Our Ogbonnaya Amadi

‘Did you hear about Ogbonnaya Amadi?’ It was a question that carried some weight of urgency and anxiety and so my immediate instinct was “sad news?”, except that I did not figure out what form of sad news. It came as sad news really as the New York correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, Edwin Nwanchukwu broke the demise of our ebullient and gregarious friend and brother to me on phone.

I had given him a call while partnering with a colleague at our campus radio studio in Columbus, Ohio. We had hardly finished exchanging our usual banters when he popped up the question. Though Ogbonnaya and I had not seen for a while he was always part of our discussion here in the United States whenever I am on phone with Femi Aderupatan(former Vanguard reporter) who lives in Chicago, Illinois. And so I immediately sent a text to Femi informing him about the news.

He called back and the sadness and pain was palpable enough to be felt through the phone because we have lost a friend and a brother.

We were all just in our immediate 20’s in 1984 when we met as freelance reporters and interns at the Vanguard Newspaper, Apapa, Lagos. I still remember very vividly with nostalgia the youthful bubbling spirit we all shared to do well as journalists. We were bunch of optimists with desire, determination, and commitment to make Vanguard the newspaper of choice. Many of us were youthful – Femi Aderupatan, Azuka Mordi, Ogbonnaya Amadi and myself. We also had Onochie Anibeze, Tunji Olawuni, Funmi Jolaoso , Joy Ege and Jossy Nkwocha. We were encouraged by our seniors then who gave us the chance to grow and discover our potentials - (Muyiwa Adetiba (Editor), Fola Arogunda, Elly Obasi, Jimi Disu and Frank Aigbogun (News Editor).

Every afternoon in the news room, we looked forward to the outcome of the editorial meeting when we will go and spy Frank’s table to see the position our stories were scheduled. At that time ‘L’ stood for the lead story, ‘F’ for front page story and ‘I’ for inside page. It was always exciting doing this.

We were always not in a hurry to leave for home because of the ‘Canal’ but when we do head home walking the long distance through the quiet road, then, we talk about our dreams – dreams of a great Nigeria; dreams to get married and have children; dreams to own our cars; dreams to become an editor; dreams to own our own publication just like Uncle Sam; dreams, dreams, and dreams.

At the end of the month we put up our claims for the stories published. It was N30 for front page story; N15 for inside page and N25 for back page. We strived to make between N100 and N150 a month and when there are regular stories from a beat like the Airport and Defense Beat, the earnings could get to between N250 and N300. It was fun for us. The earning was not so important to us but the bylines. It was the joy of seeing our names the next day in the newspaper. And so when we are not happy that our stories were not used Ogbonnaya Amadi will create fun out of it and it will be laughter; and so you are encouraged and you prepare for another day. That was Ogbonnaya. Never was there a dull moment with him. He has this driving spirit of achieving; of getting things done and in a very entertaining way which eventually led to him being deplored to the Entertainment Desk.  Most of our set left the Vanguard and some of us returned like me, though left again, the relationship with Ogbonnaya continued. Facebook became our meeting place.

The fact that Ogbonnaya’s death is being reported today in virtually all the newspapers in Nigeria that I read online showed that he worked hard to achieve his dreams, those dreams we had and shared together in the early days of Vanguard Newspaper. He may not have achieved all but his footprint will ever be edged on the footpath of entertainment reporting in Nigeria. And so anyone that passes and studies that path will find Ogbonnaya Amadi.

Our OGBONNAYA AMADI, you played your part, you did well, you fought well and we will miss you but where you are now is better. Sleep well our Ogbonnaya Amadi.  

Deba Uwadiae

Columbus, Ohio

United States of America

August 31, 2012

    

Arik Air adds Lagos-Douala to route network

 

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest commercial carrier is to begin scheduled commercial services between Lagos, Nigeria and Douala, Cameroon. The first commercial flight on the new route will be held on Thursday August 30 and subsequently operate three times weekly on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

 

The outbound flight will depart Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 11:10 am (local time) and arrive in Douala International Airport, Douala at 12:40 pm (local time). Inbound flight will leave Douala at 1:25 pm (local time) and arrive in Lagos at 2:55pm (local time).

