Admin l Wednesday, March 23, 2022
ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – Amidst the hue and cry for a national carrier in some quarters, it has been revealed by sources present during a closed door meeting with the transaction advisers that the entire old terminal at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) as well as the old International Terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja have been reserved for domestic operations of the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air.
This is despite the fact that domestic airlines in the country which have been applying to pay for space at the airport have constantly been denied and are being cramped into a very small and congested space at NAIA which in turn makes the place crowded, causing delays.
A source at the meeting said “this is unfair to our local airlines that have been most patriotic and invested heavily into the Nigerian economy and that helped in driving the Nigerian economy for about 20 years since the demise of Nigeria Airways.”
According to our source “a similar unfair practice was given to Virgin Nigeria several years ago when a similar idea was muted by some parties in government at the time to the detriment of Nigerian airlines.
“It was also revealed during that meeting that when the transaction adviser was quizzed about the future of Nigerian domestic airlines, he belittled Nigeria and Nigerians by retorting that; “Nigerian airlines are weak and that government needs only one strong airline,” and he also seemed to suggest that domestic airlines in the country that have invested billions of Naira into the Nigerian economy and created hundreds of thousands of jobs for Nigerians, are not needed.
“While the statement made by the transaction adviser may sit well with some simple minded people, some basic facts have been shrouded in secrecy and hidden from the general public. For instance, nobody has been told in real terms how much the proposed national carrier will cost. There has been no prospectus or detailed financials given to Nigerians about the airline.
“Furthermore, it has been proposed that Government will have 5%, Nigerian investors 46% and a proposed foreign entity will have 49%. The real question is; “on what empirical values are these percentages predicated upon?” Nobody has told Nigerians the truth behind these percentages.
“Moreover, there are indications that the preferred foreign entity that will have 49% is a Middle East Carrier, Qatar Airways. And going by what has been widely reported in the news media, Qatar Airways will be bringing its aircraft that do not belong to Nigeria into the deal to make up the value of the 49% without injecting any form of direct funds into the Nigerian economy. This means, the shrewd and very vicious airline would have little or no stake in the proposed company with virtually nothing to lose and everything to gain at the expense of Nigerian and Nigerians.
“What is actually likely to happen by this awkward arrangement is that Qatar Airways will effectively be allowed to dump its excess capacity here in Nigeria and it would be given access to Nigeria’s domestic air transport market through the back door. The airline will easily mop up the domestic market in Nigeria and thereby achieve its long running desire to secure a hub for itself in the West African Sub region with the Nigerian market of 200 million people at the center of it.
“This is similar to what Asky and Ethiopian Airlines tried to also do some years ago through surreptitious means of going through the back door by promising some domestic airlines royalties at the expense of Nigeria; and the airlines saw the signs on the wall and vehemently resisted it. One can only wonder therefore why the Nigerian government that should ordinarily have the interest of the nation at heart and protect Nigerians over and above foreign entities is the one driving this unfair deal.
“And the painful catch behind this unfair deal that is skewed against the Nigerian economy is the fact that Qatar Airways will be repatriating a lot of scarce foreign exchange out of the country. Also the planes which Nigerians are being told will be brought into the country are more than likely to be leased aero planes at excessively high rates which the Nigerian shareholders would have to pay for by the hour and then repatriated. This is likely to put even bigger pressure on our Forex reserves and availability.
“A look into Qatar Airways history shows there is precedence of this underhanded approach that is more or less another form of neocolonialism and a plundering of a nation’s resources and destruction of already established institutions.
“Such enquiry by open minded people will reveal the history of grave yards of airlines globally that the airline has helped in effectively destroying. Examples of this abound around the world including as near as Rwanda where Qatar Airways virtually owns shares in the country’s airline and its airport.
“It would also be recalled that some years ago when Virgin came to Nigeria to establish Virgin Nigeria, the airplanes which the company brought into the country for the operations were actually leased airplanes and Nigerian shareholders had to pay for it.
“There is also the problem of ownership and control. Though the aircraft may be painted in Nigerian colours and wears the identity of Nigeria’s national colours, Nigeria does not own the aircraft and effectively doesn’t have ultimate control of the aircraft. When the chips are down, Qatar Airways can easily divest and repatriate not only its profits but also cart away their aircraft.
“The Nigerian aviation sector is worth over $200 billion. If Qatar Airways truly wants to invest in a Nigerian national carrier, then it should put its money where its mouth is and inject a minimum of $100 billon dollars of direct funds into the Nigerian economy. That way it will be clear to everyone that they have truly invested into the country. Rather than donating airplanes that they can easily repatriate at any time.
“A national carrier is also a symbol of political and national security. Should a political crisis with serious ramifications similar to the war in Ukraine occur and sanctions are meted out similar to what Russia is facing today, what will become of the proposed Nigerian national if its foreign investor is one of the agitators of the crisis? That is an open item for the court of the Nigerian public to think about and make its judgment.
“It should also be put on record that while domestic airlines in the country are burdened with a lot of taxes, charges and fees, the supposed national carrier with a foreign entity will be given government guarantee, will have access to Forex at very low rates, enjoy many exemptions from government taxes and will also have access to JetA1 at the expense of Nigerian domestic airlines and unfair competition.
“There are many ways to objectively scrutinize the national carrier issue. But the truth is that this unfair deal will destroy aviation and the Nigerian economy. The goal is to strangulate Nigerian domestic airlines and decimate our collective resources and sovereignty.
“If Nigeria truly wants to have a national carrier that is truly Nigerian and completely sovereign, then the ownership should be truly Nigerian with proper investors who bring in their hard earned resources to the table and have the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians at heart.”
