(LAGOS, NIGERIA): If Nigeria hopes to ever build a vibrant aviation market place and stimulate the wider sector including non-aeronautical activities and the steer them towards making meaningful contribution to gross domestic product, GDP, it must reform the regulatory policymaking regime.
The government itself has been a significant source of instability and uncertainty in the sector that contributed just about 0.05 % GDP to the economy in 2014- that is the view of many aviation watchers.
The country needs more professional policymaking to attract the requisite investments and restore confidence, which is possible only if the ministry of aviation stops interfering arbitrarily on statutory laws but concentrate on providing oversight on both private and government operators in the sector.
By now almost every Nigerian are familiar with the mess that is the country’s international airports-Lagos Muritala Mohammed and Abuja international airports in particular, still rated among the 10 worst airports in the world, with Port Harcourt airport leading globally- and the N400 billions budgeted for the expansion and renovation work: the seemingly careless ministry of aviation and the two reticent conflicting regulators, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigerian, (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
The ministry of aviation shortly after they got the approval and money for the project, especially the $1 billion Chinese loan to improve facilities as well as software infrastructure for passengers and general security, went busy changing rules on the fly: limiting focus to just decorating and artificial beautification, cutting corners and rendering non-aeronautical services at the airports inconsequential. These ‘selfish’ steps, taken for the immediate convenience, created uncertainty for investors.
In 2015 the House of Representatives launched an investigation into the N400 appropriated over a five-year period. Unfortunately, nothing has been heard of the hearing after the last major ‘noisy’ banter and a new minister has since taken charge.
Today our reporter’s check reveals a scanty number of struggling Non- aeronautical services businesses at the nation’s airports, all of them bugged down by what one CEO of a fast food chain called “incredible” charges. There are an array of ‘white elephant’ projects such as hotels and car park projects–stalled because of litigations and disputes mostly stirred up by the Aviation ministry or FAAN.
Non-aeronautical services are value added to air transport facilities and they include terminal buildings with restaurants, banks, duty free shops, malls, cargo terminals, cold stuff warehouses, car parks and hotels, amongst others.
Domestic airline growth has a bigger baffling challenge, strangulated by what some of them call ‘ghost taxes’ and charges. Their problems, often reflected in fight delays and cancellations, have resulted on an average yearly passenger traffic drop of about 8 % to an average of 6 million passengers per annum-a total contrast to former projections of about 16 million by the end of 2015. The rate at which most airlines are going out of business today could push the figures further down.
FAAN and the aviation ministry have spent years talking and looking at what they themselves call, public-private partnerships to help grow the sector, serious countries, particularly in Africa, have built and are still building their airports into bigger regional hubs.
So does Nigeria lack competent people for the sector, as many have concluded? The answer is no. For those who have dealt extensively with the aviation sector for years, it’s no secret that FAAN and NAMA boast of some of the best brains in the country on aviation issues. From top to bottom, they have some of the best-trained skilled-in-sector staff and highly professional.
The problem lies instead in these regulatory agencies’ lack of independence. None of them have full authority to decide on impactful projects and investment drive. To restore confidence and minimize current airline demise in the face of the dropping oil prices and foreign exchange restrictions, Nigeria needs to quickly reform and ensure independence for the sectors regulators.
