By MKPE ABANG
Those familiar with the stern uncompromising personality of the late Tai Solarin must still recall fresh in memory, his mantra for a New Year wish, which he released in 1964: May Your Road Be Rough!
As we are all so wont to the ease of life, the comfort and the convenience, too many of us wish nothing for ourselves but ‘a happy New Year’ of course. And, as this lazy wish lulls us much too often to debilitating slumber, we actually begin to slide backwards even before the so called new year, in which we always wish to see the good life – without working for it – dawns.
But those who know the real meaning of the May Your Road Be Rough! as written by Tai Solarin, know that in it was, is and always will be the best wish for everyone who desires the best for himself or herself; and indeed, for all humanity. Solarin wanted us to wake up to our responsibilities, to bestir ourselves physically and spiritually to our duties (even though he outwardly never proclaimed conviction in the Almighty, still, indeed, he, in many ways more than several others who have His Name on their lips at every given opportunity, did confessed to an inner self beyond the body).
So when news filtered out that President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered those currently managing the country’s aviation sector to initiate the process of establishing a national airline, my heart literally jumped into my mouth; and, my immediate quite instinctive reaction was: President Buhari, may your road to setting up a national airline be rough! The truth of the matter really is: that was for me the only real piece of news item worth celebrating since Buhari took over as Nigeria’s president on May 29, 2015.
Not for me all that talk that the President should take his time before constituting a cabinet – carrying on with all the problems of the country on his head and shoulders alone! If he hasn’t taken his time throughout the entire period that he tried three times previously to be elected president, but failed; if he hasn’t taken his time all through campaign times leading up to this election in which he was handed the presidency at the last minute without a fight, without a contest in court; if he hasn’t had his time two months that he waited from when he got that phone call from his predecessor, President Goodluck Jonathan, till when we all bade the latter goodbye into the Guinness Book of Record, then, even if he were given a generation, he probably would not have enough time. That has been my worry.
So, when the other day I was running through those helpful quotes by Socrates, the philosopher of all times, and one in particular struck me: “the secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new,” it was our President that came to my mind.
I paused for a while and wistfully thought, but only to myself in painful silence: how I wish President Muhammadu Buhari would look more on building the new rather than wasting all of his (and our collective energy) on fighting the old; how I wish he also recalls this quote of Socrates like he recalled that by Shakespeare when he was being sworn-in.
Then I thought of many of us who have accused him, rightly or wrongly, of witch-hunting, especially as his ‘war against corruption’ seems to be only directed at perceived ‘enemies’ among them ‘enemies from times gone by, and political opponents of the recent past. But the wish never left my mind: let the president focus on building the new; there’s so much he can and must do.
And so for me it was like a prayer answered with that presidential directive on setting up a national airline. It is more than long overdue. In bringing this dream to reality, the President must not dissipate energies on looking for those who ruined Nigeria Airways; no. He must instead listen to those words of Socrates: focus all of your energy on building the new.
Nigerians are the most travelled of all black people on this earth. We travel for the right reasons, for the wrong reasons; but we travel – very, very much! From birthday parties to funerals, from house-warming to weddings; from child-dedications to turning of the sod; from holiday trips to actual business trips: Nigerians are always on the road, in the air, at sea, on foot – whatever form of transportation that can carry us from point A to point B. Yet, after we collectively killed our own national airline, we’ve just been making money for others – private airlines, national airlines operated by several sister African countries, and those from abroad.
In Africa, two airlines readily come to mind: South African Airways and Ethiopian Airways. These airlines are among some of the most successful on the world. They are state-owned. There is also Egypt Air, Kenyan Airways; other countries such as Tunisia, even Rwanda have national airlines flying into Nigeria and making good business.
But let’s keep our minds to Ethiopian and South African: these two have been so successful that the former flies into and out of Lagos and Abuja daily, the latter, daily to Lagos; clear indications of how lucrative the routes are; and, this is despite regular long hauls by other world airlines like Lufthansa, Emirates, (these two fly daily to both Lagos and Abuja, with Emirates operating two flights to Lagos daily), Qatar Air and many others.
