Captain Edward Boyo, Managing Director/CEO Overland Airways says the problems of Nigerian airlines are caused by Nigerians themselves.
This is just as he said if the airlines must succeed, the hostility towards the domestic carriers must stop.
In his contributions to the discuss on theme: “Short Lifespan of Nigerian Airlines, The Importance of Corporate Governance” organized by the Aviation Round Table Safety Initiative, ART, in Lagos, Captain Boyo stressed that Nigerians have never given the domestic carriers the support and respect they deserved rather, they talk down on them at every given opportunity.
“The problems with civil aviation in Nigeria today is not an individual, it is the collective environment we have created for our airlines to operate, we are so hostile to the airlines, we talk them down at every opportunity, talking down the airlines has become the public entertainment, it must stop”.
He said the environment had become so hostile to the extent that they throw foreigners on their faces touting them as the best and singing their praises to high heavens, adding that the time is now for Nigerians to wake up, recognize, respect and support Nigerian airlines.
“If you cannot praise the Nigerian airlines as would praise every other global player then forget it, go by road, go by train or walk through the jungle to get to your destination. I stand here today, to demand respect for the airlines, the challenges Nigerian airlines have are caused by the Nigerian people, you don’t give them an environment to survive, you don’t, at every opportunity you pull them down, you praise Ethiopian airline, you guys go to Ethiopia, go and leave there and fly Ethiopia airline to Nigeria every day and come and work, so if you are a Nigerian, from today onward, you must recognize, respect and support Nigerian airlines”.
Boyo emphasized that the issue of Virgin Nigeria being an excellence in corporate governance was a lie as the airline failed woefully despite all the corporate governance it was said to have possessed.
“I do not agree but we can make that as reference about Virgin Nigeria had all the corporate governance you had some people come together and they made mistakes that were so obvious that they did not see themselves. Let us not talk about social fraudulence because Virgin Nigeria itself was an affront to the Nigeria aviation professionals, what did they come to do here? what do they want to do here that the people in this room cannot do.
From day one, despite all the corporate governance, it was designed to fail, so when it failed it did not surprise us. Why would you take your international terminal and hand it over to a foreigner, when your own people are in the same business, what is the meaning of that? And they think we will sit down and allow it? And they create a hub? The hub will be created by Nigerian airlines at the right time”.
Source: newsbulletinng.com