Author: The Nation

When President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu is sworn in on May 29 as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, he will assume control of one of the most visible symbols of the country’s sovereignty: the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) and its flagship aircraft, Eagle One, writes ROBERT EGBE

Without any doubt, any country’s presidential fleet is one of the most visible symbols of its sovereignty and Nigeria’s Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) is no different.

 Beginning on May 29, that symbol–represented for the last eight years by outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari–will have a new icon: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. After his inauguration as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Tinubu will, as part of the air transportation needs of his office, assume control of the PAF.

 The crown jewel in the about 10-aircraft PAF is the customised Boeing 737NG BBJ (Boeing Business Jet), codenamed NAF001.

 President Buhari is believed to have travelled out of Nigeria no fewer than 51 times since he assumed office in 2015, mostly using NAF001. The Nation reported on May 1 that NAF001 is currently undergoing a comprehensive maintenance procedure in the United States of America (USA), home of Boeing 737NG BBJ manufacturer, The Boeing Company.

A brief history of PAF

In January 1996, the government of the late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha merged the military the Executive Airlift Group (EAG) and the civilian Presidential Fleet (PF) crew under a single command. The 11 aircraft in the merger became the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF). The PAF was formed to primarily provide rapid, safe and comfortable airlift for the President, the Vice-President and other Very Important Person(s) as may be directed by the President through the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

 The PAF is believed to have a Fleet Headquarters with five Wings, which are Administration, Operation Services, Supply, Engineering and Operations.

 Each Wing is headed by a Wing Chief – corresponding to a Commanding Officer in a normal Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Unit. The Nation gathered that the Fleet is headed by a Commander who reports to the NAF Headquarters through the Chief of Training and Operations whose branch is one of the seven under the Office of the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), who, in turn, reports to the President.

 Funds for the flight operations, maintenance of the aircraft and the overall running of the Fleet are provided by The Presidency.

Since it was established in 1996, the PAF has been very active. Apart from the President and his family, its flights are mainly at the behest of the Presidency, the National Assembly (Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives) and the Judiciary (Chief Justice of the Federation).

 In some cases, PAF flights are also used to pursue the country’s foreign policy goals, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such as when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) or the African Union (AU) is involved.

At other times, the Federal Government may decide to use PAF to ferry the Heads of State of nations on good terms with Nigeria. An example is in 2003 when then President Olusegun Obasanjo flew former Liberian President Charles Taylor into Nigeria to be exiled in Calabar, Cross River State.

Eagle One explained

PAF’s prime aircraft, Boeing 737NG BBJ, is nicknamed “Eagle One,” just like its counterpart in America, the US Air Force One. The Federal Government placed an order for the supply of the aircraft in June 2005. It was delivered to the Nigerian Air Force on July 14, 2005.  Eagle One is a luxurious custom-built executive aircraft, with additional fuel tanks for extended intercontinental range flights.  The plane can usually seat 25 to 50 passengers and may include a master bedroom, a washroom with showers, a conference/dining area, and a living area. Eagle One is compliant with the European Union (EU) noise regulations and can land in all countries, unlike the one used by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

 A reliable source within the Presidential Villa, Abuja, told The Nation on April 1 that the comprehensive maintenance is expected to last about two months. This means that it may not be ready until after the May 29 inauguration ceremony of President-elect Tinubu.

 The source was unable to recollect the specific date of the aircraft’s departure for maintenance. The last time President Buhari flew on NAF001 was last Tuesday when he attended the Summit of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) in Accra, Ghana. He returned to Abuja the same evening.

 The source said: “It’s true that the NAF 001 has been flown out for maintenance. This is a maintenance procedure that ought to have even started like two months ago, but because of the preparations for the President’s official visit to Saudi Arabia, it has been delayed. So, it’s true that it has been flown out for maintenance ahead of the inauguration.”

On whether the aircraft would be ready before the inauguration ceremony, the source replied: “The maintenance procedure is supposed to take about two months; so, I doubt it will be ready before then.” President Buhari would be making do with any of the other aircraft left in the PAF. He is due to travel to London, the United Kingdom, for the coronation ceremony of King Charles III.

 Past maintenance on the aircraft was carried out by The Boeing Company and the global giant is expected to handle the latest one. Boeing’s military aircraft division builds modified 737 planes at its manufacturing facilities in Everett and Renton, Washington (outside of Seattle), and South Carolina.

 Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the aircraft had been flown abroad for maintenance. “It is true the presidential jet has gone for comprehensive maintenance, which may last for one or two months depending on how long the exercise will last,” Garba said.

Maintenance costs controversy

PAF’s large fleet and the corresponding maintenance costs are often a source of controversy for many Nigerians who want several of the planes sold off in order to cut maintenance costs.

