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Did you know that in the past week, the Minister of Aviation “launched” an airline that many Nigerians, including the House of Representatives, have discovered to be nothing more than a scam? I’m going to give you the full tea on this, and at other times, the government has tried to play a smart one on us.
If you recall, in July 2018, the federal government launched a national airline, Nigerian Air, which was to serve as the second national airline after the collapse of Nigerian Airways in 2003. But unfortunately, the whole thing turned out to be audio, as the only thing we saw was the logo of Nigerian Air and random pictures; no one ever saw an actual aircraft.
However, it looked like the wait was finally ending when, on May 27, 2023, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, unveiled a Boeing 737-800 aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja. He also claimed it’d begin international and local flight operations before Monday, June 5. On a norms, this would be cause for celebration, but as you very well know, things don’t work normally here. A few hours later, news reports started pouring in that the unveiled aircraft was already over ten years old and actually belonged to Ethiopia Airlines. The plane was simply painted and presented to Nigerians as an aircraft belonging to Nigeria Air.
A committee of the House of Representatives on Aviation carried out an investigation, revealing that the aircraft was chartered from Ethiopia and landed the day before. So far, the House has declared the entire launch of the national airline a fraud and has begun probing those involved. But like I said, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of situation.
In August 2022, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) management was asked by the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) to account for how ₦17.158 billion was spent. However, the NSITF couldn’t give a satisfactory explanation and claimed that the documents containing details of the expenditure were kept by the past management and had been beaten by rain and eaten by termites. And, of course, no one was ever penalised for this.
Do you remember the story of the money-heist snake? In 2018, a sales clerk at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Makurdi, Benue state, couldn’t account for ₦36 million made from the sales of JAMB scratch cards. She instead claimed that her household had spiritually stolen the money from JAMB’s vault with the help of a mysterious snake. At this point, we can say that Nigeria is fighting against power, principalities, and the animal kingdom.
A sad theme around stories like this is that they usually get swept under the rug. Nonetheless, we’re going to keep an eye out to see how the Nigeria Air story unfolds, and hopefully the perpetrators are justly punished.
What else happened this week?
Edo State Government Adopts Hybrid Work
Many Nigerians haven’t found adjusting to the recent fuel subsidy removal easy. But, the Edo state government is putting measures in place to make life a little easier for its people.
On June 6, 2023, in a statement, the Special Adviser to the state governor on Media Projects, Obaseki, announced that the government had reduced the number of work days civil and public servants would have to commute to the office to three and encouraged them to work from home twice a week until further notice.
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He also stated that steps had been taken to increase the state’s minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦40,000. Obaseki also announced that efforts were already being taken to improve the power supply to homes and the availability of fibre optic cables to aid remote work and reduce the cost of transportation.
Question of the week
Do you know “tapping” electricity and metre bypass is a theft that can earn you jail time in Nigeria?
Video of the week
President Bola Tinubu has announced the end of Nigeria's long-running, controversial fuel subsidy.
What does this mean for Nigerians? And how has this affected their day to day living? We explain in 60 seconds. pic.twitter.com/W3fIjaftAA
George Akume has been officially sworn in as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Who is he, and what does his job entail? Find the answer here.
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On 15 November 2022, a war began between eight local domestic airlines and stakeholders of a brand new airline, Nigeria Air.
The war came in the form of a court order from the domestic airlines which demanded that Nigeria Air stakeholders halt their launch and withdraw its Air Transport License.
The stakeholders in question are big players including the nation’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Ethiopian Airlines, Nigeria Air, and the Attorney-General of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami.
However, it seemed to get some of these guys pissed, as the Minister of Aviation openly ‘raised shoulder’ to say that “no law in Nigeria could stop the launch of the national carrier.”
There is a lot to be unveiled about the court case, but let’s first start from the basics. What is Nigeria Air?
What you need to know about Nigeria Air
The “national carrier” has been a subject of conversation since July 2018, when it was first announced at the Farnborough Air Show in England. Barely two months after the announcement, the project was suspended because the details surrounding the project were “suspicious”.
But according to some presidential sources, the airline was secretly planning to get “investment partners” to finance the airline’s operations.
And they appeared to be right. Fast forward to September 2022. A foreign airline, Ethiopian Airlines, emerged as the ‘preferred bidder’ for Nigeria Air, with 49 percent ownership of the company while two local investors (MRS, SAHCO) were left to own 46 percent.
How did Nigerians take the news?
Of course, you can already expect the reaction. Most Nigerians did not understand why a foreign company would have so much autonomy over a Nigerian airline. Others said that already existing domestic airlines like Arik and Dano would have served as national carriers instead of creating a new one.
Not to talk of the fact that Nigeria once had its own airline, which crashed and burned because of corruption and mismanagement.
