Practitioners in the tourism industry have given kudos the Akwa Ibom State government on the launch of its new airline, Ibom Air, owned by the state government.
They believe the airline is a welcome development in the aviation and tourism, but they are apprehensive over the ability of the state government to sustain the airline in the light of the history of failed domestic airlines in Nigeria.
The view was captured by the President, the Federation of Tourism Associations Nigeria (FTAN), who is also a former Deputy President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Alhaji Saleh Rabo.
Rabo praised Akwa Ibom for this initiative, but advised them to go into a business arrangement with a competent private company for proper management of the airline.
He said: “I think it is a welcome development, but my only prayer is that we should be able to sustain it. You know the problem with Nigeria is not about establishing something, but the sustainability. We do not have the culture of maintenance. We have seen many airlines that have been floated in Nigeria, but after sometimes, they would disappear.
“This is a governor and the person who has the idea. After his tenure, the coming person might not be interested in the project. I hope that they will set up the machinery that could keep the airline going, even after the governor of today might have left the system. Because we don’t want a situation that at the end of the day, we are going to run back to the same old story that we have been having. But for us in the industry, it is a welcome development and I hope they will be able to maintain it.”
On how the airline could effectively function within the Nigerian aviation business climate, Rabo said: “Seriously I think that it is going to be very difficult. It is not going to be easy because for all we have seen, it is going to be difficult. I think the government should go into partnership between the government and the private sector. I will appreciate it, if it so.
“So even if the government of the day which has the interest to run the airline is out, there will be sustainability. So, inasmuch as it is a welcome development, I hope they will be able to sustain it. The key thing is sustenance; it is not just starting something.”
Responding to this fear, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Udoh, said the state government carried out due diligence before foraying into the aviation industry.
He said: “First, let me give you a background. Today in Akwa Ibom State, we are blessed with a good governor, Udom Emmanuel. Beside being a consummate professional and a business-oriented person with all his experience in the private sector, he leads a team of tested private sector practitioners who have come to the government to help stabilize and set the pace in government in Akwa Ibom State.
“In the last three and half years, what we have done is to break the limits, things that were previously thought to be impossible, from our industrialization efforts and tourism drive in the state. Today, we have an airline. First, in entering into this kind of arrangement, most business partners will not trust a state government because of the transient nature of the government. But for the foreign partners to trust the Akwa Ibom State government led by Governor Udom Emmanuel, speaks volumes.
“What this governor has done is that he brought to bear his wealth of experience, contacts in the private sector and, of course, his pedigree to get them interested. Today, we are running an airline that has 100 per cent equity of the state government.
“What we have done is to set it up as a purely business entity, benchmarking international standards and the processes are well laid out, benchmarking the very best in the world. From the point of setting it up, we have been clear about that. That is why from recruitment, we didn’t do recruitment based on quota system, based on emotion; we did the recruitment based on getting the brightest and the best wherever they are.
“Normally the thought would have been let us populate the entire crew with Akwaibomites, but what the government did was that, yes if we can find the right Akwa Ibom persons, with the right qualifications, we will bring him or her in. If not, if we can’t, then bring the brightest and best from wherever they may be from. Then, over time, we will groom our people with requisite qualifications to become managers of that business.
“Today, the team captain of the airline is an Akwa Ibom son, but we poached from Ethiopian Airlines. You know the Ethiopian Airlines is government owned. We were saying to ourselves, if Ethiopia, as small as their GDP is, compared to Nigeria; if Kenya as small as it is compared to Nigeria, if Rwanda. If all these small countries can manage successful airlines, it means it is not rocket science; it means it takes careful planning, careful business model to make it work which is what we have done. That tells you we took time to carry out all due diligence.”
The commissioner insisted that the state had done its homework before venturing into the airline business and that Ibom Air would be a success.