…Insists stakeholders have solutions to industry problems
The Immediate Past President of Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Dr. Gabriel Olowo has warned airline operators in Nigeria against falling into the pitfalls of their predecessors if they want to experience breakthrough in the business.
Olowo gave the warning during an interview he granted journalists at the just concluded 27th Annual Conference of the league of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC), held at the Providence Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos.
Olowo implored airline operators in the country to study, understand and avoid what led to the the failures of past airlines in the country and then take actions that would lead them to success.
“The Nigerian airlines should learn from the mistakes of the past. Go and take a case study of Bellview, ADC, Okada and many others. Look at how and why they failed. If the government was responsible for the problem, we must think, how do we handle the government?,” he suggested.
Olowo however reasoned that policies of successive governments on the aviation industry in Nigeria have been counter productive to the survival of operators and the entire industry.
“The government has always been the problem. They tell you, you can’t fly the flag. Air Peace has been flying the flag to Ghana, Liberia, and China now. And I am sure if you look at those routes, for them not to be in red is questionable.
“The guy, Allen Onyema of Air Peace, kept saying it and nobody is attending to him, until he rides into crisis; then AMCON will come, like they did to Arik and to Aero? That is not the way forward,” he insisted.
Olowo who believes that true love of Nigerians for Nigeria is not real, urged Nigerians to embrace new orientation to get the desired change results.
“See in Nigeria, Nigerian does not love Nigeria except when we are playing soccer. The soccer that we don’t prepare for. We must be result-oriented, when you are in political office, make sure the value you are adding is not to line your pocket. Make sure the value you are adding is for posterity,” he pleaded.
The former ASRTI leader however said that the answers to problems in the industry are with Nigerians if they truly want to be part of the solutions and not just identifying the problems and paying lip service to solving them.
“The time will continue to change, but what strategy are you changing? What knowledge are we lacking in any industry in this country? None! For those of us who are privileged to take medicals outside Nigeria, when we get in there, we meet Nigerian doctors; we meet Indian doctors all over the world. In the United States, Nigerian doctors are more than any other. Are you now saying that those Nigerian doctors can’t practise in Nigeria? It is that we are not part of solution makers, we are always identifying problems. When you meet the minister now, he will be telling you about the problems. And he is the solution. The Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is talking to you about the problems, but he is the solution. In his airports, water does not run. He knows that when a domestic passenger comes down, he cannot connect internationally. Doesn’t he know? He is supposed to be the solution. So what strategy are you changing? There is cobweb in your room, you can see it, and you left it there,
“There is plenty of hope; resources are plenty here in Nigeria. You always see that players in the industry are saying something differently from politicians or political appointees. Check the Curricular Vitae of all the past aviation ministers, who is a thorough industry person?,” he said.