Now, why the court order?
After some local airlines discovered that they were blatantly left out of the bidding process, they proceeded to find a law that will enable them to take Nigeria Air to court.
They eventually found this with the Companies and Allied Matters Act. This forbids foreign companies from investing in national companies.
The airlines in question are AON, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airline Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited
But, were they really justified in doing this?
The answer to this is a bit tricky. Sirika claimed that he asked airlines to participate in the project, but they turned down the invite. These included three of the eight airlines – Air Peace, Azman Air, and Max Air.
According to Sirika, “I have been very transparent in the processes put in place to deliver the national carrier. We have worked with all stakeholders to deliver the national carrier. We have been very participatory and inclusive.
“Stakeholders claiming they were not carried along are being unfair. Nobody should claim they were not carried along. Nobody asked for any document on the national carrier that was not obliged.”
How will the launch of this national airline affect Nigerians?
Here are some of the ways this new airline may affect Nigerians:
International Recognition: Nigeria would finally join the bandwagon of countries that have their own national carriers.
Level Playing Field: It will certainly create more domestic competition for Nigerian-based airlines and foreign ones.
Lack of local autonomy: Ethiopian Airlines hold all the cards in terms of ownership. This means a large amount of authority in managerial decisions. The effects of this could spell doom for Nigeria’s nascent airline.
The subject of this week’s What She Said is a 25-year-old Nigerian woman who has travelled to over fifteen countries alone. She talks about how this love for travelling started, the way she’s stigmatised at airports and in hotels, and her dream to attend aviation school.
What was growing up like?
Life was good until I turned seven. When my parents were together, I travelled abroad every holiday, including Easter and mid-term breaks. I was happy. Our house was always so lively because of the parties we had, and I had a lot of friends.
However, things changed when my dad started beating my mum. Eventually, he sent her away. It was just me and my dad for a while, until I ran away to be with my mum.
Ran away?
After my dad sent my mum out of the house, he instructed security to never let her in again. The day I ran, my mum had come to visit me, and when security informed my dad she was around, he ignored them.
I remember taking my shoes, sneaking out the back door and running through the compound to the gate. By the time security realised what was happening, I was outside the gate. I hopped into my mum’s car, and she drove off.
A few days later, we had to return to pick up my school uniform and some other clothes.
Wow. How did your dad feel about you running away?
He wanted me to come back. He even bribed me with gifts. I would collect them but still not go back to his house.
There was a time he sent me to live with his sister in the UK. I wasn’t going to school or anything, just staying with my aunt. Eventually, my mum came to the UK and took me back with her to Nigeria. I don’t know why, but he just wanted to take me away from my mum.
I’m not his only child. He has a son with another woman, but we did not grow up together and I barely spent any time with him partly because he is nineteen years older than me. Up until 2014/2015, I told everyone I was an only child.
How did your parents eventually settle fighting over you?
I made my decision and stopped accepting anything from him. The only thing he did for me was pay my school fees. At a point he even stopped funding my baby girl trips, but my mum did for a while until she couldn’t anymore.
What are these baby girl travels and why couldn’t she fund them anymore?
My baby girl travels are the trips I take out of Nigeria every year. My dad stopped funding them when I was 10 and my mum continued. My mum sold jewellery, clothes and even drinks.
Then in 2012, she stopped because the country got worse. Business wasn’t as good anymore, so she couldn’t afford the trips.
How did you cope with that?
Well, I had just gotten into university and knew I had to continue the lifestyle by myself. I started looking for loans, but nobody wanted to give a broke student money.
Growing up, I was usually given expensive things or taken to luxurious places. Once you taste luxury, you would do almost anything to keep it. There are places I can’t eat because I don’t feel comfortable. I never used to eat street food because my mum told me that I would get food poisoning. The first day I tried it in university, I actually did have food poisoning. I only recently started buying roasted corn outside. When I was younger, we used to plant corn and roast on the grill ourselves.
When the loans didn’t work out, I started looking for jobs. I reached out to one of my dad’s friends who helped me get a job as a personal assistant to one of his friends. I had to remind him about his meetings and schedule his flights for him. It was a remote job and he paid me ₦99k a month.
He said 100k was too much money for a young girl, so he removed the 1k. When he relocated to the US, he started paying me in dollars.
How long did it take before you could travel again?
It took two years before I could go on my next trip. In 2014, I travelled to three different countries in one summer because I asked my aunt for money. Luckily for me, she had enough money to spare, so she agreed.
When she asked for the cost of the trip, I increased the price. That’s how I was able to go to London for a week, Dubai for four days, and Paris for two days.
E for Enjoyment. Did your aunt keep funding your trips?
