I never had phobia for air travels until private airlines firmly took over the space after the total collapse of the Nigeria Airways in the mid-90s or thereabouts.
The Nigeria Airways’ safety record was comparable to other international airlines like the British Airways, the Dutch KLM, Lufthansa, Air France and even Aeroflot. Within the continent, airlines like South African Airways, Ghana Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, Kenyan Airways and even Air Zimbabwe ruled the air along with the Nigeria Airways for decades until the Flying Elephant which was its symbol finally crashed in 2003.
My favourite airline was the Nigeria Airways while flying out of the country. Where I could not fly back with the defunct national carrier, the other foreign airlines listed above usually came handy.
Let me share one of my experiences with the Nigeria Airways planes. My destination was London at the invitation of the SUN Group of Newspapers. It was at the peak of the Gulf War in 1991. I was to connect my flight coming from Lagos at the Aminu Kano International Airport. It was my first time of flying in Boeing 747 with a capacity to seat more than 400 passengers! When I boarded the aircraft and saw the sea of heads already seated, I almost changed my mind.
Before then, I had been used to flying in smaller planes. Nevertheless, I summoned up courage and inched my way to my seat. Curiosity took over me as I began to wonder how the jumbo plane would get off the ground with the massive crowd I saw after the Kano passengers had taken their seats.
Then, it was time to depart. The aircraft taxied off the tarmac and headed for the runway. I had my seat as usual which was by the window overlooking one of the massive wings. Till date, I am always fascinated by the functions of the outboard and inboard ailerons as well as those of the outboard and inboard flaps when the plane is in the process of landing. Noise and vibration coming from the wings always marvel me.
In the 70s, most of the planes assigned to domestic routes in the fleet of the Nigeria Airways were propeller driven Fokker Friendship products. In the mid-70s, the flight fare from Jos to Lagos and back was (wait for it) N100! In the 80s, return ticket to London via Lagos would shock you… only N800! You better believe it! This is not “fabu”. That was how strong the naira was. So strong it was that the BTA or Basic Travel Allowance pegged at N1,000 would fetch a whopping 800 pounds or $2,000! Those were the halcyon days that can never return until thy kingdom come!
After the collapse of the Flying Elephant, many private airlines emerged in the space. Among the early flyers were Kabo, Chanchangi, Al-Barka, Sosoliso, Bellview, Nocon Air, Aero Contractors, ADC and Okada (not to be confused with commercial motorcyclists), with over 33 aircraft in its fleet which was the largest in Africa. Today, most of the planes are rotting away at the Benin City Airport. The aircraft in use were of Tokunbo status. I flew in one of them from Jos to Lagos in the early 90s or thereabouts, accompanied by all manner of rodents and cockroaches… what further proof did I need to convince me that the plane could be a flying coffin?!
Occasionally, we ran into potholes causing the plane to move as though you were sieving “alubo”. Although the flight lasted for about an hour, I had never been so scared in my several years of air travels.
After that experience, I had a rethink about flying in private planes. My rethink was justified by the frequency with which private planes were freely dropping from the skies like birds’ faeces, killing people. The one I will not forget in a hurry involved a private plane that crashed in Kaduna that claimed the life of one of my good friends and the public relations manager of the Jos Steel Rolling Mills Ltd, Mr. Tanimu Ogbole. Until recently, plane crashes became so frequent that I began to wonder at the manner of planes that were thrown into our airspace or whether the operators had signed a contract with death to depopulate the country of its prominent citizens.
One of such crashes involved the DANA aircraft that claimed the lives of some high profile Nigerians. The plane was a few minutes to landing when it ploughed into a Lagos suburb in June, 2014.
Permit me to recall the emergence of an airline that reminded us of the moribund Nigeria Airways. It was named Virgin Nigeria, later renamed Nigeria Eagle, and bought by Jimoh Ibrahim. The airline held so much hope for the restoration of a “national carrier” for the country. But alas, it failed virginity test and flew into oblivion!
Airlines such as Max Air, ARIK, Azman, Med View are currently ruling the space with safety records reminiscent of those of the Flying Elephant. Although the safety records of most if not all the airlines have been excellent, I had always been cautious about air travels until lately when I had to enplane to Lagos because of the assignments that took me there. And my experience on each occasion was very pleasant.
The almighty corruption, mismanagement, nepotism, cronyism and Nigerian factor were responsible for the grounding of the Nigeria Airways. The mentality of ‘government enterprise is nobody’s business’ was the last straw that broke the airline’s fusillade: free domestic/international tickets to relations, buddies, mistresses and even acquaintances.
The last time I checked, President Muhammadu Buhari was said to be under pressure to perform the ultimate miracle of bringing back the national carrier from the dead.
What actually informed this piece were the pictures of national carriers of some lesser African countries like Air Zimbabwe, Kenyan Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Ghana Airways that are vibrant in the skies which I saw on the internet a couple of days ago, while all that remain of the almighty Nigeria Airways are relics if you see them.
