...Says Lack Of Collaboration, Consolidation Will Slow Pace Of Aviation Devt.
The Chairman, Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria (AGHAN), Mr. Olaniyi Adigun,has called on aviation agencies especially the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to provide empirical data to enable existing and prospective investors carry out proper economic planning in the industry.
This just as he advocated for the organisation of the Nigerian Aviation Submit where issues affecting the industry would be addressed.
Adigun, who argued that without collaboration, consolidation and emperical data, the Nigerian aviation industry would continue to lag behind spoke as one of the panelists at the 28th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) with the theme: ‘Aviation Survivability Amidst A Challenging Macro-Economic Environment,’ held in Lagos at the weekend,.
Adigun lamented that the Aviation has not be taken as a critical business compared to the seriousness given to in developed climes
He pointed out in Nigeria aviation businesses do not with each other.
To buttress his point, he said that as it today, airlines don’t use one another’s tickets as done in other climes, calling on the aviation sector take a cue from the financial sector in the country, which had evolved with collaboration, consolidation and partnership.
The AGHAN boss gave example of banks where customer of bank A can use its debit card in bank B’s ATM to carry out financial transactions but that in the aviation sector ,airline A will not allow airline B to use its tickets on airline B.
Adigun explained that with the skyrocketing rate of Dollar against the naira, it was evidently clear that no organisation or airline could go it alone.
He warned that without partnership, businesses in the sector would continue to collapse.
“It is not rocket science that the industry is at where it is today; the dollar is rising against the naira. We all need to know that aviation is business and when we talk about business, we talk about profitability, data collections. How do we sustain the Nigerian aviation business? We need to have an economic summit where we open the doors to investors; we need to open up. What are these challenges facing us? This is very important. We cannot continue to standalone.
“Secondly, are we trading among ourselves? We are not! I can have an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card of a particular bank and use it in another bank’s ATM machine. If I book for instance with Aero Contractors, can I use it on Air Peace? We don’t have such a close relationship. We need to collaborate among ourselves.
“Yes, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development can advocate for dry leasing and not welcome wet leasing, but the fact is are the operators doing business among ourselves? There is the need for us to look inward, collaborate, consolidate and stand together,” he said.
On lack of adequate data to carry out proper economic planning, Adigun wondered why this had become a herculean task to achieve despite the array of agencies in the industry.
According to him, government agencies in the sector release different data to investors, stressing that without empirical data, the Nigerian aviation industry would not witness the expected development.
He called on government agencies, especially the regulator, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to emulate its counterpart in the financial sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), by spearheading the release of accurate data for the industry as it would enable existing investors and potential investors to plan ahead in their businesses.
According to him, ” I was very happy when someone spoke about data. You can’t do business without data. The CBN forecasts in the banking industry and it can tell you the growth or diminish rates in the sector, but, who is doing that in the aviation industry?,he asked.
“How do we get the data? And without data, you cannot do business at all. It is good for us to look inward and talk figures. Aviation is about business. What you sell is about air safety and security,” he added.
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