Six years of President Buhari: Aviation is still far from its Eldorado

ON May 29, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari-led government marked its six years in office taking time to remind Nigerians how the government had within the years steered the ship of the nation.

According to Buhari’s government, its achievements which spread trough all the sectors of the economy and other critical facets touched on infrastructure, power, housing, oil and gas, agriculture and many others.

Coming to the country’s aviation sector, the administration cited some of its giant strides to include: the completion of new terminals for international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, construction of new runway for Abuja and Enugu International airports and the granting of presidential approval for four International Airports as Special Economic Zones in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Obviously, the ability of the Buhari government to execute these  projects deserves commendation but the level of commendation is however hanging as the sector within the period is still far from reaching its eldorado in view of the myriad of challenges tearing it apart.

Agreed that before the advent of the government, the sector had been overwhelmed by deep rooted challenges ranging from infrastructural decay, controversial government policies, unfriendly business environment, bad bilateral air services agreements, poor value of the Naira compared with foreign exchange, coupled with the scarcity of the forex, expensive aviation fuel due to lack of a required refinery to lack of multiple taxation system among several others.

As expected, stakeholders had then believed that the Buhari government will, to an extent, lead the sector out of the many years of accumulated doldrums for its subsequent transformation.

Again, it can be argued that more can still be done before the expiration of the government in 2023, but the question is if the government could not touch on many of the yearnings of the sector in six years, what can it achieve in less than two years that will mostly be devoted for politicking.

Though May 29, 2021 has come and gone, stakeholders have reacted with mixed feelings with many arguing that the sector was still far from shouting Eureka in view of many structural deficiencies still holding sway at the airports which have become a national embarrassment.

The present government may have tried its best in the face of numerous challenges from different angles calling for help, but this should not be an excuse for the sector being one of the strong revenue generating points for the government to be left struggling for breath.

Without doubt, in no small time, the government will soon roll out its different political campaigns for the 2023 elections hence, the probability that it can further do much for the sector looks very slim.

However, within the little time remaining, the government can urgently tackle the structural safety deficiencies with particular reference to the embarrassing lack of airfield lightings for the Runway 18Left at the domestic airport for close to fifteen years.

For such a critical safety component to be lacking at the number one gateway airport for fifteen years is unfortunate and also putting domestic airline operations in danger.

While many of the airports still lack perimeter fences which has led to the infiltration of some airports by bandits, the agencies lack sufficient manpower at these times especially as regards the required number of air traffic controllers. Not many people would believe that insufficient controllers contributed to the Bellview airline crash of 2006 in Lagos when there was no controllers on radar duties on weekends at the time.

The failure of government to tackle all these problems has denied the Lagos airport in particular the desire to become the well deserved hub in the region despite its natural strategic position. Little wonder, foreign airlines and businesses have now shifted their operational hub to the neighbouring Kotoka International airport in Accra, Ghana.

Rather than embark on projects such as the airports concessioning, floating of a national carrier or putting hands in many projects which may not fully materialize because of the limited time, why not divert the funds into tackling some of the long existing problems for the purpose of strengthening the sector.

In as much as the bad situation confronting the entire nation due to the failure of past governments is well acknowledged, there is however more to be done by the Buhari government within the little time remaining to write its name in gold. But in all honesty, the sector is still very far from its Eldorado.

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