Leadership (Abuja)
Capt Daniel Omale
20 June 2008
column
Kaduna — By 6:00 am on June 4th, 2008, I was on my way to Abuja from Kaduna to catch the 9:00am Aero flight to Port Harcourt. I arrived at Abuja airport at 8:00am to secure a ticket for the flight.
Boarding did not start until 9:30am, and we eventually took off for Port Harcourt at about 10:00am. The delay was not what I consider offensive, but the inability of the airline to convey a simple message on the passenger address system in the airport to intimate all the passengers that the flight would be delayed for 20 minutes, even if we were lied to, about the reason for such delay. The lack of courtesy towards paying customers shows the irresponsible attitudes of airlines operating in this country and, for an airline like Aero, considered to be the most professional in the industry, this signifies what to expect from other airlines struggling to keep professionalism within their reach.
Lagos to Kaduna bound passengers have suffered similar fates in the hands of Chanchangi airlines with over an hour delay on regular scheduled flights to Kaduna in the evening. Other airlines in the country treat customers similarly with remote apology, if any, for flight cancellation or delays. For many years, this callous operational norm has been our way of life, where the service provider feels "unique and supreme" above those responsible for keeping the business alive. This barbaric and unethical behaviour can only exist here in Nigeria, where everything operates in reverse. This jungle-type philosophy, devoid of any rational reasoning can only be condoned in a region where competition is non-existence and passengers are at the mercy of the airlines, which is what we have today. The Airline Operator of Nigeria (AON), the associative umbrella of the airlines, where strict ethical, operational and professional issues are supposed to be guarded uniformly, is as stagnated as the industry itself. But who cares? Who can make the change and, who has an alternative to air transportation in Nigeria since the rail ways died many years ago?
With the arrival of the Global Satellite for Mobile (GSM), many us would have thought that traveling would reduce drastically with improved communications, but GSM subscribers are also at the mercy of the providers. One can hardly communicate on any of the networks for five minutes without call drops or distortions, while the paid air time flies off to the zero units' level. This is the rat race being experienced in this part of the world, where marginal survival is at the will of the very few.
Business ethics, courtesy, and customer satisfaction are not determined by legislation, but by share competition where competitive environment prevails. Airline business, no matter the number of airlines in Nigeria, has never been that competitive whereby an airline will introduce a service oriented initiative that could lure more patronage to its business. When Bellview, Sosoliso and ADC airlines crashed a few years ago, passengers quickly switched to other airlines that were not sanctioned from flying at the time. They did not care if the airlines departed on time or not, just to get to their destinations was the most paramount. Nigerian passengers would travel with any airline any time, even if their self pride is relegated to the minimum because, alternatives are nowhere to come by. Realising that Nigerian travelers would accommodate any level of humiliation, even foreign airlines treat us like dirt and would be very sure of full load of scrambling passengers on the next trip to and from Nigeria. It is very hard to explain where this level of tolerance originates in our behaviour and ultimately our perception of abnormal situations as normal rhythm of life.
Air carrier responsibilities, which are easily observed everywhere, are neglected and submerged below the dust here and no one can challenge the system. No wonder Nigerians can only vote during an election, but cannot enforce their votes to determine who rules them. Whether this is an acceptable way of life, or a survival mode, we are derailing a system that can foster discipline in our society, where future generations could follow with pride of human dignity sustained by rule of law, ethics or moral credit.
The plight of Nigerians radiates in every facet of our existence in this country. To get a vehicle number for a newly acquired car in Nigeria is like climbing Mount Everest. There are more touts convincing you that number plates are finished in your state of residence than those who are actually working in the department of motor licensing office. The road safety corps officials rely heavily on the touts to generate undeserved money by selling the plates 400 times the regular price. As a desperate car owner wanting to observe the law, the choice of keeping the car at home numberless and paying exorbitantly for the plate number does not exist. This negative phenomenon that has been in practice for years is acceptable to Nigerians without a single complaint. The vehicle plate and other relevant papers are most times fake, but this is the most acceptable way of life and we endure and endure till eternity; by and large, dwindling the integrity of being a human being in a supposed "legal society."
The rising tide of fuel prices has also given the airlines rooms to exploit in addition to being rude to the passengers, but the airlines are not to blame because the responsibility of guiding the welfare of Nigerians lies with the government. While other countries are striving hard to curtail sufferings experienced as a result of the rising fuel prices, our government has said nothing towards alleviating this scourge and every day, domestic airfares swing higher un-assumed. If the trend of rising fuel prices continues, an hour flight between Abuja and Lagos could cost N30,000 before December and, with upward tendency.
Our government should engage in critical analysis of how to subsidise aviation fuel through deliberate involvement to stimulate economic growth. With domestic air fare on the rise, other factors of economy will also rise exponentially setting spiral boomerang effect on the society. Government must encourage aviation prospects by encouraging airline business through direct government support in financing, operations and legislation. Our airlines are overburdened with charges that are passed on to the traveling public, who are also submerged in economic recession of highly inflated living costs and survival necessities.
Going back to the issue of the airlines, it is very disheartening to note that since the crash of Bellview, Sosoliso and ADC between 2005 and 2006, many of the victims' families are yet to be paid insurance compensations. I have been a witness to one of the meetings arranged by the Senate Committee on Aviation to resolve the issue, but nothing concrete was arrived at. The issue still lingers and despite the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority's (NCAA) director general to force the airlines to comply, there was no resolution adopted. This, in any sense, is unacceptable anywhere else, but Nigeria. It may sound surprising to know that on a typical flight within Nigeria, 98% of the passengers on board are the bread winners in the family, and to lose such passengers without a single compensation from the airlines, especially the minimum regulated of about N12M, shows how lawless and irresponsible our airlines are which, to me, is a reflection of the entire society called Nigeria.
We are fully in support of the new guideline of N50M passenger compensation pay-out that will soon come into play. The guide line must involve payment through the Central Bank of Nigeria or any other commercial banks, but not the airlines that have also defied regular payment of mandatory legislative fees to the regulator, the NCAA.
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