Nigeria @62: Nothing much has changed in commercial aviation — Ojikutu

“If you go through my book Troubled Skylines, you will find answers to most of your questions; nothing has really progressively changed in the commercial aviation in the last twenty years except new airports, new terminals for old airports and more than 40 airlines with very short lifespans.

This was the position of the Managing director of Centurion Security Services. group Captain John Ojikutu, retired, while analyzing how far the country’s aviation sector had fared in the past years.

Ojikutu whose analysis came as a reaction to the celebration of Nigeria’s 62 years of attaining independence from its British colonial masters, lamented that commercial aviation within the past years was still very far from its Eldorado.Ojikutu in his reaction wondered why between 2016 and now the government with the financial capacity had not been able to achieve much as projected in its aviation plans saying: “From the national carrier to airports development, reconstruction, refurbishing or concessions, MRO, Aerotropolis, Aircraft Leasing, etc, all are too many irons in the fire at the same time.

“We barely achieved 30 per cent in the last seven years; we have recently added Aircraft Manufacturing and a second runway for Abuja Airport, all falling into a time the national economy is in dire recession. Where would the capitals for all these come from? From within where other very important social needs like roads, health, education power etc are calling and begging for our attention? From foreign technical investors, that have no confidence in the structure of our development strategies?”

According to him, had the government faced squarely the issue of national carrier or developed the Arik and Aero Airlines into FLAG Carriers as Continental and Intercontinental Airlines in partnerships with foreign technical investors and give out the federal airports for concessions within the first two/three years of this administration, the sector would have gone far and others like the MRO and Aircraft Leasing would have fallen  in place without the types of energies that have been drained out on the stillborn national carrier and airports concessions in seven years.

He cited how the foreign airlines that could have been part of the developmental projects plans of the government have had close to a billion dollars of their earnings hanging out in our CBN without hope of getting it out before the end of the year.

He expressed doubt about how the government intends to execute the numerous projects it has set aside as its tenure is speedily running to an end.

“This administration has barely 10 months to end its work; whether the time available is sufficient to do national carrier, airports concessions, MRO and Aircraft Leasing in the midst of turbulent 2023 general election preparation is what I doubt.”