Madam Aviation and the President's Friends

Last week Thursday Arik Air, Nigeria’s de facto “national carrier”, was in limbo, with all its domestic flights grounded. I was a victim, stuck in Port Harcourt “International” Airport for many hours, until good fortune intervened in the form of an Aero Contractors plane diverted from Owerri late in the day (night actually), which evacuated many of us stranded Lagos-bound passengers. Arik’s domestic operations had been disrupted by the aviation unions, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind who had ministered the instigation! At the time of Arik’s grounding, the airline was responsible for perhaps seventy percent or more of domestic flights with the exit of DANA Airlines, Air Nigeria, First Nation Airways and Chanchangi Airlines. The only alternatives to Arik – Aero and IRS – accounted for less than thirty percent of domestic passenger traffic. And once Arik was grounded, aviation services effectively came to a halt within Nigeria! Only an irresponsible manager could have conspired to foist such a situation on Nigerians. The cost in economic and social terms to the Nigerian nation was incalculable! The political goodwill lost by President Jonathan was not quantifiable! As I sat along with hundreds other frustrated Nigerians AND EXPATRIATES in shabby and uncomfortable airport terminals, I wondered how Nigeria got this way. The apparent offence of Arik was that it owed aviation agencies some amount which was itself a subject of disagreement between the airline and the aviation authorities. How come the sector unions woke up one day and proceeded to disrupt airline operations? Is that one of the functions of trade unions? Was there any connection between the action taken against Arik and the request by a National Assembly committee that Arik be designated the nation’s official national carrier? I recall that the current minister of aviation, Stella Oduah (Ogiemwonyi), has a pet project of creating a national carrier for the country? I also recall Air Nigeria’s proprietor, Jimoh Ibrahim, declaring in the wake of the airline’s troubles that he would not be blackmailed into being part of any national carrier project? Is there any truth to these blackmail allegations? We have since heard rumours of demands by someone for five percent of Arik’s shareholding. Is there any truth in these allegations? Who made such demands? We have also heard rumours that the purported demands were expressed to have been on behalf of a higher authority? Is this true? These are allegations that require immediate investigation by law enforcement agencies – the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the police – so that the confidence of Nigerians and the international community in our government and aviation sector will not be irreparably damaged! Now we have numerous controversies in the sector, including the forceful ejection of MAEVIS Limited, FAAN’s erstwhile revenue concessionaire, from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; the ministry’s troubles with Bi-Courtney, the concessionaire who built the MM2 domestic terminal; the banning and unbanning of DANA Airlines in the aftermath its air crash; the grounding and exit from the industry of Air Nigeria; and now the current problems of Arik Air. Are the officers in charge promoting or destroying the fortunes of the sector? Given reports that the minister is very close to President Jonathan, I have a suspicion that the presidency may sooner than later suffer grave embarrassment on account of the activities of this ministry! “Madam Aviation” is not the only friend of the president that may cause him serious headache. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recently released a list of AMCON debtors whom it has restrained Deposit Money Banks from extending further credit to. At the very top of the list is a notable friend of Mr President and member of the regime’s National Economic Management Team (NEMT), Femi Otedola. According to the CBN, Otedola’s company owes AMCON N192.4bn. Other major debtors who may be considered proximate to the presidency include Patrick Ifeanyi Uba’s Capital Oil and Gas (N48bn); Arumemi-Ikhide’s (also owner of Arik!) Rockson Engineering which owes N60.4bn; recently resigned power minister, Barth Nnaji, whose Geometric Engineering owes N19.7bn; Wale Babalakin whose three companies – Bi-Courtney Limited, Roygate Properties, and Resort International are indebted to the combined total of N54.2bn; former minister of interior, Emmanuel Iheanacho, whose Integrated Oil and Gas owes N6.7bn; and Gitto Construzioni whose debt stands at N11.83bn. I recall warning on these pages about the dangers of crony capitalism, a path we now seem to be treading. This style will only get our president into trouble, in office or afterwards! Talking about the NEMT and the president’s friends, I was amused to notice the president deploying three “billionaire” members of the team (Atedo Peterside; Femi Otedola; and Aig-Imoukhuede) to persuade Nigerians about the merits of Sanusi Lamido’s N5,000 note. Did the presidency think these very rich men could persuade poor and angry Nigerians to support the policy? Anyway, while Otedola and Imoukhuede were a bit circumspect, Peterside blasted: “If I was the one, I would have printed N10,000!” or words to same effect. How does he feel now that the policy has been “suspended”? Someone should please beg our respected Atedo Peterside to stay out of public advocacy – it is evidently not his calling!