However, it was reported that the Buhari government’s attempts to sell off at least two of the planes failed. The Federal Government also often argues that the airworthiness of the fleet aircraft is directly correlational to the safety of the country’s leaders and, by implication, the country’s security.

 While addressing members of the House of Representatives on National Security and Intelligence during their visit to the PAF base in December last year, the Commander of the Fleet, Abubakar Abdullahi, emphasised the importance of proper maintenance.

Attempting to explain PAF’s N15.522 billion budget to the lawmakers, Abdullahi, who was also represented by the Fleet Operations Officer, Ahmed Dari, said: “This committee may wish to note that the quality of aircraft maintenance conducted is directly proportional to flight safety and it is critical to the importance of safe operations in the fleet. It is important for this committee to note that for successive years, the fleet has been grossly underfunded, which has made it difficult to operate. “From the fleet records, debts from preceding years are usually carried over to the following year and this has become the tradition.

 “Permit me to also state that most of these debts are owed to service providers overseas. Considering that over 85 per cent of the fleet expenditure is forex, the actual budget figure in dollars is further diminished.

 “It is important to note that the average age of the presidential air fleet aircraft is 11 years and in aviation, maintenance increases proportionately with the age of the aircraft. Based on the fleet experience, the cost of maintaining each aircraft ranges between $1.5 million to $4.5 million, depending on the level of maintenance. Additionally, the year 2023 is an election year which translates to more missions and space requests for the aircraft due to increased usage,” he said.

Poor maintenance consequences

 PAF has a near-perfect aircraft maintenance record, but there have been a few incidents of concern in the course of its history. It was reported that on July 28, 2010, the ageing NAF001 conveying the then President Goodluck Jonathan developed some faults after it taxied for take-off at the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda after the 15th African Union Summit.

 Similarly, on March 8, 2014, it was reported that Jonathan and some top government officials escaped an air mishap at the Minna Airport, Niger State when the presidential jet developed a technical fault while they were aboard.

The jet had earlier conveyed Jonathan to Minna for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Northcentral rally, which was held at the Trade Fair Centre, Minna. At the end of the rally, he returned to the airport in company with top government officials, PDP state governors and party chiefs for a trip to Sokoto, from where he was scheduled to return to Abuja.

 However, several minutes after Jonathan bade farewell to those who accompanied him to the airport, and the door of the aircraft was shut, the aircraft failed to move.

 After many attempts, crew members and engineers disembarked from the aircraft and made spirited efforts to fix the fault. Jonathan disembarked from the faulty jet at about 3:30 p.m. and quickly moved to a smaller presidential jet, 5N-FGW, leaving behind some of his co-occupants in the bigger jet.

 It was also said that during the regime of Abacha, the presidential jet often failed to start.

 As Tinubu steps in on May 29, he will almost certainly face, among others, pressure from Nigerians to prune the PAF from its 10-aircraft fleet to a more cost-effective number, more so when the incumbent President had acknowledged the wastefulness and promised to cut down on the number.

Since the passing on of Pa J. D. Okhai Ojeikere, Nigeria’s legendary documentary photographer on February 2, 2014, younger generations of curators, scholars and artists have been active in promoting the local art scene, making Nigeria one of the leading countries for contemporary art in Africa. This is perhaps no better tribute to the legacy of Pa Ojeikere.

One of such artists who are expanding the photography genre is Laila Cadne-Rahman, a young multi-disciplinary artist, beauty entrepreneur and makeup artist. Unlike Ojeikere who took inventory of thousands of his famed pictures of gravity-defying hair, emphasising the sculptural forms of Nigerian hair design into a book, Laila chooses models to recreate some of these old and famed hairstyles in Lagos, as her population for a photography exhibition.

Speaking at an interactive session in Lagos, Laila, a graduate of Microbiology, University of Lagos, said the essence of her photo series/film documentary project tagged: The beauty in its time, is to celebrate the art, the diversity and richness of beauty in the Nigerian culture through the medium of hair and makeup. 

“The project will not only celebrate the diversity and richness but also the art form of hair and makeup. The exhibition will feature a series of portraits showcasing a wide range of hairstyles emphasising the versatility and beauty of Nigerian hairstyles as well as educate viewers about cultural significance of the hairstyles from different eras in Nigerian history as well as highlighting the role that hair plays in African culture,” she said. 

Read Also : I’m beauty with brains – Regina Daniels

She noted that she chose to recreate the periods under review by using models who she photographed for the exhibition, adding that ‘we are doing this in grades to depict the time those hairdos were in vogue in Lagos.’ 

On the size and reason for the population being researched, she said: “We are focusing on Lagos because it will be pretty impossible to cover the entire country. But, it will be interesting to cover more cities so as to capture what things were then. Again, while on the field, it was difficult getting sources to share their experiences, especially style editors and writers of old. I literarily worked with people’s time.

