By Udeme Akpan
Nigerians love football. And that is undoubtedly evident in the torrents of emotions and sentiments the beautiful.
game
of football elicits in the people. Apart from the thrills, frills, palpable
tension and pure bliss associated with competitive football games,
whether by national teams (foreign or local), or those by European elite league
clubs, Nigerians have always shown fanatical interest, going by the hilarious
banters and exhilarating analyses that make football to appear to be more than
a game but an enthralling love affair to Nigerians.
That's
why many have opined that the fascinating game of football is a seeming
unifying factor in Nigeria, that breaks every existing barriers of social,
ethnic, religious and political dichotomies in the nation.
Apart
from football, some recent developments in the nation have also apparently
thrown up other factors and sentiments that are increasingly bringing Nigerians
a unifying voice: First is the growing awareness and expectations in a
democracy that questions the quality of governance and also for demand for
democratic accountability.
The
second is the palpable anger, frustration and disillusionment in the land, as a
result of obvious distrust of government that hinges on dissatisfaction with
the integrity and commitment of successive governments' service delivery, which
have continued to bruise the sensibility of the people. This could
significantly be referenced by the #EndSARS crisis that engulfed the nation
with multidimensional expressions across the Nigeria in 2020.
Such
unifying sentiments, understandably, is what is playing out with the
controversy surrounding the recent unveiling of the national carrier, Nigeria
Air, in May 2023 as part of the last official activities of former Aviation
Minister Senator Hadi Sirika.
The
controversy ignited a national outrage, justifiably because of the conflicting
and sometimes, sensational information and opinions expressed from within and
outside the Aviation industry.
For
instance, many people have questioned the integrity of the process leading to
the setting up of the airline and expressed concerns over whether Nigeria would
get commensurate value in the investment in terms of desired improvement of
service delivery to the people as against the current less -than -satisfactory
services by existing airlines; and also in terms of favourable return on
investment, given the huge resources being channeled to the enterprise by the
core investors. Senator Sirika had said that the federal government will only
retain 5% shares in Nigeria Air.
While
some interests, such as the former House of Reps Committee Chairman on
Aviation, Honourable Pharmacist Nnolim Nnaji have dismissed the whole
arrangement as fraud, others such as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON),
claimed that Nigeria Air, because of its arrangements with the preferred
technical partner, Ethiopian Airlines, would stifle the existing local
airlines.
Even
the Chairman of Air Peace, a prominent member of the AON, Allen Onyema, had
also queried the transparency of the shareholding and had gone further to call
on President Bola Tinubu to disband Nigeria Air calling it a charade.
But
former Aviation Minister Sirika had argued that the setting up of Nigeria Air
was to improve aviation services in Nigeria, by offering premium service
delivery that would engender healthy competition in the interest of aviation
customers in Nigeria, riding on the tested and trusted capacity and
capabilities associated with the technical partners, Ethiopian
Airlines. He had also in an interview on Arise TV, alleged that the
former Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, may have
taken that route of calling Nigeria Air a fraud, because he was denied 5%
equity of the airline, which he requested through the back door.
Senator
Sirika had also revealed that despite the various huge amounts of money being
bandied about as money spent on Nigeria Air, only the sum of N3BN was released
to the ministry and that at the time he left office last month, the money had
not been totally expended.
Close
observation has shown that one fact that runs in all the diverse perspectives
on this Nigeria Air situation is that, Nigerians , irrespective of their
current divided perceptions, are united in the opinion that the nation needs a
reliable national carrier that would bring succour to air travelers.
The
question then is, are there information gaps that gave room to the current
negative sentiments against Nigeria Air? Yes, in my opinion. Are there some
grey areas in the process or execution of the agenda that could benefit from
improved corporate governance and purposeful rejigging? Absolutely possible, I
must say. And that improvement with a few corrections, here and there, ought to
be the objective of every well-meaning Nigerian and not the self-serving demand
to disband the airline, by a few people with vested interest.
We
mustn't and shouldn't throw away the proverbial baby with the dirty bath water
because of the interest of a few, which a development civil society group the
Generation Next Collective (GNC), in their recent statement had said was only
motivated by "Profiteering tendencies and dark conspiracies that do not
put to account, the interest of the people or the collective prosperity of the
nation."
The
GNC had added that other operators shouldn't fret about competition with
Nigeria Air, adding that "Nigeria Air should be given the chance to either
prove us wrong or right, rather than the inexplicable attempt to kill it with
misleading narratives. Competition is the tonic for good service delivery. And
we should encourage that for the good of the people."
It
is therefore imperative that Nigeria Air should be protected and strengthened
to meet the core objective of setting it up as referenced earlier, to serve the
interest of Nigerians and other passengers alike. It will also be a source of
pride to all Nigerians as the national carriers as it is applicable to other
great nations all over the world, to their respective citizens.
With
the proven capacity of its technical partners, Ethiopian Airlines, Nigeria Air
would most likely offer Nigerians and other passengers a cheaper and more
reliable flight alternative.
Beyond
that, with the setting up of Nigeria Air, Nigeria will also be able to fully
utilize the Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) it signed with other
countries. And it is important that those calling for the disbandment of the
airline on account of its business relationship with the Ethiopian Airlines and
other sentiments, should also be reminded of the implications of such, given
the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFCTA), which Nigeria is
signatory to.
It
is my view that at the end of the day Nigeria Air will be a win-win situation
for all.
Akpan,
a public servant, wrote from Uyo
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