Only recently we got a new slogan: the biggest economy in Africa. But if indeed Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, it is one country whose citizens – all of us collectively – have become very good at throwing away all the opportunities available to them. How could Nigeria not have a national airline and still claim to be the biggest economy in Africa, and still claim to want to be the hub for flight operations in Africa or even West Africa?
Sadly this is one country with the highest number of private jets perhaps among all emerging markets and developing countries of the world!
Ethiopian Airways was established on December 21, 1945; it began operations the following year. It has been flying ever since. Currently it employs over 8,000 people. And, to think that Ethiopia is not as fortunate with the way nature lavished Nigeria with natural resources! Ethiopia is the second most populous African country after Nigeria. In fact, Ethiopian Airline is the country’s major foreign exchange earner besides employing so many. Through excellent management, it has been commended not on a few occasions internationally. Nigeria Airways was established on October 1, 1958; it was liquidated under the Obasanjo’s civilian government in 2003.
On its part, South African Airways is just in a class by itself. With a fleet of 65 and flying to 42 destinations, the airline founded on February 1, 1934 not only has a subsidiary, Mango, but turns in huge revenue for the country. For the 2012/2013 fiscal year, SAA hauled revenue of $2.131 billion. Note that this airline had a ‘culture-change’ seamlessly when apartheid crumbled in the country.
We speak of making Nigeria a destination for tourism. But how do you even begin without the culture of maintaining a national airline that combines both the national character of the people and the ingenuity of a sustainable business enterprise? Both Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways are the first impression for any tourist that wishes to visit those countries.
Having touched on those aspects let’s look further to why I wish President Buhari’s road to setting up a national airline to be rough. Already I can see many people angling for the job – from being the group that will do the ‘feasibility’ (as if an airline will not thrive in Nigeria) – to those who would want to run the company. I can feel those who are already preparing to be contractors to supply the aircraft and all other associated products and services. I can feel all of them; they are already counting their ‘blessings’. Yes, I can feel them. They are among – or exactly the same as – those who ruined Nigeria Airways. But these ones may at least offer some service.
How about those who flew the airline, who had permanent tickets for free, for themselves and for their families, for their friends, even for their children before they were born; yes, those who ensured that Nigeria Airways flights would be full at all times; but the airline would collect actual revenue of less than 10 per cent of what it should earn? Many of them may no longer be around, having gone away naturally; but right now there are far worse of their kinds around: they are in all tiers of government, in the National Assembly, in the states’ assemblies, in the military, in the para-military, in the ministries; yes, you know those people, the very ones who will, along with their families, occupy entire business class cabin – and pay nothing! And they will tell the airline: there is nothing you can do about it!
This is the new that President must build upon – to ensure such as this experience never surfaces – otherwise it is best he never begin to pour money on setting up a national airline in the first place.
So, assuming that Buhari will deal with the above parasitical oppressors, to ensure the national airline is a profitable one from day one, where are the airports to compete with other airports in today’s flying experience? No, don’t tell me about the Murtala Mohammed International Airport; it is only international because there is no other option in flying into Lagos. Between the two airports (the old and the new) in Addis Ababa and the OR Tambo (really) International Airport in Johannesburg, MMIA only qualifies as a hangar.
The entire stretch of land around the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is lying fallow. That is not an airport equal to the status of Abuja, a city that did not just evolve like Lagos; but one that was purpose-built. The entire airport in Abuja as it stands doesn’t offer space equal to the Business Lounge at the Dubai Airport.
So, Mr. President, I say it again: may your road to setting up a national airline for Nigeria be rough. Watch out for your friends, the contractors that will also build airports; watch out for your officials who will all be getting free business class tickets. It is not too late yet to set down the rules: all government officials must buy their tickets and pay, otherwise they must not be allowed to board and make this a statement available to all and everywhere. And, implement it to the letter
For, unless you take these really necessary steps your dream of setting the airline will come true, no doubt; but it will be dead on arrival. Do not say I did not warn you.