Cleaning up the Den (1)

Capt Theo Onu

The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan waited patiently for the right hour though long expected but not in the blanket format it came, took up the presidential gauntlet in one clean sweep on Tuesday morning fired the chief executives of three key aviation parastatals of NCAA, NAMA and FAAN, and promising more cleanup in aftershock like for a few more. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that this a domino effect resulting from the bullet proof car scandal that got rid of Princess Stella Oduah the erstwhile Minister of Aviation.

For those very conversant with the Nigerian aviation history from the 80’s knows that none of our political appointees ever get fired for incompetence and the only offence or valid reason that can get one fired from the minister of aviation to the parastatal chief executives most times is a serious aircraft accident with loss of lives. That has always been the norm until this very one with no accident but rather with the perception that“one corrupt, all corrupt”.
The incessant changes and the method of effecting the change is doing us no good, with over 28 ex-minister of aviation and countless parastatal chief executives in 40 years is not a good record. For example, the sacked DG of NCAA Capt Akinkotu was less than 6 monthson the job, without the opportunity for him to showcase his ability was gruesome and highhanded injustice.

Are wewere we ought to be in this sector? No. The performance of the Nigerian aviation industry is still lagging behind those of the rest of the world. Nonetheless, demand for air transport has increased steadily over the past years with passenger numbers and freight traffic growing by 25% and 31%, respectively. Over the period 2010-2015,(Nigeria) and indeed Africa will be the third fastest growing region in the world in terms of international traffic with an average growth rate of 6.1% compared to the global average of 5.8%, and 7.9% and 6.9% for the Middle East and Asia Pacific, respectively, while Europe, Latin America and North America are projected to record lower international passenger growth of 5.0%, 5.8% and 4.9%, respectively.

This trend is expected to continue in the coming years due to a number of factors, notably robust economic growth, demographic boom, increasing urbanization, and emergence of the middle class. Air transportation plays a vital role in the country’s growth process by accelerating convergence of goods and persons. The contribution of air transport far exceeds that of road transportation sevenfold. Growth in air transportation has directly maps into economic growth due to spillover effects through creation of direct and indirect jobs in the industry and other auxiliary sectors such as tourism and other service sectors. Expansion in air transportation creates market opportunities for local entrepreneurs by creating regional and global economic centers. In 2010, the aviation sector supported about 2 million jobs (including 157,000 direct jobs) through the impact on travel and tourism which translated into N49.8 billion of Nigeria’s GDP. Forecasts indicate that this sector’s impact on Nigerian economy is set to grow as well and over the next 20 years, implied job creation by the sector is projected at 575,000.

Nigeria can maintain the growth of its aviation industry if more and more people can afford to pay for the cost of air travel because currently, only about 10% of Nigerians travels by air but given the current rate of economic growth and emergence of the middle class, there will be high demand for services linked to air transportation. We are still hampered by a number of challenges such as poor safety and security issues, lack of adequate resources and infrastructure, distance and limited connectivity, lack of proactive regulations are among the main constraints the industry is facing. These constraints add to high operating costs resulting from surging fuel are sometimes too much to bear. Addressing these challenges could significantly unlock the industry’s potential for future growth and that is why we need semblance of continuity in the leadership of the key positions.

Safety is the most pressing challenge for us in Africa. In 2011, the average number of air traffic accidents was nine times higher than the global average. The frequency of accidents stems largely from inconsistency in the implementation and enforcement of internationally accepted safety standards and practices. Increasing the level of safety should be a key priority for the development for the new aviation minister and all those coming to all the open parastatals.
Interestingly, the African aviation authorities have endorsed an African Union backed plan aimed at addressing deficiencies related to aviation safety & security and strengthening the regulatory framework. Accordingly, the International Air Transport Association jointly with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other organizations have committed to supporting the Africa Strategic Improvement Action Plan of the African Union. The plan encourages African governments to foster regulatory oversight through the adoption of globally accepted safety and security standards.

Inadequate infrastructure: The air transport industry faces various challenges including poor airport infrastructures, lack of physical and human resources, limited connectivity, and lack of transit facilities. Although substantial progress has been made during the last 2 years, we still lag behind other regions in terms of “soft”
and “hard” infrastructure. It is therefore critical that African countries invest in the soft as well as hard infrastructure to support the industry