The Nigeria aviation safety initiative (NASI) joins Nigeria and Africa at large to congratulate Dr. Babatunde Bernard Aliu on his election ICAO council President. He is the second African (after Algeria’s Taïeb Chérif) to achieve the Presidency of the ICAO council. It is a testament to Dr. Bernard Aliu’s personal credibility, hard work and dedication that he has emerged victorious over other similarly well deserving and qualified candidates. ICAO currently has 191 member countries but the council can only accommodate 36 members. These 36 members are further divided into 3 parts based on their level of importance. Nigeria falls into the second class within the 3 class-structure of the Council. Since, Nigeria neither has technological pedigree in aviation nor does it have established world class aviation systems, its strategic importance and contribution is limited to being a potential market. So this election victory could be regarded as a spectacular feat. It has also brought pride and respect to Nigeria that once again we are able to produce a candidate that is deemed fit and competent to head an Agency of a global organisation such as the United Nations. That is all the good news there is with regards to this spectacular feat. In a few weeks the euphoria of Dr. Aliu's victory will die down and then it will be time to face the business of performing the duties of his esteemed office. This position comes with a wider scope of responsibility. For the last 8 years Dr. Aliu’s primary role in ICAO has been as Nigeria’s representative as well as contributing to stabilising the Africa civil aviation commission (AFCAC).NASI believes he was instrumental in Nigeria’s attainment of America’s FAA category 1 status and other improvements we have witnessed in the recent past. In this new role, he is saddled with implementing ICAO’s strategy and obligation to its 191 member states. Knowing that his success will be determined by the performance of his new constituency of 191 member states, it is indeed an arduous task. It is obvious that he will not have the luxury of focusing only on Nigeria and Africa as was previously the case.
My pessimism is borne out of the historical antecedents that Countries that fund such global organisations such as the UN, eventually drive the agenda to be implemented by the organisation. For 16 consecutive years, (1st January 1992 to 31st December 2006) the UN whose primary mandate is global ‘Peace and Security’ was headed by 2 renowned African statesmen; Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan. However, at that same period Africa experienced some of the most horrific conflicts and widespread insecurity in its modern history. Africa was the only continent in the World to record increased poverty in the last 20 years.
The President of the council is not vested with executive powers to veto and determine its decisions. He is merely a spokesman who is expected to communicate and oversee the implementation of decisions taken by the council. That explains why for 6 years (2003-2006), the ICAO council had Taïeb Chérif of Algeria as the council President, yet his tenure had no significant effect on Africa’s aviation safety record or development. A sedulous look at the composition of the ‘top tier' in ICAO’s council membership reveals a group of 7 countries that have quasi permanent representation on the council. These countries have well developed airlines and are also major manufacturers and suppliers of aerospace/aviation equipment. Is it a mere coincidence that their financially contributions account for at least 65% of the United Nations budget? These countries and their respective contributions are; United States (22%), Japan (11%), Germany (7.1%), France (5.6%), United Kingdom (5.2%), China (5.1%) and Italy (4.5%). Apart from China and Germany these countries are facing serious economic conditions as a result of the last financial meltdown. They will expect to get their moneys’ worth from the UN. So, it is possible that this is a scenario of ‘he that pays the piper, dictates the tune’. Afterall, the objective of all shades of diplomacy is the preservation of national interest.
Africa's historical unsatisfactory performance could also translate into a huge challenge for Dr. Aliu. Africa contributes less than 5% in global aviation and yet is indicted with an accident rate more than 10 times the global average. Certainly, he will want to reverse the stigmatised position. This is not going to be rectified overnight. This will not be solved by ICAO, not even with an African at the helm. Nigeria’s current safety performance may rather be a source of embarrassment to our representative in ICAO. Dr. Aliu will be superintending over the safety and economic performance of over 191 countries only to find that the worst performers are from his Sub-Saharan constituency. African countries need to support and work with each other to effect solutions to their problems. This has to begin at the regional level. The vehicles for the success of this strategy are the African civil aviation commission (AFCAC) which is a specialised arm of the African Union (AU) and African Airlines Association (AFRAA). AFRAA is struggling to assert its legitimacy in Africa's commercial aviation arena due to low patronage and funding. Africa has well over 150 airlines but only 40 are members of AFRAA. The lack of co-operation and synergy within African stakeholders is unfortunate and disappointing.
NASI is of the opinion that Dr. Aliu will better serve the cause of achieving safe and sustainable civil aviation in Africa by being at the forefront of a body such as the AU or AFCAC than being a rubber stamp for the interests of the countries that fund and dictate the agenda of the UN. We expect to have him back after his 3 year term with ICAO is over. For now, he will be the bridge that will effectively build a symbiotic partnership between ICAO, IATA the AU and AFRAA.
We can all help in the quest for creating a safe and sustainable aviation industry in Africa by supporting each other in doing what is right. Starting with the rule of Law, transparency, accountability and probity.