No, she didn’t. I picked up three other jobs as well. The same friend of my dad’s that helped me get the PA job called me up one day and after asking me a few questions, asked for my email address.
I lied a bit and claimed I could do some of the things he asked, so I had to do a lot of research on the job. When I checked my email, there was a job waiting for me. The email contained three documents. My job description, payment information and an NDA.
What was the job about?
If I tell you, I would have to kill you. The second job was because I was recommended by the first company. Both jobs paid in dollars and helped fund my baby girl lifestyle.
I go to Abuja steadily. My excuse is to buy kilishi and suya, but it’s actually because I just need to be on a plane. Dubai is my second home, Greece is my third and London is my fourth. I have also been to the US, UAE, France, Russia, Jamaica, Rwanda, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, China, Mexico, Bahamas, South Africa, Kenya, and many more. I love to travel because I love being on planes.
Are there countries or cities you’ve wanted to travel to but couldn’t?
Nope. There are, however, places I want to go but would not want to pay for the trip myself. I want to go to the Maldives or Santorini, but I’m waiting for my next significant other to pay for the trip for me.
Another way I’ve been able to travel so much is because the men I have dated usually pay for some of them. The goal is to travel to all the countries in the world.
Wow. When did you discover you loved planes so much?
One day when I was about five or six, I was on a solo night flight. It was the period my dad sent me to live in the UK with my aunt. Since my mum was not coming with me, I travelled alone. There was a lot of turbulence and people crying, shouting and praying that the plane shouldn’t crash. I wasn’t scared. One of the flight attendants came to sit with me so I wouldn’t be scared, but I told her not to worry and she left.
The seat belt sign was on, but I took off my seatbelt and started walking around, holding on to chairs the way I saw the flight attendants do. I even went to people crying and tried to calm them down.
The flight attendant saw me and yelled at me to go back, so I did. When we landed, she asked me why I wasn’t scared despite all the turbulence. I told her that I felt safe, and I knew planes crashed, but that particular one wouldn’t. I listed all the possible reasons why other planes like it crashed and why the crash rate was so low.
She took me to the flight deck and I saw the captain, the first officer and all the buttons. The flight attendant told him what I did, and he made me sit in his chair and put his cap on my head. I cried because I was so happy. At that point, I knew planes were my obsession.
That sounds so cool. That means you’ve been travelling alone for a while now. What’s that like?
Well, people are constantly asking strange questions.
At the embassy, they ask how I pay for my trips. Before I divorced my now ex-husband, the process was easier because I’d just say he was the one paying for it.
A lot of my flights are paid for by the company I work for, and I usually fly first class or business class. Getting visas that way isn’t really difficult because it’s a work trip.
My personal trips are easier because I have a very long travel history that started when I was a child.
I never feel safe travelling alone because men have harassed me physically and verbally. They assume I’m a prostitute because I travel alone. At the airport, people call me ashewo.
When I check-in at the hotels, the hotel staff ask if I’m expecting anyone else even after I’ve told them I’m travelling alone.
“A Week In The Life” is a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.
The subject of today’s “A Week In The Life” is a pilot and businessman. He tells us about the challenges of aviation in Nigeria, the best part of being a pilot, and the importance of friends.
MONDAY:
Let me tell you one cool part about being a pilot — one time I was stuck in a club in Florida and some hot chicks asked me what I did for a living. I was like, “I’m a pilot.” And they go: “OMG, you’re a pilot? Do you fly planes? That’s so cool.” I was like: “There’s nothing special about being a pilot.” [laughs] “but I’ll take the compliment.” Saying I was a pilot at that moment was an icebreaker that led to the most amazing conversation. In hindsight, that was a good time, unlike today where I have to wake up by 5 a.m. because I have to go to work. I love my job, but I also like stress-free life.
I’m up early because I want to use the gym for 30 minutes. After which I have to get ready for work because the staff bus arrives at 6:30 a.m.
I stay in the office “compound” because I do a rotation called 6 and 6; that is, six weeks on and six weeks off. In my off time, I can decide to “kill” myself as long as I resurrect myself back to work. There’s an aviation rule that you must have an off day in every consecutive seven day week: If you work Monday to Saturday, you must rest on Sunday. The rule also states that pilots are not allowed to fly more than 8 hrs a day, 30 hrs in a week, 100 hrs a month. If I hit the 100hrs limit in 20 days, I’m going to sit around doing nothing for the next 10 days. And all this is still when I’m on the job for six weeks. My work gives me time because I alternate between free days and busy days.
I spend my six weeks off work in Lagos, and the six weeks on duty is split between Aberdeen and Port Harcourt. Every six months, pilots are expected to do an operational proficiency check [OPC] exam to evaluate their competence and depending on the aircraft, the tests are held in either the US, UAE or Aberdeen. I’m the training captain for my company, so for one week, company pilots come to fly with me in Aberdeen as part of the fulfilment of their OPC. When I’m not doing that, I start and end my day in Port Harcourt.
