Captain Oladele Ore is often described as an encyclopaedia on aviation matters in Nigeria having being around the sector for over 60 years. He is a seasoned and an accomplished pilot, who commanded the presidential fleet from 1976-1979. He was a director of flight operations between 1984 and 1986 and a two-time Chief Pilot of the now defunct Nigeria Airways. The octogenarian in this interview with SHOLA ADEKOLA, speaks on different industry issues ranging from the state of the sector, the hey days of Nigeria Airways, the plan to float Nigeria Air, the need for aircraft maintenance facilities in Nigeria, among others.
WHAT do see to the reason not to have established an MRO?
It is a shame that those in charge have since been contented with flying aircraft to Europe or the U.S. for maintenance. Those with oversight of aviation ought to have shown interest in how or where maintenance is done. And this is another major reason for losses. Flying aircraft out for maintenance keeps your profit graph on the floor. What you can do in a local maintenance base either in Port Harcourt, Oron, Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, or anywhere else within the country, we refused to provide.
For me, rather than establishing an airline, the priority should have been a maintenance of facilities. At this stage in the history of aviation in Nigeria, we ought to have attained mastery in various aspects of maintenance with the different hangars laying claim to expertise in one or two aspects of aircraft maintenance.
Can you dwell more on this?
Like having a hangar with mastery in fixing challenges bordering on wheels or brakes. And those with that challenge go nowhere else. Another MRO with specialisation in mainframe, another renowned for engine repairs, will each attract clients to benefit from a comparative advantage in quality service and in cost that will reflect the economy of scales. MROs with known different specialisations will inspire healthy competition. This is good for the real growth and development of the aviation industry in Nigeria.
Obviously, it seems more capacity is needed to cope with the existing demand for air travel in Nigeria, do you think having national carriers and more flag carriers will be out of place?
What we want now is a concerted effort to lead, and collaborate rather than unhealthy competition. I am very happy that Ibom Air is doing very well. Dele Ore, Engineer Obadofin, Aeroconsult had hand in Ibom Air as a startup Airline. I am happy with that company. If the federal government is smart enough, it can buy over Ibom Air and rejig it to begin operation anew, as a national carrier perfectly. Moreover, the hangar in Akwa Ibom/Oron is the best in Africa. The acquisition of Ibom Air will be the game changer and will also hasten the actualisation of the people’s desire for a national carrier. Such a move no doubt will be a masterstroke, a game changer. A perfect fit.
How will the search for expatriates and competent indigenous manpower be conducted?
Nigeria has the manpower, capacity, and capability to float a national carrier exclusively Nigerian, which will be very successful without inviting anyone, a group, or an airline to come and run the airline for us.
For students in the management school yearning for practical knowledge from experts in the game, what structure would you suggest for such a startup?
If you are establishing a national carrier, I will not be happy that you are even starting with five aircraft. You must start with 20 aircraft. You don’t need all of them at the same time. Boeing is always there for us. They want business in the Middle East and in Africa and especially, Nigeria is such a beautiful bride that can attract the full presence and unimaginable support from Boeing.
Would that not come at a humongous cost in this era of scarce foreign exchange?
I don’t know how much has been spent so far on the proposed national carrier. But I’m convinced that, if half of what has gone into the hullabaloo of establishing a national carrier, is spent was deposited to Boeing, I assure you there would have been delivery at least of one aircraft per annum and this can run year-round and by now since the hues and cries started, we would have been counting some numbers of equipment.
How cumbersome is it to establish an airline?
In the business of setting up an airline, not all the ceremonies witnessed now are necessary. And I don’t think that because you are having an airline, you must be able to fly both locally and internationally. The regulatory authority would want to see your performance and structure for the domestic operations as satisfactory and later, the approval for the international would follow a few years afterward.
What type of induction is needed to ensure personnel deliver on the mandate of profit-making and sourcing the training needs of such personnel?
The airline management shall be charged to know that the aircraft must pay their way and even make a profit. And this will also assume we have a solid MRO for these aircraft. The manpower needs cannot be a problem at all because if we decide to take the commercial operation to the moon, we have competent Nigerians to administer the project effortlessly. The management that knows its onions should be put together a structure. And we know how to source staff training needs without much ado.
Can you react to allegations of your involvement in the demise of Nigerian Airways?
My question for them is what exactly is their grouse against Dele Ore and some of his contemporaries like Bara Allwell-Brown, Why the concoction of error by mentioning us as the culprit for the demise of Nigeria Airways? Laughable, they even think that Dele Ore, Allwell Brown, and a few of us still remaining are part of the problems.
I make bold to say that they should look elsewhere. Wise people know that Dele Ore has never been part of problems but a bulwark for solutions.
An adage says: when a child stumbles, he looks ahead of him, when an adult stumbles, he looks back to identify what caused the fall in order to avoid or prevent recurrence. What caused the demise of Nigeria Airways?
Any discussion about Nigeria Airways brings very, very, bad memory and I feel so bad about it. People know the kind of bitterness I have about it. So when they discuss or plan anything as a substitute, they don’t consult me. It’s a shame we don’t have a national carrier. Decades have gone by, we were very proud that Nigeria Airways airlifted Nigerian troupes, sports teams, and special missions to their destinations.
When the aircraft landed, the crew must file out to be seen. And people were always astounded that no white person was among the flight crew. If you want to cancel the shame of the nation when our athletes, national sports teams, or other special missions travel without the national carrier, it’s a big shame. Even the soldiers when they arrive at their destination often look like a ragtag army when they arrive in twos, threes, and mini-batches like that.
How will you describe the liquidation of Nigeria Airways by Olusegun Obasanjo?
There is something missing. Either government was misadvised or misdirected, and Nigeria Airways was liquidated and there were many liabilities like pensions being serviced and suddenly government liquidated the company and threw the workers into hopelessness. The monthly pension stipend ceased suddenly without minding the fate of those who had put in the better and most vibrant part of their lives into Nigeria Airways, nothing came the way of retirees, and those relieved of their jobs. Nigeria Airways is my priced asset. My retirement and pension ceased, we must talk about it.
