There is no doubt that the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika must by now be faced with the reality that whatever has a beginning must have an ending as his tenure comes to an end on May 29, 2023, a date which signals the end of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government which appointed him to manage the sector.
As expected, the minister, while in office, tried his best to further lift the sector from the position he had met eight years ago through some policies he implemented which either impacted the sector positively or negatively.
Among such positive achievements the sector recorded under him include the entrance of more domestic airlines despite the devastating pandemic which forced many airlines and other aviation businesses to go under across the world, the decision to dabble into international aero politics by paying back the UAE authorities in their own coin for working against Air Peace and the Nigerian air travellers, having in return banned Emirates airlines from coming to Nigeria. This singular effort shored up the image of the country and sent a signal to other hostile countries.
Other positive strides include the certification of some airports, the upgrade of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport runway, infrastructural upgrades in some airports including the commissioning of the new terminal building at the Lagos airport though with defects, the installation of the ground airfield lighting systems at the domestic runway 18 Left at the domestic wing of the Lagos airport, 15 years after its absence, and the release of intervention funds as COVID-19 palliatives to the airlines and other aviation allied businesses and many more.
Unfortunately, the style engaged by the minister in running the affairs of the sector has ended up playing up the negative impacts over the positive moves.
It is no longer news that one of the major grouses most key players have against the minister is his penchant for ignoring germane inputs from the different stakeholders while taking decisions that will affect the entire sector.
Besides calling the bluff of the stakeholders, the minister is known to keep cogent information that would have helped in making most of his proposed projects widely acceptable to himself.
This individualistic nature of the minister is the bane of the controversy trailing most of the projects he had proposed to execute, for as good as such projects are meant to be they have ended up running into a brick wall.
Among such controversial projects that have been kicked against despite the good intentions behind them are the national carrier, Nigeria Air, project and the concession plans of some airports.
As good as the two projects would have been, the minister again bungled it having failed to carry all stakeholders including the airlines, the unions and the different professionals along.
This style of governance of the minister is responsible for the different litigations being pursued by those who could not withstand the attitude of the minister in law courts that are presently rocking the entire system.
One of the major undoing of the minister, which has continued to generate criticisms, is his utmost disregard to the civil service rules viz-a-vis the rules guiding the principles of progression based on merits.
This again brings to the fore his continuous refusal to put in more efforts that should lead to the confirmation of the appointment of the present Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr Matthew Lawrence Pwajok, who has been in acting capacity for almost two years.
Keeping the NAMA MD in an acting capacity despite his professional expertise without any tenable reason by the minister and the National Assembly is also one of the minuses of the outgoing minister.
To many people, since the competency of the NAMA MD has not been faulted by anyone, keeping him in the same position for almost two years for example, is responsible for the spirit of low morale permeating the different agencies even when lesser qualified individuals get speedy promotion.
Since the minister has not found the Acting NAMA MD wanting in the line of his duties, keeping him perpetually in acting capacity even towards the tail end of the government that appointed him contradicts the rules of appointments and engagements.
According to the ‘never too late’ adage, the minister can still rewrite this injustice by prevailing on the National Assembly to urgently confirm the NAMA MD unless he has other reasons for his action which should be made known to the public since his appointment was made known to Nigerians.
In sounding spiritual now, the minister should apply God’s position that says “Greater is the end of a matter than the beginning thereof” by using his last days in office to appreciate the good works of the Acting NAMA MD.
