Finally, year 2024 has announced itself, thus bringing to an end 2023, a year full of sufferings and economic hardships which exempted no sector of the country’s economy.
Both the private and public investors particularly with focus on the aviation sector will never forget in a hurry the tough experiences which became worsened by so many unfriendly policies that reached the breaking point by the end of the immediate past year.
The hardships that confronted the sector like others in the outgone year of course were majorly inherited from the immediate past government whose representative in the sector in the person of the immediate past minister of aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika foisted so many uncomfortable policies most of which rather than propel the advancement of the sector, ended up dragging back its fortunes.
By the time the present government which came into power on May 29, 2023 appointed Festus Keyamo as the minister, the entire sector had been deeply battered and struggling for survival following the model adopted by the former minister to run the sector in the eight years he superintended over the affairs of the sector.
The spillover effects of the mis-governance became manifested in the various aspects of the sector ranging from its undue politicization, as witnessed by the loose employment/recruitments that brought in to the different agencies less qualified and inexperienced personalities in a most questionable manner.
Those brought in with little or no knowledge about aviation by the minister were placed above even the higher qualified personnel who had grown through the career progression in line with the civil service rules.
Besides the total abuse of the civil service rules in line with engagements, other numerous shenanigans that took place in the sector before the coming of the present minister included: eight years of absence of board of directors for the agencies, the shameful packaging of another national carrier, Nigeria Air which though took the then minister eight years of waste of public funds to put together but sadly ended up in a fiasco.
While the negative impacts of the unpopular policies dragged down the sector including the businesses of the major players like the airlines, agencies, ground handling companies, concessionaires and other allied businesses, the workers at the different agencies of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) already had their morales dangerously lowered in view of the injustices meted to them because of the questionable recruitments that undermined their career progression.
The lowered morales of the workers were however lifted when Keyamo was appointed as the next minister for obvious reasons, mainly attributed to his background as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria with special interest in human rights principles.
The hope of the aviation workers was very high with the belief that he will use his tenure to right the many wrongs perpetrated by his predecessor particularly in the area of controversial recruitments/employments and overdue promotions.
Little wonder that when the minister removed and replaced the Chief executives and the directors across the agencies, many believed that he must have learnt one or two things from the misdemeanor of his predecessor, but unfortunately from all indications this notion may be farther from the truth, no thanks to the ongoing controversial appointments and employments most of which followed the pattern of the last minister.
Presently, there is an ongoing apathy amongst the workers across the agencies following the similar pattern of appointments adopted by the former minister which has greatly contributed to the crisis rocking the sector.
According to information making the rounds, amongst those newly appointed in one of the directorates of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), is a 2014 graduate who has been placed on grade level 16 as deputy general manager, the level that took some people between twenty and twenty five years to attain.
In one of the agencies, some workers have been thrown into depression in view of the controversial appointments that have been carried out with absolute disregard to the the civil service diligence.
One of such appointments that has been described by key players as a wrong step is the appointment of a personnel who having retired from the system has again been brought back as general manager on contract at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
Bringing somebody who had earlier retired as a general manager on contract when there are many who qualified for the same position in the system, according to key players is capable of discouraging workers who are looking up to their promotions.
The appointment letter issued to the general manager in the NCAA has directed him to coordinate all activities in the administrative department of the agency accordingly.
The controversial appointments which are not limited to one agency but cut across others, have further dampened the morales of the workers with many expressing their displeasure with the system which rather than correct the injustices of the past years, have only continue to deepen the already damaged situation.
All is not well in the sector no thanks to what stakeholders described as an attempt by the minister to bring into the various agencies political loyalists to displace the better qualified and professionals who having been well trained on the jobs and merited such positions.
While all hands are on the deck to see how far the minister intends to go with the illegality, the body language of many key players towards the drama can be likened to someone sitting on a keg of gunpowder which may boomerang at the end.
While the minister or the government have the right to help those who contributed towards their success during the last elections, it is however expected that helping such people should not be allowed to kill the system.
Any attempt not to exercise caution while carrying out these so called appointments may damage the many years of hard works put in to earn the present highly recognized position amongst the global aviation community.by the same professionals being denied the rights to grow through the career progression.
Appointing an inexperienced 2014 graduate as a deputy general manager to head better experienced and more qualified just because of politics is inimical to the growth of aviation and this has remained the bane of the sector.
