Why aircraft manufacturers maintain no presence in Nigeria

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Nigeria as a country is blessed with the number, and I mean viable numbers, for the aviation business on the African continent. A country of over 200 million people. About 31 functional airlines, some of which are operating international routes in addition to their dominant presence on the Nigerian domestic routes. As of today, Nigeria has 36 airports, of which five are open to international flights. Some of these airports are privately owned and operated, while the bulk of them are owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria. They are being managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, on behalf of the government.

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As if that is not enough, all manner of aircraft that have ever been manufactured are owned in Nigeria and being operated successfully by Nigerians.

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The two dominant aircraft in use for commercial passenger flights globally are Boeing and Airbus products. Boeing is being manufactured in the United States of America, while Airbus is made in France.

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Air Peace alone has 10 Boeing aircraft types in its fleet. The airline has B737 – 700 series, B737- 800 series, B777 – 200 ER, and B777 – 300 series. Max Air, United Nigeria Airline, Allied Air Cargo, Azman Air, Overland Airways, and Ibom Air all operate Boeing aircraft types.

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Concerning Airbus aircraft type in use in Nigeria, Air Peace alone maintains 10 Airbus products in its fleet. Specifically, it has A320 – 200 series. Ibom Air and United Nigeria Airline also have A320 – 300 in their fleet.

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For a country that has the above figure of Boeing products and Airbus in its country not to have the manufacturers’ presence in this land over the years leaves much to be desired.

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It will shock the readers of this write-up to know that almost all aircraft manufacturers maintain offices in neighbouring African countries that have only one or no airline at all.

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I know political analysts will be quick to blame it on Nigeria’s insecurity challenge as the reason without asking themselves: is there any country on the surface of the earth without a security challenge? I am not holding brief for the government. Who did this to us?

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The nearest presence we have ever recorded in Nigeria was when the then-Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Dr Harold Demuren, facilitated the opening of an office at the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport while in office. They disappeared soon after he left office as the DG, CAA.

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In case somebody is wondering as to the need for their presence in Nigeria, the question is: Why are they not in Nigeria if they can be in neighbouring countries? To face the fact of the matter, the presence of aircraft manufacturers would have solved most of the technical issues confronting our airlines and thereby saved them foreign exchange they are expending on such problems.

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Not only that, but their presence would also have helped in employment generation and technology transfer from Nigerian technicians who would have been employed to work in those maintenance hangars the manufacturers would have established in Nigeria.

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The sooner the government starts reviewing the statutes, the better it will be for establishing requirements for aircraft manufacturers to maintain a physical presence in Nigeria if they wish to continue doing business here. Supporting local interests is the right approach. You can’t go wrong with that.

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Adurogboye is a former General Manager of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority

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