As Nigeria marked its 64th Independence Anniversary on October 1st, Nigeria Airways would have celebrated its 66th birthday, representing the nation with pride and competing alongside other national airlines.
However, the airline was dissolved in 2004 under the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo due to significant debt and an impending collapse, as nearly all of its aircraft were rendered inoperable.
While the administration defends the liquidation decision by pointing to mismanagement and financial misconduct, industry stakeholders have raised concerns regarding the appropriateness of this action.
They argue that the airline's closure has hindered the aviation sector and left a void that has remained unaddressed for the past 20 years.
Capt. Bob Hayes, the first Nigerian pilot to serve with Nigeria Airways, recently voiced his disappointment over the airline's liquidation.
He remarked, “The loss of Nigeria Airways was a source of great sadness for us. However, with the country now planning to establish a new airline, I believe this could be a significant positive development for us.
“Many African nations currently operate national carriers, and it is high time for Nigeria, the largest country in black Africa, to take its rightful place among them. Nigeria deserves this, and I eagerly anticipate its realization.”
Former Aviation Minister and ex-Managing Director of Nigeria Airways, Air Vice-Marshal Anthony Okpere (rtd), also expressed that the liquidation of Nigeria Airways was unwarranted.
“I recall one evening when they decided to wind up Nigerian Airways, I sat with the late Admiral Aikhomu and I saw people bulldozing one house in the GRA here that was sold off with the captain’s things inside the house. Meanwhile, that Captain was on a flight on national assignment, so to say.
“As far as I was concerned and I still stand by my words, Nigeria Airways shouldn’t have died. They had a probe and I am sure you are aware of the probe; they know all the people that brought Nigeria Airways to its knees. I worked there quite alright and I was equally probed but I beat my chest. Thank God in the midst of aviators and people in the industry, I carried my head up high.”
Numerous unsuccessful efforts to revive the national carrier
Weekend Trust reports that multiple initiatives have been made to restore the national carrier following the closure of Nigeria Airways, with the most recent being the troubled Nigeria Air, led by former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.
Before the establishment of Nigeria Air, which has now been suspended by the federal government and invalidated by the courts, there were several other attempts, including Virgin Nigeria, Nigeria Eagle, and Air Nigeria, none of which succeeded.
Our correspondent notes that the launch of Virgin Nigeria was one of the most celebrated efforts to reestablish the national carrier, thanks to a partnership with renowned British entrepreneur Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways. Unfortunately, this venture lasted less than four years before the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) fell apart.
After the departure of Virgin Nigeria Group, Nigerian Eagle Airline emerged, attempting to carry on the legacy of its predecessor but was quickly overwhelmed by the challenges that had plagued the earlier initiative.
Subsequently, Air Nigeria took over, led by businessman and politician Jimoh Ibrahim, under controversial circumstances. This airline soon became embroiled in crises, resulting in the suspension of its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Another initiative was Nigeria One, championed by former Minister Stella Oduah. Like its predecessors, Oduah projected significant optimism for the revival of the national carrier. However, despite substantial investments and numerous promotional efforts, including assurances of support from Bombardier Aircraft Manufacturing Company, the new airline ultimately failed to launch.
The most recent effort to establish a national airline was Nigeria Air, championed by Sirika. This initiative began in July 2018 when Sirika introduced the airline's name, logo, livery, and insignia at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK.
“I am very pleased to tell you that we are finally on track to launching a new national flag carrier for our country: Nigeria Air. We are all fully committed to fulfilling the campaign promise made by our president, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015. We are aiming to launch Nigeria Air by the end of this year.”
At that time, Sirika served as the Minister of State for Aviation, but he did not realize this vision until the conclusion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term. He later returned as a senior minister in the aviation sector and continued to advance the initiative until the end of the administration, culminating in the unveiling of an aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines.
According to Weekend Trust, Ethiopian Airlines was previously announced as the equity partner for the airline, holding a 49 percent controlling stake.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) contested the selection of Ethiopian Airlines in court and obtained an injunction to halt the process. The Federal High Court in Lagos subsequently sided with the AON, blocking the share sale to Ethiopian Airlines, even as the current minister had suspended the airline.
Currently, the process is on hold, and the new Minister, Festus Keyamo, has indicated that the entire arrangement was not in Nigeria's best interest, leaving the decision regarding the new national carrier to the president.
Keyamo explained the suspension by stating, “This was not a deal that would benefit Nigeria in the long term. The entire structure and essence of that agreement amounted to Ethiopian Airlines operating Nigeria Air. There were more advantageous proposals available. Why did we opt for this one?”
What went wrong?
Stakeholders, industry experts, and analysts are shocked by the failure of numerous initiatives, despite the substantial financial investments amounting to millions of dollars and billions of naira.
In response to a report claiming that N85 billion was spent on the Nigeria Air project, Sirika clarified that only N3 billion was actually utilized.
The former minister explained, “From 2016 to 2023, the total budget allocated for Nigeria Air was approximately N5 billion, but not all of it was disbursed. It is likely that around N3 billion was released.”
He noted that a portion of the N3 billion has been allocated for office acquisitions, consultancy fees, employee salaries, and the processing of the Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC).
Since 2003, nearly every Minister of Aviation has attempted to revive the national carrier, with billions of naira invested in various projects.
Experts argue that the significant public funds spent on these efforts could have been sufficient to establish a viable airline.
Comrade Abba Ocheme, a former employee of Nigeria Airways, remarked that previous initiatives lacked direction. He asserted that these efforts were motivated by “self-interest” rather than serving the national interest.
When asked about the reasons behind the failure of past attempts to launch a new airline, he stated, “The primary issue is that these initiatives lacked a clear objective. There was no specific goal guiding these efforts; they were merely self-serving endeavors disguised as national initiatives.”
