The current call for a new National carrier is highly misplaced

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It is evidently clear that the Nigerian government,  politicians and bureaucrats do not have the discipline, public confidence and integrity to initiate and successfully run a national carrier. A cursory reminder of the activities in the last 10 years of the defunct national carrier Nigeria Airways ltd. (NAL) shows how dysfunctional things can get. Already the sector is suffering gross inefficiencies as a result of federal government involvement in the federal airport authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian airspace management authority (NAMA), the Nigerian meteorological agency( NIMET) and the Nigeria college of aviation technology (NCAT). The bureaucratic bottlenecks and lack of transparency existing in most of these organisations creates perpetual breeding grounds for misappropriation of public funds, abuse of office and gross mismanagement. Thereby making these service providers very inefficient, unreliable and a bedrock of corrupt practices.

Government involvement has always left the taxpayers, the travelling public and the aviation professionals worse off:

•           Nigeria Airways was liquidated with liabilities of over $320 million. However its high value assets and expansive landed properties in Nigeria and its outstations including London were auctioned for next to nothing.  The hangar, workshops, huge stocks of aircraft spares were simple handed over to for pittance. The gullible Nigerian taxpayer was made to bear the brunt of these frivolous debts. 

•           We still remember the horrific experiences of the travelling public that precedes the inglorious exit of international operators like Bellview, world Airways, and recently Air Nigeria. These range from passengers being stranded in foreign countries without a shred of consumer protection, to those being forced to pay for fuel in a bid to obtain a service they have already paid for. We don’t need to look far to prove that the consumers of aviation services are badly treated and disappointed. On the local scene operators do not even bother to explain causes or durations of flight delays or consider it's consequences on passengers with international connection. The poor on-time performance and unreliable service provided by the nations airlines adversely affects the business environment and productivity. This has now compelled serious organisations to procure private jets. Guess whose money was used to re-finance the unsustainable accumulated by Air Nigeria, Arik Air, Aero contractors, et al to the tune of over N106B? The travelling and non- travelling Nigerian public. And who suffered the most with the bankrupting of Air Nigeria and the disruption of Arik's operations over the last few days? The same unprotected travelling and non-travelling Nigerian public. So much for the NCAA and consumer protection.

•           The abhorrent working conditions and the short life expectancy of Nigeria's airlines leaves aviation professionals frustrated and vulnerable. The constant gaps in employment lead to erosion of skills and self-confidence. Such instability places many professionals in a quandary not knowing whether to go for retraining or to change careers altogether. Staff of Nigeria Airways, Bellview, Air Nigeria and a host of other extinct airlines are still waiting for their salaries and remuneration. 

 Considering these and other factors it would be retrogressive and disastrous for the industry and the national economy as whole if the idea of a national carrier funded by the government is revisited. For example, starting a new National carrier require huge investments in the region of $300 million. Some say, the private and public sector should jointly own it. We know that the industry is capital intensive to start and sustain with margins between 3 to 5%. Nigeria’s average rate of inflation in the last five years has been in the region of 10%. So hypothetically speaking, if the public invests $300 million in the new carrier and after a short gestation period of three years starts making profits of 10%. When corrected for inflation the net ROI is zero; showing the idea does not even make business sense. The problem will expectedly, be further compounded by the prebendal nature of Governments' involvement in business. Some affluent kleptomaniacs amongst us will subsequently hijack the National carrier and arm-twist the government into giving it unsustainable and unrealistic privileges/concessions as in the case of the erstwhile Virgin Nigeria. The amount of money required to start a new National carrier is nearly enough to render all our current airlines debt-free.  Of course it'll be preposterous for the federal government albeit the taxpayer to continuously tolerate the misdemeanours of the current airlines. I’m not advocating for the federal government to write off the debts of the airlines currently in operation. Rather they should be restructured to run efficiently with sound business models and financial discipline. This will give them a fighting chance of surviving in this very competitive industry.