BY Simon Tumba
Recently some aviation professionals released a statement calling on President Muhammadu Buhari not to merge the Ministry of Aviation with Transport, claiming the merger would negatively affect the growth (if any) or potential of the sector. Really? I beg to disagree.
I strongly advocate the merger of the ministry with that of Transportation, while keeping the parastatals as they are presently constituted. What has the ministry of aviation achieved over the last 16 years? Nothing to me that Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and other minor agencies could not have achieved without the ministry. What I believe we need is a Directorate of Aviation in the Ministry of Transport.
For so long the ministry has been a drag to the nation’s progress in the sector, with all the endless and unprofitable meetings in the ministry in Abuja. Most times the management of these parastatals are not allowed to work by the ministry establishments. Nearly three quarters of their time is spent in Abuja in meetings mostly for pecuniary interests.
A Directorate should be established to drive government policy through the parastatals, while NCAA is given a free hand to regulate the sector with an agreed key performance indicators (KPIs), which should aim at growth centers in the sectors including areas such as safety, security and standardization. These will aim to achieve growth in our airport development, domestic/flag carriers and high customer standard service.
What government should consider is what to do with existing low throughput or what we call unprofitable airports; how to get a solid world class airport in 5-25 years, how to get a world brand airport engaged in Lagos and Abuja, how to inject professionalism for our carriers to grow and become competitive, how to make the sector more customer and investor friendly, and curb the high rate of outflow of capital through foreign carriers.
And for the record, the president does not need an aviation professional to be minister. That’s balderdash. He needs an excellent manager of men and resource, an imaginative and visionary mind who can turn nothing to something. A creative genius who can leapfrog the sector to a multi billion dollar industry. Who can look at the sector and set up an acceptable policy which in 10-40 years will give us a Dubai, a Mumbai, a Beijing, etc. who can attract foreign capital and investment into the sector with solid implementable plans surviving any government. A minister who can create opportunities for foreign investments in road, rail, sea and air transport aimed at a good harmonious and seamless mix for travelers and commuters.
With a population of over 160 million, and projected to reach 200 million within the next 20 years, Nigeria has the market for both tourism and business (a wonderful and rear mix) travel, but the policy, imagination, direction and will has been lacking for too long. It’s the job of the president to identify that genius, the creative and imaginative minister of transport, who can give us a travel sector that can be the number one destination in Africa. We are waiting Mr. President.
Tumba is the Publisher and CEO of www.nigeriatravelsmart.com
08022231198