‘National carrier not a mystery’
The establishment of a national carrier should be a transparent process, according to Ocheme, the General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE).
“If you want to set up a national carrier, there are national carriers everywhere. This type of mystery that they are importing into setting up a national carrier is what is causing the problem. There’s a national carrier in Ethiopia. Everybody knows how it is. There’s also a national carrier in the UAE; there are national carriers everywhere.
“They tried to do this type of mystery with Kenya Airways. It didn’t work. If you want to set up a national carrier, simply set up a national carrier. Rwanda has a national carrier, Uganda has too. So why has Nigeria’s own national carrier become so complex, so complicated with shareholding and arithmetic, with mathematics and algebra?
“If you want to set up a national carrier, go ahead and set up a national carrier. Name it and let it run. If we are afraid that Nigeria as a government does not have the discipline to allow a company it has set up run without interference, then simply contract the administration of the company. Go and hire. If you check all the successful national carriers, the majority of them don’t have indigenes as their chief executives.
“So, if you say this is how the company will run, it will run, it will be successful. There is no reason why it cannot be successful. But if we don’t know what to say to the national carrier, let us not deceive people; going about saying you want to arrange some kind of complex mystery and that you are going to be looking for someone to solve it. That’s my impression. The reason they have not succeeded is because they have never been straight forward. So, we don’t need to create a new model for a national carrier.”
‘Airways’ Liquidation, Nigeria’s Biggest error’
The liquidation of Nigeria Airways was a significant error in judgment that has had lasting negative consequences for the country. Nigeria has yet to fully recover from this decision.
He said, “Everybody in aviation knows that the biggest error made in Nigeria’s aviation sector was the liquidation of Nigeria Airways. It’s a well-known fact. That was our biggest error, and it is still haunting us till today. Why our aviation is directionless is because it’s not being driven by any type of unit that you can refer to. So, there was no reason to liquidate Nigerian Airways”.
‘Nigeria Airways could have been revived’
“We were part of the dying members of the airline. And at that point, the only thing that was needed to revive Nigeria Airways was not for the government to put any money. The loan and everything had been arranged by Afreximbank to inject into the airline, which were tied to acquisition of aircraft and technical expertise.
“All that was needed was a government guarantee not to pay it. It was deliberately withdrawn or withheld. And that is the reason Nigeria airways could not recover. Even at a point, the carrier just wanted the government to leave it. Even without a plane, the Nigeria Airways had a clear plan of how to operate as Nigeria Airways. It could successfully operate, cater for its staff without any government help but instead of allowing it to operate, all they did was to go and prevent Nigeria Airways from renewing its insurance for the few aircraft. They deliberately disallowed them from renewing the insurance so the airline died. It was killed and the whole aviation industry is suffering from it today. Anybody who is anybody in Nigeria aviation today got their initial training from Nigeria airways; and since its demise, nobody is training anybody anymore,” he said.
Aviation analyst and union leader, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, attributed the failure to establish a new national carrier to "policy inconsistencies, abrupt changes in federal government policy, and a lack of transparency from the federal government."
He expressed concerns over the prioritization of personal interests over national interests, as well as the absence of transparency, openness, and a viable business model.
“What kind of airline do you want? Is it an airline that is going to be fully owned by the federal government or a shareholding business where Nigerians will buy in? And, despite the too much politicking, we wanted the Nigerian government to float a national airline that will build and boost our image, and also serve as a national heritage that we can be proud of.
“People fly British Airways, American Airlines and things like that. Those airlines are shareholding companies. So, what is wrong with us holding a national carrier? Efforts were made in the past, but those efforts became fruitless with humongous amount of funds wasted. That money alone is enough to start an airline if it were done by an individual.
“The government is not straightforward. How do you want to form a national airline and you are being secretive about it? Those in government will just call their friends and set up a committee and then choose members to midwife such a process. There is no openness in this exercise. They say this today, the next moment they bring another policy that supersedes the earlier policy. So, until we put our acts together, we are not going anywhere,” he said.
Former Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, indicated that the demise of Nigeria Airways was largely due to evolving financial circumstances.
He remarked, “Nigeria Airways was entirely owned by the federal government, which was facing financial difficulties at that time. The government had been in a state of financial distress since around 1985 or 1986, affecting all sectors, including the refineries, NEPA, railways, and the Nigeria National Shipping Line.”
He emphasized that, given Nigeria Airways' reliance on government funding, it struggled to maintain competitiveness against its global counterparts during that period.
Aviation expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retired), proposes that the concept of a national carrier be reconsidered in favor of flag carriers.
He said, “You have said it all: beginning from 1993, we have made several attempts to have a national carrier to replace the Nigeria Airways. I remember saying at a public hearing of the NASS Committee on Aviation in 1993 headed by ATM Ahmed, former FAAN MD, when the plan for the change started, that unless you know what is killing the Nigeria Airways, our efforts will be fruitless.
“It is 31 years after that. Before now and until 2019, I had supported a national carrier but not any more after 2019 and after listening to the former and last minister. I had advised; set up two flag carriers, one regional and continental and the other intercontinental. These airlines can be drawn from the existing airlines. I suggested that rather than giving AMCON the management of Arik and Aero, get foreign technical partners and credible Nigerian investors to buy the debts and assets (50/60%) of the airlines, encourage Nigerians to buy 25/30% shares through the capital markets and the federal government and states overnments should buy 10% of the shares.
“But there is a competition between those who still believe that a national carrier should be a government carrier while flag carriers are private airlines and I say no. Flag carriers are national flag carriers like ambassadors while the so-called designated carriers of today are just like a travelling passenger carrying a Nigerian passport. Both would get different receptions at the foreign countries of destinations. We need flag carriers and not national carrier.”