By Olumide Ohunayo
In an interview with Punch Newspapers published on Wednesday, 10th
June 2009, I described the de-branding of Virgin Nigeria as “good
riddance, for Virgin Nigeria to fork out almost N1billion per annum
from its revenue to keep a brand in a melted environment is simply
excruciating. The new Management should take it in its stride and move
on. It should continue the cost reduction process, while improving the
West Coast and domestic route networking. They should as a matter of
necessity shop for a core investor that will inject funds, preferably
an international airline.” That was my dream for the carrier.
Thereafter, the media was awash a couple of months later, with the
news that NICON Group had bought Virgin Nigeria after being renamed
Nigeria Eagle. I expressed my reservations in an article titled
“Virgin Nigeria and The New Owner” published in Business Travel weekly
newsletter on the 10th of May 2010.
I said “It is with trepidation that the news got to the industry that NICON group has bought Virgin
Nigeria Airways. Considering the calamitous entry of the group some
years ago through the liquidated EAS Airlines, In welcoming the group
back to the industry, they need to understand the new dynamics as
exemplified by Virgin Nigeria, which is the impeccable systems,
processes and human capital that needs some air of freedom in order to
continue to maintain, sustain and retain the necessary benchmark put
in place such as IAOSA certification, IATA membership, AFRAA
membership seamless electronic ticketing etc, which has made the
airline the willing bride of foreign airlines.
Nigeria Airways. Considering the calamitous entry of the group some
years ago through the liquidated EAS Airlines, In welcoming the group
back to the industry, they need to understand the new dynamics as
exemplified by Virgin Nigeria, which is the impeccable systems,
processes and human capital that needs some air of freedom in order to
continue to maintain, sustain and retain the necessary benchmark put
in place such as IAOSA certification, IATA membership, AFRAA
membership seamless electronic ticketing etc, which has made the
airline the willing bride of foreign airlines.
It is not UHURU for the carrier except necessary running funds are immediately injected,
ownership expanded to reflect the national carrier status of its
founders, anything short of this will make us a laughing stock in the
virgin empire and beyond”. I was prophesying may be.
Air Nigeria’s predicament is a culmination of errors, government did
not do enough groundwork before giving the go ahead for the
transaction. I was expecting questions to be asked with respect to the
liabilities of the liquidated Nicon Airways and how ownership will
reflect nationalism. The clearing agencies deliberately put their
oversight functions on override thereby sweeping red flag issues under
the carpet.
ownership expanded to reflect the national carrier status of its
founders, anything short of this will make us a laughing stock in the
virgin empire and beyond”. I was prophesying may be.
Air Nigeria’s predicament is a culmination of errors, government did
not do enough groundwork before giving the go ahead for the
transaction. I was expecting questions to be asked with respect to the
liabilities of the liquidated Nicon Airways and how ownership will
reflect nationalism. The clearing agencies deliberately put their
oversight functions on override thereby sweeping red flag issues under
the carpet.
NCAA was a bit hasty in grounding the airline when it had issues with
staff. India’s Kingfisher Airlines had more problems to contend with
yet, the Indian government and regulatory body provided the critical
support till this day. The NCAA need to ensure by monitoring closely
that board members of airlines are truly able to function
independently without undue influence from the owners, which is
presently absent in our airspace.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service also takes a share of the blame.
Virgin Nigeria’s expatriate managers left this country unhindered even
though there was a backlog of unpaid taxes. It may have been more
effective if they had used the armed men they used to raid Air Nigeria
offices at that time, rather than wait for a whistle blower that only
remembered he had a whistle when he was arrested for financial
malpractices. That Mafioso move was a bad press for the airline and
the country at large.
The over 800 members of staff and their families are the greatest
losers in this cut off my nose to spite my face game. They adopted a
strategy of taking on the owner rather than the airline, forgetting
that the only authority you can appeal to is the owner, not management
or public sympathy. They should have taken a cue from some DANA staff
that started blabbing after the crash only to realise their folly and
later rally round the management.
Also, leading voices in the industry looked the other way, while the
AON, a body purportedly set up to defend Nigerian airlines simply
cried for DANA and left Air Nigeria to her fate.
The owner and his management team are not abreast with the present
aero –political maneuvering, and the penchant to stay aloof with some
semblance of arrogance has brought the airline to its knees. They did
not give the requisite air of freedom to sustain the airline rather
they kept flagging inherited certifications.
It is so disappointing that an airline that was handed to us with the
best systems, processes and certification has been reduced to
nothing.We are all guilty and should be ashamed of ourselves. I
sincerely hope AMCON can step in and look for an international airline
to partner or invest in the carrier.
Let me reiterate, that an international low cost carrier is going to
be based in Ghana, while South African Airways is also planning to set
up a low budget carrier in that country. The Chinese have just set up
a regional airline in a joint venture with Ghanaian investors, yet the
Chinese feel we are only good for loans that will be accompanied by
their contractors even with our flamboyant road show.
The pains increased with the phenomenal fares introduced by the local
carriers at the demise of Air Nigeria, which was spear headed by Arik
on the local and west coast routes. The senate committee wishing to
benefit and to reap without sowing, quickly recommended Arik as the
new national carrier, which literally means government should absolve
all liabilities real or imagined while top government officials were
at the same time angling and arm twisting the airline to sell shares
to them.
The unions started the agitation for the archaic national carrier
project, suddenly woke up from their slumber with the covert support
of the hapless agencies that have tried and failed, using all
conventional methods of retrieving debts owed it by Arik, by
forcefully taking over the airline’s counter as a last resort in
saving the sector from crippling debts. Arik naturally stopped flying
and ensured they were begged to return to flying considering it’s over
bearing dominance in our airspace.
The body language of all participants at the secretary to the
government reconciliation meeting with the exception of the convener
shows that all is not well, even with the hurried interview granted by
the Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren and the airline’s Managing Director, Mr Chris Ndulue. The airline did not disappoint
thereafter, by issuing a list barring certain Nigerians from boarding
their aircraft, topping that list is the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr George Uriesi.
The macabre dance is on going, I will not be surprised to see my name
on a revised list, all I need is for government to clear Lokoja –Abuja
road and I will get a newer car to take me to my destination since
NCAA can’t protect us.
Olumide Ohunayo was former President of the Nigerian Cabin Crew Association