 

The new Lagos-Douala route is Arik Air’s second foray into Central Africa coming after the inauguration of Lagos-Luanda (Angola) route on December 13, 2011.

 

The Lagos – Douala route will be served with a Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft. The 737-700 is a two class compartment and the configuration is 12 Business Class seats and 112 Economy Class. Business Class passengers can enjoy a 44” seat pitch, cradle style seat while Economy Class passengers will equally enjoy plenty of room on the 1h 10min flight with a seat pitch of 34”.

  

Executive President/Managing Director, Arik Arik, Mr. Chris Ndulue said, “This is another exciting moment for us all at Arik Air launching our first new international destination in 2012. Douala is our 10th African point and the third sub-Saharan destination. The importance of Douala as Cameroon’s commercial capital and home to the country’s largest port makes it imperative for Arik Air to connect the city with Lagos which is also Nigeria’s commercial capital.

 

“Guests on the new route can, as usual, be assured of Arik Air’s highest safety and service standards”.

 

Dana staff appeal to President

8^th August 2012

His Excellency,

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 

Dr. Goodluck E. A. Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON,

Abuja, FCT 

Nigeria

 Dear Mr. President,

A PASSIONATE APPEAL BY DANA AIR STAFF FOR THE LIFTING OF THE SUSPENSION ON DANA AIR OPERATIONS

We, the over 558 directly-employed Nigerian staff of Dana Air, hereby appeal to His Excellency, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, through the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, to urgently lift the suspension on Dana Air operations in line with global best practices and international regulations guiding air accidents.

 

The suspension of the airline’s Air Operating Certificate (AOC) by the Federal Ministry of Aviation came into effect on June 4, 2012, a day after the management of the airline had announced the temporary suspension of its operations in honour of the 153 guests and crew, and an unspecified number of persons on the ground, who lost their lives in the tragic Dana Air accident of Sunday, June 3, 2012.

 

As operators of the aircraft, we are deeply saddened by the loss, not only to the families of the victims but the nation at large, and we would like to convey once again the deepest condolences and sympathies of every one of us at Dana Air. May the souls of the departed rest in peace, and may the Almighty God continue to comfort all the families. It is also our prayer that such a tragedy will never befall our great country again. Amen!

IMPLICATIONS OF CONTINUED SUSPENSION OF DANA AIR OPERATIONS

1. In the history of the Nigerian aviation industry, no other airline that has suffered a similar accident has responded in the ways and manner that the management of Dana has done. Besides honouring its duty to the families of the victims, the airline has also continued to fulfil its obligations to its staff by way of remuneration which amounts to about N110 million monthly. Dana Air is, perhaps, the only airline in Nigeria that has always paid its staff salaries as and when due, keeping them gainfully employed.

 

2. If the airline’s AOC is not restored immediately, the over 558 directly-employed Nigerian staff, plus countless others indirectly affected, including their families and dependants, risk losing their source of livelihood and being thrown into the cold aviation labour market. This excludes the large number of third party suppliers and agencies that also depend on the airline’s operations for the sustenance of their business.

 

 

3. The Nigerian travelling public is not left out too. The dearth of airlines that can meet the travel needs of Nigerians has dampened the sector and affects the industry and economic growth. The reputation of our air industry is further affected as the near ‘monopolistic’ situation created by Dana Air’s suspension will encourage a situation where air travellers are inadequately served and poorly treated by the existing few.

4. From an investment perspective, the continued suspension of Dana Air’s operations, which is against international best practices, may serve as a deterrent to potential investors in Nigeria’s fledging aviation sector. The negative consequence for the nation’s economy goes without saying.

