Why NAMA’s axe should fall on debtor airstrips/aerodromes

The news filtered into the country’s aviation sector last week of how some private owned airports and airstrips are hugely indebted to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) .Information gathered put the debt in question to a whopping N4 billion being an accumulated debts incurred for a long period.

The debts were incurred by the airports/airstrips through the services rendered to them by the agency as a service provider in the areas of air traffic services and navigational equipments installed for safe flight operations.

Since the two sides need each other to survive, it is therefore expected that each side would play the game of doing the business by the rules if not for anything but for the purpose of survival.

As expected, in any business, what keeps that business going lies in the ability of the service provider in this case, NAMA to provide the required services to its clients, the airlines, airstrips/airports while it is expected of such clients to in return pay for the services rendered to them.

This is how business is being transacted in other climes and Nigeria should not be different.

It is well known that in aviation business,there is no sentiment or local politics, meaning that, it is a serious business devoid of any emotion or sentiment because of the critical role it plays and coupled with the fact that it is a business which requires absolute commitment and honesty from all sides in the business.

It is again obvious that because the business of aviation is run in line with international standards and recommended practices, whatever affects one country’s aviation sector affects the others.

For sometime now, the country’s aviation sector vis a vis its flight operations and the components that make up the operations of safety have recorded huge success as witnessed in the good safety record the sector has enjoyed.

One of the agencies responsible for making this success possible is NAMA through the safety components it has installed and managing well across all the  airports in the country.

• Housewives fight dirty over widower in Anambra

Again, without doubt all these are at a great cost to the agency, meaning the agency needs to  regularly spend heavily to maintain and keep these equipments in good conditions in line with its statutory function.

Inasmuch as NAMA is keeping to this responsibility, there is therefore no reason for those enjoying the services not to pay for such services.

Therefore, the ongoing efforts by the agency to withdraw its services from its debtors is a welcome development that should not be delayed anymore.

The problem is, here in Nigeria, the so called business men or companies want to enjoy good services free of charge especially when the service provider is a government entity like NAMA.

It is on record how many airlines including those dead with some still in existence became heavily indebted to NAMA like other agencies in the sector without paying and they did everything including going to court to frustrate the efforts to make them pay up.

This impunity on the part of the business class to evade paying for the services they enjoy from the sector is one of the major bane of the government organizations and yet  it is this same set of people  that rush to criticize them when there is any challenge.

Come to think of it, the refusal of the airstrip managers not to pay for their debts until it got  accumulated to billions was an outright move to defraud government hence, an act of corruption on one hand, and also complacency on the part of NAMA to have allowed the debts to accumulate that much before kicking.

As late as NAMA’s decision is coming, the agency should spring into action by enforcing its ‘no pay no service’ policy on these debtor airstrips/private airports and the airlines if it actually wants to keep providing good services that will make flight activities and the country’s airspace safe and secured.

Any attempt by a few people who want to continue running their businesses at the expense of other Nigerians should henceforth be frustrated.

The excuse that the non payment of their debts was as a result of economic hardship is not tenable and it is a bad way of doing business. In Nigeria, many business individuals or companies have developed a large appetite for debt especially when such business is transacted with government organizations.

If not criminal, how can a company that  is running its business on a cash and carry basis as its the case with the airports and airlines  subsequently refuse to pay for the services which provide them such an  opportunity.

The time has now come for NAMA and other sister agencies having similar challenges to without delay fight for their survival by forcing the chronic debtors to pay up their debts.

The need for NAMA to collect these debts is not far from the basic fact that if it fails to live up to expectations on the excuse of paucity of funds  while its N4 billion is outside, Nigerians including the  debtors will not spare those running the agency. Let NAMA therefore wield the big stick now