BY LEKAN SOTE
Signs that Nigeria’s aviation industry is in dire straits are in the threatened, but aborted, shut down of flights by Airline Operators of Nigeria and the successful two-day warning strike by workers of some aviation industry trade unions.
The concerned aviation unions comprise workers of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigerian Meteorological Agency and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology.
Dauda Nambol, Chairman of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Chapter of Transport Employees, alleged that these agencies (and the supervising Ministry of Aviation) have failed to implement the Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustment agreement with the workers in 2019.
Nambol lamented that the efforts of the Ministry of Aviation and the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission to improve the condition of service of these aviation agencies have consistently proved abortive.
He then warned those who may be concerned that “Should the warning (strike) go unheeded (by the Ministry and the agencies), an indefinite strike shall be called soon after.”
A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.
Nambol also suggested that the “Air travelling public, all aviation business(es), including local airlines, are (hereby) informed of the… circumstances, and should review their itinerary accordingly.”
But, not too surprisingly, the Ministry of Aviation paid no heed to the aggrieved workers, and no one seemed to notice that they embarked on the two-day warning strike.
It seems like whatever the workers’ union like, they can do, no one, including the media, is going to pay any attention to them, even if they work in the aviation industry as AON.
No one in government has even acknowledged, least of all, take a swift action to contain or appeal to the aviation workers to call off their warning strike, which ran its course almost unnoticed.
This leads you to the logical conclusion that government agents and agencies are selective in attending to issues that affect different classes of Nigerians.
When it looked like air travel, enjoyed by the elite, was going to suffer, the government moved in swiftly.
But when it concerns poor, “invisible,” aviation workers, the government played the ostrich. After the media gave the warning strike token mention, the matter simply fizzled out of the media space.
Now to the grouse of the AON, which are in two folds: The astronomical cost of aviation fuel, especially after the beginning of the Ukrainian-Russian war, and the high and, at the same time, unstable foreign exchange regime needed to pay for aircraft maintenance that can only be done overseas.
To avert the shutdown, the House of Representatives wing of Nigeria’s elite class, called for a meeting with Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
While the NNPC earns the largest foreign exchange for Nigeria, from crude oil, the Central Bank of Nigeria disburses the foreign currency and also fixes its exchange rate to the Naira through the foreign exchange window.
Both, in their respective failures, to ensure the effective running of Nigeria’s petroleum refineries so that Nigeria will not continue to import petroleum products, and to rein in the desperate careening of the Naira, the NNPC and the CBN are mainly responsible for the plight of the airline operators, if not of the entire country.
Before AON called off the shutdown, five of its members, of which Aero Contractors, Arik Air, Dana Air and Green Africa Airlines, are in some form of entanglement with Assets Management Company of Nigeria, and, Ibom Air, owned by a state government, had reneged.
Their capitulation came after the Federal Government stared them down with blackmail, claiming that it had always supported the AON, by as much as N4 billion during the Covid-19 lockdown and condoning their indebtedness to aviation agencies.
AON President, Abdulmunaf Sarina, said, “The AON wishes to inform the general public that, further to numerous calls from the highest echelons of government, (and) with (their) promises to urgently intervene in the crisis being faced by the airlines due to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1…
“The alacrity with which the government closed in on the threatened aviation industry shutdown makes critics suggest that maybe if the National Association of Nigerian Students truly wishes to get the government to pay attention to the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities strike they should just picket some strategic airports
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“Airline Operators of Nigeria,” Sarina disclosed, “has decided to… withdraw the action for the time being, while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with the government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution.”
He added: “We have also reached this decision with the highest consideration for our esteemed customers, who have been faced with uncertainty over the last few days, and to enable them to have access to travel to their various destinations for the time being during the (AON) discussion with relevant authorities.”
On Sunday, May 8, the day before the AON shutdown was to commence, the Federal Government, gloating on the success of its “diplomatic” arm-twisting, declared, in its blackmailing best:
“It is gratifying that members of (AON) have started reversing the decision to withdraw flight services, with Ibom Air, Green Africa Airlines, Arik Air, Dana Air and others confirming that they will carry on with their normal flight schedules.”
And with a subtle threat, the government added, “We hope that other (AON) members will consider the expected impact on businesses and individuals and (thus) review their decisions.” The statement only omitted, “Or else…”
The Government reminded AON members that “The Ministry (of Aviation) has always made conscious efforts to assist members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, some of which include facilitating a meeting between the association and Mr. President, during which the association got several concessions, including duty-free importation of aircraft, engines, spare parts and components.”
And for effect, the government added that Minister Hadi Sirika, who is incidentally a pilot, had bent over backward many times to assist AON members by helping them to obtain foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria and accessing aviation fuel from Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited.
And maybe in a bid to consolidate the “forced” truce from the Airline Operators of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari gave Allen Onyeama, owner of the largest fleet of aircraft in Nigeria, Air Peace, the National Productivity Order of Merit Award in the “Employers of Labour” category.
But in all these hubris, both the Ministry of Aviation and the Airline Operators Association seem to have forgotten that the AON had demanded to be allowed to source the aviation fuel themselves. What happened to that request?
The argument of AON was that if the members were allowed to import aviation fuel by themselves its availability would be guaranteed and the price would be lower. But because this plan will remove the renter interest of those in government the idea won’t fly.
The alacrity with which the government closed in on the threatened aviation industry shutdown makes critics suggest that maybe if the National Association of Nigerian Students truly wishes to get the government to pay attention to the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities strike they should just picket some strategic airports. Causing traffic holdups and chaos on the roads won’t cut the ice.
But what the government needs to urgently do is to find a way to effectively, efficiently and profitably run the practically moribund refineries so that members of AON will no longer experience these frustrating aviation fuel shortages.
Thus AON members will not be desperately looking for foreign exchange, whilst also offering to carry out the responsibility of a negligent NNPC.