 

5. Dana Air has been widely reputed for its efficient customer services, world-class in-flight services, on-time departures and arrivals, innovative e-airline products and high safety and quality standards. The airline has been the number one choice for travel across Nigeria since November 10, 2008 when it began commercial operations, and its commitment to service excellence has earned it a number of local and international awards including: Best ICT-Driven Airline of the Year 2009 – National. Information Technology Merit Award (NITMA); Best ICT-Driven Airline of the Year 2009 - National ICT Merit Award (NIMA); Aviation Service Excellence Award - West African Branding Excellence Awards 2010; Best Airline Operator of the Year 2010 - Lagos Enterprise Awards 2010; Best Safety and Security-Conscious Airline in Nigeria 2010 -  Security Watch Africa Awards 2010; Most Passenger-Friendly Airline of the Year 2011 – Travellers/Listeners’ Survey conducted by ‘THE COCKPIT’ on Eko FM; Best Indigenous Airline of the Year 2011 – Nigerian News Direct Annual Lecture & Awards; Most Endorsed Airline in CSR 2011 – CSR Nigeria Awards 2011; Best CSR Airline of the Year 2011 – Lagos Enterprise Awards 2011; Best Impact-Making Airline in West-Africa 2012 – IT Edge West African Convergence Forum 2012; and Most Customer-Friendly Airline in Nigeria 2012 – League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) Seminar & Industry Recognition Award 2012.

 

6. Through its charitable trust, Dana Air has been fulfilling its Corporate Social Responsibility with Sri Sai Vandana Foundation and an In-flight Envelope Donation Programme, which has helped raise over N9m for the National Sickle Cell Centre in Lagos since 2009, and only recently joined the Autism Awareness Drive and also initiated a Kidz Fly Programme which has given students from 8 public schools the opportunity of being onboard an aircraft, and to visit another state of the Federation, for the first time in their lives. The airline has also supported initiatives of economic significance such as the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) Global Investor Conference 2009 and the 16th National Economic Summit in 2010. The airline is a major supporter of youth programmes too, with focus on education, entertainment, arts and sports.

 

CONCLUSION

Given the immense contribution of Dana Air to the growth of Nigeria’s aviation industry, the strict compliance with all relevant aviation regulations locally and internationally, the exemplary commitment and response of the airline’s management to the tragic accident of Sunday, June 3, we, the Nigerian staff of Dana Air, are pleading with Your Excellency to immediately restore the airline’s Air Operating Certificate (AOC) so that the airline can continue to offer its world-class air transport services to the teeming Nigerian travellers and community at large.

Signed,

For: DANA AIR STAFF

Tony Usidamen

(Head Corporate Communications)

 

Turkish Airlines fulfills promise to NAHCO staff

By Ariyo Akinfenwa

 The Turkish Airlines has fulfilled its promise to a staff of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO, Mr Salami Lateef Ibrahim with returned ticket and Visa to Istanbul, Turkey for submitting the sum of 25,000 pounds and 5,000 euro he found inside an aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Ibrahim, a cabin cleaning team leader, found the wallet containing the amount during a routine cleaning of an aircraft belonging to a different airline.

Salami has since embarked on the trip and returned with the Managing Director of the airline Mr. Ali Bulut who was also on board the aircraft.

Mr. Bulut,  said ‘it is not good only to make a promise, you must fulfill it. That is what we have done in this case to tell honest people that their actions will be rewarded; it is a matter of time.

‘It is a great pleasure for us at Turkish Airlines to be associated with such an honesty Salami displayed on that fateful day when he returned the money. It does not matter whether it happened on our aircraft or not. The most important thing is that an act of honesty was displayed,’ he stated.

Relaying his experience on the trip, Salami Lateef said the journey was a memorable one. ‘I have been cleaning the aircraft for several years but have not flown in it for once. The in-flight service and entertainment was a wonderful experience from the cabin crew of Turkish Airlines. This is first part of what make the trip memorable.

‘Entering Istanbul is another part. The city is properly planned with working and functioning infrastructures. They are making so much money from tourism. I met people from different nations, visiting different tourist sites such as Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the ancient Basilica known as Hagia Sophia were magnificent structures. It was indeed memorable.

He expressed his gratitude to Turkish Airlines for making such a dream come true and also grateful to his organization NAHCO for supporting him financially to embark on this journey. ‘Without working for NAHCO, I might not have had this opportunity that people out there are seeking.’ –said Salami.

Ibrahim was initially rewarded with a rebate ticket by the Turkish Airlines Station Manager at the airport, Mr. Ovunc  Bilgen but had the ticket upgraded to a full return ticket by the Managing Director of the airline in Nigeria, Mr. Ali Bulut, saying that ‘Mr Ibrahim deserves it for his honesty.’