“The 15-minute documentary part of the project afforded me the opportunity to interrogate pancake as a popular makeup product of the 60s. I actually got inspiration from my mother who was a banker but paid serious attention to make-up especially her hairdo.

“Unfortunately, not much was found as archival materials to fall on. However, the interesting thing is that the project will generate fresh dialogue and interrogation as well as social dialogue,” Laila said, assuring that as soon as it is premiered it will be available on YouTube. 

Continuing, she said: “The documentary got bigger than I planned. It kept expanding in scope and time. This is why I will be considering beauty and skin care as follow-up to the documentary …

“Makeup was how I started expressing myself professionally. I chose to do the documentary of between 10 to 15mins, and a photo exhibition to capture the fond memories of the fashion scene, especially makeup and hairdo. But, I realised that having done this, there are still much to capture because of the volume of what I found in the cause of research on the field.”

Curator of the exhibition Ugonna Ibe who is excited about the concept of the project, said the Art Gallery space at The Art Hotel, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos, will host the premier on Sunday May 14, at 4pm. According to a statement by Ibe, the project was conceived to among others, to document the journey of beauty in Lagos, place beauty brands in the forefront of the documentation, celebrate and document the strength, beauty, confidence of Nigerian women and how it evolved over time, explore the cultural significance and western influences on our beauty choices in hair and makeup. It is also meant to show similarities between the older forms as well as the modern forms of hairstyling/makeup applications and the reintroduced hairstyles/significant makeup techniques into today’s style/fashion and create a swell feeling of nostalgia to get people intrigued in order to explore and change the outlook of documentary storytelling in the Nigerian film industry.

Interestingly, ‘African hair-braiding methods date back to thousands of years, and Nigerian hair culture in particular is a rich and often extensive process which begins in childhood. The methods and variations have been influenced by social and cultural patterns, historical events and globalisation. Hairdos range from being purely decorative to conveying deeper, more symbolic meanings, revealing social status and age as well as tribal and family traditions.’ 

Laila is the head makeup artist at Laila Cadne Atelier, a makeup outfit in Lagos. She debuted her film making career in 2018 with a short film documentary titled MMA NMA – Beauty of a mother, which went on to show at African International Film Festival (AFRIFF). She released another project called ANTI in 2019, which was a short story and has worked with notable brands including Guaranty Trust Bank, Gionee, Pernord Ricard, Wema Bank, Toshiba, Godrej- Darling and Mega Growth Nigeria, Blank Magazine United Kingdom, Jumia and Canon.

• Literature

The race  for this year’s Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria LNG  Limited(NLNG) has  recorded a remarkable 61 per cent increase in entries  for drama with 143 entries  as against 89 received in 2018. 

 This was made known at a ceremony in Lagos where the entries were handed over to judges for the commencement of adjudication.

  NLNG, represented by its General Manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr Andy Odeh, handed over the entries to the Chair of the Prize’s Advisory Board, Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, who, in turn, handed them the entries to the judges.

  The Prize rotates yearly among four literary categories: prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature. The entrants will compete for a top prize of $100,000.

   The Advisory Board also handed over 13 entries for The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism.

  The panel of judges for this year’s Literature and the Literary Criticism contests are chaired by Prof. Ameh Dennis Akoh, a Professor of Drama and Critical Theory at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State.

Other members include Prof. Osita Catherine Ezenwanebe and Dr Rasheedah Liman. Ezenwanebe is a professor of Creative Arts at the University of Lagos. Liman is a Senior lecturer, Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria. Prof. Victor K. Yankah from the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, serves as the International Consultant for the edition. 

Speaking on the entries, Mr. Odeh said: ”The Prize serves as a stimulus for Nigerian writers to strive for excellence, and we are proud to see an increase in entries this year for drama. We believe that through this prize, we are promoting Nigerian literature and encouraging the growth of the literary industry in the country. We are confident that the judges and Advisory Board will do due diligence to produce a verdict based on merit and excellence, and we hope to see a worthy winner of the Prize at the end of the cycle. The Nigeria Prize for Literature, the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, and the Nigeria Prize for Science – being the only platform for information regarding the prizes, winners, and the adjudication process.’’  

Adimora-Ezeigbo emphasised the importance of literature in driving development in Nigeria. She said: “Literature is a powerful tool that can drive development in our society. As we begin the adjudication process for this year’s Nigeria Prize for Literature, I urge the judges to use this opportunity to elevate literature and bring it to the forefront of the development discourse in Nigeria. The entries we have received are a testament to the vibrant literary scene in the country, and we hope to see a winner that truly represents the best of Nigerian literature.” 

The event also had other members of the Advisory Board, Prof. Olu Obafemi and Prof. Ahmed Yerima, including the Acting Manager, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs (NLNG), Yemi Adeyemi; prize’s Chairman, Prof Akoh and other judges, Prof. Ezenwanebe and Dr Liman.