Stakeholders in Nigeria’s aviation sector have described the announcement of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, of a planned groundbreaking event for an aircraft manufacturing company in the country as undesirable.
LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that the minister had in January this year announced plans to launch an aircraft manufacturing company soon.
“Very soon, we are going to return here for the groundbreaking ceremony of an aircraft manufacturing company,” the minister said at an event in Abuja to open a private firm’s centre to provide support services and to manufacture aircraft parts.
Also, the minister at the event said he won’t let the cat out of the bag yet, but he will only let the leg out, “so let’s wait till the whole cat is out of the bag before we can talk. Besides, aircraft manufacturing is a complex situation; we need to build on our workforce, infrastructure, and supply chain before we talk about aircraft manufacturing.
“I think we should challenge our military institutions and if we need to go to that route, the Nigerian Air Force is better structured and is in the right place because they have a school that has gone far I think the FG in partnership with the Ministry of Aviation should collaborate with NAF to set the task in motion because of we develop military, we can deliver into civil,” he stated.
In separate interviews with our correspondents in Lagos, aviation experts said there were many hurdles to cross for Nigeria to become an aircraft manufacturing country.
According to them, it is not for the government to build aircraft manufacturing firm and should also not not be involved in airport development and management, but essentially, passenger terminal buildings.
They also argued that Abuja or Lagos shouldn’t be considered while setting up the aircraft manufacturing company because they are the administrative and commercial capitals of the country.
“Akure Airport, with the biggest land mass, favourable weather all year round and availability of labour should be considered ahead of Lagos, and Abuja serves as the commercial and administrative capital of Nigeria,” Adam Nuhu, the Principal Managing Partner of TMSS Logistics Limited, said.
Nuhu added that Nigeria lacks the requisite infrastructure and skilled workforce to support aircraft manufacturing.
“Nigeria doesn’t have a skilled workforce or a supply chain, but with significant investment in technology, Nigeria can be ready for aircraft manufacturing.
“The way I see Nigeria currently, it lacks the necessary infrastructure to support aircraft manufacturing and assembling. We might agree that the country has maintenance and assembling capabilities like the NCAT, Zaria and a few Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities. To me, Nigeria doesn’t have advanced manufacturing plants, a skilled workforce or a supply chain.
“I don’t know the volume of the aircraft manufacturing that the minister is talking about but I don’t think Nigeria has the skilled workforce or the supply chain. Significant investment in technology, material and Nigeria expertise will be needed before we can be ready for aircraft manufacturing but a journey of 1,000 miles starts with a step.
The general secretary of Aviation Round Table Initiative (ARTI), Olumide Ohunayo, said there were a lot of hurdles and certifications from European and American agencies that must be crossed before a nation can start manufacturing aircraft.
“Going into the manufacturing of aircraft now will be difficult and more like a white elephant project because going into civil aircraft manufacturing you have a lot of hurdles to cross, more certification, especially from European and American agencies and that is a hurdle. Even the Chinese, as developed as they are, cannot get the certification, and even the Japanese, Honda, couldn’t get certification from those established carriers, so we don’t need to go to difficult terrain.”
Ohunayo also stated that the past administration also made such a statement without coming to fruition.
“And the immediate past minister came under attack for saying he would create an aircraft manufacturing company before leaving office in Nigeria, and that failed; we don’t need to go that route again because it’s not a priority.
“If it’s a military aircraft, you don’t need certification; you can build whatever you want and call your client to come see if they feel about it and use it because it’s not civil.
“But, what the company wants to build is aircraft components, which I support. Even Morocco and South Africa are manufacturing aircraft components and not aircraft,” he said.
An aviation analyst and former commandant of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd) said It was not the business of any government to establish an aircraft manufacturing industry or MRO.
Capt. Ojikutu said the main concern of governments globally in civil aviation is oversight of the operations and the enforcement of the national regulations in line with international standards and practices.
He argued that those in the administration of government and the management of the agencies should leave the aircraft manufacturing industry, non-aeronautical services, MRO, and national flag carriers to private enterprises or in partnership with PPP.
“We talk more about inconceivable projects that monies are spent on for years, and there are no results. Is it time for us to talk about aircraft manufacturing companies or industries and MRO when technical support is not available or when we are still planning to set up colleges for aviation technology?
“It is going to be 30 years now that our plan for a new national carrier has not evolved. Neither have we had capacity or capable airlines as flag carriers to compete with the foreign airlines on the BASA routes. We are building more airports than we can hardly sustain their operations and management,” he lamented.