Ariyo Akinfenwa reports for Business Travel magazine, Lagos, Nigeria

In defence of Dana Aiirlines' maintenance practices

BY: Capt. Dele Ore

I am constrained to give my comment on most of the aspects of the report of that Technical and Administration Review Panel on Domestic Airlines which was set up by the Federal Ministry of Aviation and whose report was submitted recently. The report has shown that the panel lacked the capability for their assignment based on the skill, knowledge, experience and qualification of its individual member and panel collectively. Because of the panel’s limitation, it is therefore not surprising the low quality and misleading final report. The uninitiated members of the public were fed with the panel’s report which is only fit to be thrown into the dust –bin.

The report should be thrown away in its entirety otherwise when we analyze it fully it will embarrass the Government and people of Nigeria. The report will expose Nigeria into unlimited liability. Coincidentally, the President of ICAO, Dr Gonzalez only last week was full of praises and admiration for the effectiveness of the safety oversight system available in Nigeria. This same system in Nigeria has been ignorantly adjudged faulty by this panel:-

The panel definitely did not have sufficient time and expertise to do a good job hence the bundle of misinformation. 

Specifically the panel found out that certain maintenance practices by DANA Airline particularly the use of Technical log book were not in conformity with Standard And Recommended Practices. This cannot be true but can be deduced that the panel did not understand the proper use of Technical logbook.

Another grievous issue is contained in this quote from the panel report that:

“The panel discovered in the course of its investigation that Dana Airlines carried out an engine compressor wash” on some of its aircraft without any prior entry in its technical log book to show what necessitated this action”  

On this issue you are expected to praise DANA Airlines foresight and ingenuity to start that programme which is pro-active. The panel erroneously concluded that “engine Compressor wash” was a maintenance action carried out without any recorded engine status. They inferred that. “It is improbable that the engine compressor wash was carried out as a routine maintenance activity since it was not within the programmes interval in the Maintenance Control Manual”.

I am very surprised that no member of the panel was knowledgeable on the subject matter leading to this incorrect judgment resulting in castigation of DANA AIRLINE instead of commending their effort on this.

For the records, please note that the Dana programme as we now know was specifically embarked upon as a requirement mainly due to the dusty environment in which the engines operate knowing the Sahara Desert is just north of Nigeria and the damaging effect is more pronounced during harmattan dust haze. Over the time the environment could cause components of the engine internals to accumulate dust which could deteriorate engine performance. You don’t have to have any recorded defect in the engine before embarking on engine Compression wash.

All these misinformation and public sentiments are capable of unnecessarily prolonging the continued grounding of the remaining aircraft on the fleet of Dana Airline. May I therefore use this medium to call on everyone concerned to allow Dana Airline to resume commercial passenger operation without further delays. The airline has lived up to her responsibility and continued grounding will do more harm than good to the industry. We share in the grieve of bereaved families and our condolences to all friends and relatives as well as the President Commander-in-Chief and the entire people of Nigeria for the unfortunate disaster.

Capt. Dele Ore is the Chairman of Aviation Round Table, Lagos

Nigeria: Another Misleading Report

BY CAPT. DANIEL OMALE

When the minister of aviation inaugurated a technical and administrative committee, shortly after the Dana Air accident, the terms of reference were unclear. The usual narrative of finding a lasting solution to aviation industry's crises was the theme.

The committee members, usually, would assume absolute, supreme authority over all other statutory aviation agencies in Nigeria. This temporary, shallow reaction always misleads committee members into deviating from the laid-down procedures, rules and regulations guiding air transportation.

The government, to appease the public, immediately after every fatal accident, hastily constitutes a committee to review the state of the sector, instead of tasking the various established aviation agencies. This irrational reaction on the part of government has created improper and inadequate aircraft accident investigation to ascertain the probable cause(s) of all aircraft accidents in Nigeria from 1996 to date.

Immediately after the Bellview Airline's fatal crash of 2005, Mrs Odutola was appointed by the then minister of aviation, Aborishade, on the order of the president, to head a technical committee to look into the issues facing aviation sector in the country. Again, the terms of reference were ambiguous. Armed with such an authority, Odutola and her team grounded for inspection all B737-200 series in Nigeria.

Neither Odutola nor anyone else in her team was qualified or authorized by the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, to tamper with any part of its product. But the illusion of a bestowed presidential authority overshadowed her professional ethics, and she ignored all internationally accepted recommended standard practices that require that an approved maintenance organization render such inspection.

In addition, despite Boeing's modification bulletin of the 737-200 in the serial number regime, the committee viewed its mandate as superior and supreme to the standard air regulations.

For nearly four weeks, all the airlines operating the B737-200 series were grounded, and operators lost millions of dollars in revenue. The committee wrote and submitted its report, which ended in one of the trash cans of government shelves. Up to the time of writing this article, the report of the probable cause(s) of the Bellview accident has not been released.

In 2008, Air Vice Marshal Atawodi chaired another committee to unveil the disappearance of Wings Aviation Beech 1900, which vanished while en route to Bebi airfield, Obudu.

Again, without proper accident investigation by an appropriate authority, the committee erroneously blamed the accident on the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The discovery of the wreckage of the ill-fated aircraft clearly showed pilot error - another blunder in government's hasty decision.

The Dana Air accident of June 3, again, has stimulated the federal government to hastily constitute another panel independent of the parallel investigation by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), the professional agency responsible for all aircraft-related accidents in the nation.

Last week, the committee submitted its findings, which laid more emphasis on Dana Air accident. As expected, the report blamed the airline's maintenance records and the NCAA's safety oversight functions.

Like every other stakeholder, I am in a state of déjà vu, because although the commissioner of AIB was part of the panel, the committee members lack the merit and professional knowledge and skills to investigate Dana Air's accident and audit all schedule airlines in the country. This is a clear and concise statement devoid of an ambiguity, and I challenge anyone with a contrary view.

The biased nature of the report is obvious for the following reasons:

(1) Although I respect captains Omame and Udom as professional pilots, their involvement as ADC Airline's top management team during The airline's two fatal accidents render them unqualified to audit Dana Air and the NCAA. The NCAA as of today has refused to release to service, the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) of ADC Airline because of the airline's irresponsible attitude to the families of the accidents' victims.

(2) Engr Onyiri was the immediate past director general of the NCAA, who was relieved of his job in the advent of the series of air crashes of 2005 and 2006 involving ADC, Bellview and Sosoliso airlines. How could he be selected as member of a panel to investigate the sector and the agency he failed to properly manage?

(3) Capt Mshelia has numerous times attacked Dr Demuren, the current director-general of the NCAA, for refusing to grant air operating permit to his company to operate a flying school. The NCAA cited incomplete documentation as its prime reason for the refusal.

(4) Although I respect Group Captain Obakpolor's (rtd) constant vigilance of the industry, his porous knowledge of civil aviation cannot justify his competence in auditing the industry.

The three committees mentioned above, in the end, failed to come up with the probable causes of the accidents.

A critical analysis of each committee's report shows personal sentiments devoid of straight-forward professional deductive templates.

Being an airline pilot or an aircraft engineer does not provide the necessary skills and knowledge of how to audit an airline or investigate an aircraft accident. Auditing and air crash investigation are specialized fields that require extra training. In Nigeria, only the trained NCAA and AIB personnel, in these fields, have the necessary knowhow to audit and investigate respectively.

Their authority in these fields must be encouraged, instead of inviting noise makers and superb lobbyists to further mislead the industry and government with incoherent abstractions.

We must, first, allow the AIB to come out with the probable cause(s) of Dana Air accident before any diluted, misleading report is entertained. This is the only professional way to follow, and it's the standard everywhere else on earth.

Nigeria's aviation industry can only grow and prosper if every stakeholder honestly and sincerely supports the existing structure with a view to genuinely move the country forward.

Again, unfortunately, those we consider aviation professionals in the country are throwing away rationality to play to the gallery for easy access to government and get their share of the national cake. Sadly, today, government is the only thriving business in Nigeria.

Daniel Omale writes a weekly (Friday) column with Leadership Newspaper, Abuja