TUESDAY:
In Nigeria, we have two functional flying schools: one in Zaria and the other in Ilorin. The Zaria school used to be the biggest in Africa but now South Africa has overtaken it. Now, I always advise people to go to the US for aviation school. I may be biased because I went there, but I believe that there are so many flying schools to choose from and the system is pretty straight forward. This is minus the fact that Nigerian schools don’t have enough aircraft for students. I’ve heard of cases where because students didn’t get enough flying hours, they ended up spending two years for a one year program.
When you’re fresh out of aviation school in the US, the best place to fly is in Nigeria. In aviation, we rate experience with hours spent in the air. So instead of saying I have 20 years experience, you’ll say I have X number of hours. As a Nigerian, you’re at a disadvantage competing against Americans for spaces because you have neither experience [hours] nor the means to gain them. Unlike Nigeria where pilots are few, there are many pilots in America. Therefore, it’s easier to get a job and gain hours when you come back to Nigeria.
The only challenge is dealing with Nigerian factors. While my company doesn’t have the Nigerian factor, I’ve heard tales…
Another issue is overbooking tickets with the hope that Lagos traffic or some other thing will make people miss their flights. To be fair, airlines all over the world overbook, but these airlines compensate you if everyone shows up and you don’t have a seat. In Nigeria, you’ll hear them say: “Oga you came late,” even though you’d been sweating on the queue for the past two hours.
I was gisting with my friend one day, and he told me that most companies use aviation in Nigeria for money laundering. These days, I’m starting to agree.
WEDNESDAY:
I can tell you how beautiful the creeks of the Niger Delta is, or how beautiful the coastline of Nigeria is from the sky. Alternatively, I can tell you how scattered and horrible Lagos looks from above. If you want a fun fact, I’ll tell you how the Abuja airport is located in between two mountains. Seeing the world from above makes you admire nature and the creator. As one who admires art and artwork, I’m in love. Sometimes, I’m just looking, marinating and taking in a scene.
This job has also given me the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. One time my company was working with the United Nations, and I got to share a cockpit with almost everyone from different parts of the world. Without necessarily going to some places, I know about their culture, tradition and food. There’s the guy from Bali who described his house to me in detail alongside fun activities to do there. There’s also my friend from Singapore who talked about the food. I’m thankful for the knowledge. It’ll help me fit in better when I eventually decide to visit.
It’s hard not to love this job. Today, I’m telling a colleague that the best-kept secret about being a pilot is that the job is not as complicated as people think it is. Yes, you need to be relatively smart and intelligent to do it, but I don’t think it’s difficult. I’m probably saying this because I’ve been flying for 11 years, and I’ve witnessed many scenarios. I tell people that I don’t think pilots get paid for what we do. We get paid for what we may have to do. Every day a pilot takes off and lands without a problem is a good day. The day you lose an engine or your plane has a hydraulic problem — that is, shit hits the fan — is when you know who’s the real pilot and who has just been sitting there doing take-offs and landing. God no go shame us.
THURSDAY:
Due to the exchange rate in Nigeria, we earn at ₦365 but spend at ₦490. It’s unfortunate and it hurts me badly and that makes me broke.
Then there’s also the societal expectations of a pilot. Pilots earn good money, but I still find myself anxiously waiting for my paycheck. Somebody who earns less than I do probably looks up to me thinking my salary will set them up for life. The truth is that more money equals more problems. Apart from the extravagance that sets in when you have a higher disposable income, there’s pressure on all sides. Every uncle, aunty, cousin, nephew, friend of friend wants you to give them money. At the end of the day, if you’re not careful, you’ll find out that you’ve finished spending all that “big pay.”
Today, I’m counting my blessings. I’m grateful for what I have and what is yet to come.
FRIDAY:
In ten years time, I honestly don’t think I want to be actively flying. I hope that by that time, some of my current businesses have become million-dollar companies so I can go to the Bahamas, cross my legs and do something with my life.
I was telling some people that if you have another business that makes you a lot of money, you’ll suddenly start to see how dangerous this job is. One day someone will scare you and do one horrible landing or take off, then you’ll tell yourself, “I think it’s time to draw the curtains. It’s time to go.” For now, the pay is still distracting us.
I’m glad that today is Friday. I’m looking forward to getting off work, drinking Ciroc and having conversations with friends. After all, friends are part of the reason why we smile in this difficult world. I can’t imagine how lonely it’d be if I had no one to talk to about my wins, frustrations and even my dreams. It’s never lonely at the top if you have friends there with you.
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