic government. Though more than 10 attempts were made to resuscitate the national carrier, following the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, all of them ended in controversies and confined to archives.
Considering the pivotal role of air transport sector in driving others for the full realisation of their respective contributions to the gross domestic product of the country, it would be more beneficial if the current tempo is maintained and improved upon through adequate funding, training of personnel and deployment of new hi-tech equipment.
Virtually all the ministers played significant roles in actualising this laudable dream of having safe and secure air travel system.
•Atobatele is former general manager, public affairs, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency