Nigeria's complete ratification of the Cape Town Convention last year is expected to assist the country in achieving its ambition of becoming a leading aviation hub. 

During his address at the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers conference in Dublin on January 13, Festus Keyamo emphasized that the legal protections provided by the convention will mitigate risks for lessors who lease aircraft to domestic airlines.

“Those who bring their equipment to Nigeria are safe, because we are compliant with the Cape Town convention,” says Keyamo, who is also responsible for aerospace development. “I can give my personal guarantee on that. We are here to let the world know that we are open for business.”

Nigeria, recognized as Africa's most populous nation and its fourth largest economy, is experiencing a burgeoning middle class but has faced challenges in establishing a national flag carrier and a robust domestic airline industry. Many aircraft lessors have hesitated to finance planes due to concerns regarding the Nigerian legal framework's ability to facilitate asset recovery.

Keyamo highlights that Nigeria is home to 23 private airlines, some of which possess the potential to evolve into a national carrier. "Our objective is to support these local operators in their growth," he states. "We operate within a free-market economy that welcomes all private entities. There is no reason why these local operators cannot expand."

Geographically, Nigeria's central location—equidistant from northern, southern, and eastern Africa—combined with the high traffic on the Lagos-London route positions it favorably as a hub for air travel across the continent. Keyamo also emphasizes the importance of developing additional airports. “We will be inviting the biggest players in the world to manage our airports with the aim of making them transit hubs,” he says.

To boost Nigeria's presence on the global stage, the government is organizing a three-day industry convention in December called the Nigeria International Airshow, set to take place at a hotel near a Lagos airport.

“The aviation sector is making a key contribution to [Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s] ambition to create a trillion-dollar economy,” says Keyamo. “We are seeing a lot of transition into the middle class and the aviation sector must be ready. Nigeria is on a transformational journey.”

Last August, the government teamed up with Boeing to sign a memorandum of understanding that aims to simplify the process for local airlines to acquire new-generation aircraft from Boeing and its network of lessors and financiers, along with gaining access to training and maintenance services.