The Managing Director, Starburst Aviation Limited, Capt. David Olubadewo, understands the Nigerian aviation sector like the back of his hand. In this interview with ABIOLA ODUTOLA, the former youngest pilot in Nigeria, who started his career at the age of 18, blamed commercial banks and labour union leaders for the ailing state of the aviation sector, as he proffers solutions for its revival. Excerpts:
How will you assess the Nigerian aviation sector?
Aviation in Nigeria is a very difficult business, because the environment is unfriendly. I won’t say it is because the government has not provided an enabling environment and will not also say that is because there are problems. It is not something that has to do with this government.
Before former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan’s administrations, we have been facing challenges in the sector. I think the Jonathan administration is the most aviation-friendly government that we ever had in the history of Nigeria, probably because of the crashes we had, that made the administration to look at the industry, a little bit more than others. But the problem has not being providing money for the industry but execution.
For instance, if a bank gives Mr. X money, it doesn’t say because he requested for $5 million and you should release such fund without supervision, milestone requirement or fall back.
Do you mean the sector lacks required structure?
The industry has always been given a bad name in that light. It is not that we don’t have resources of people to fix it, but there are different aspects that have been compounded over the years. That is why we are where we are today. We have lots of very qualified people, there are lots of engineers in the United Kingdom and United States who are Nigerians. We have people that are over qualified, but we lack the skills to execute right policies to grow the sector.
Who is to be blamed for that?
Government, banks and union leaders have their own bit to do, but one must work in tandem with others for it to work. Banks believe that aviation is too difficult to invest in, but that is wrong, because it is not different from other sectors. We are all in it to make profit at the end of the day. I don’t obtain loans from Nigerian banks, because I will end up with -25 per cent loss, but that is not happening in UK where I pay 3 per cent interest rate. If I take such loan in Nigeria, it means I am -28 per cent (interest rate) in red and by the time you get to the top, you are owing millions. I cannot approach any of the banks to give me local money to do business in Nigeria.
Where did we missed it?
Here, we castigate investors in the aviation sector. We have forgotten that those people have invested immensely in the sector and they will never let it die. To an extent, we run down our economy with our mouth, but in the UK, they always say good things about the economy, even when it is in debt. We are not giving credit where it is due. In the last 13 years, we don’t appreciate what we have, we have a hub here that is waiting to be tapped. From anywhere in the world, you can get a flight to Lagos, but you can’t get such to Ghana from anywhere in the world, and that is an indication that we have a hub in Nigeria.
You said the union leaders also share part of the blame. How?
Irrespective of what you sell, we are all in business to make profit. I am not a friend of labour, because I believe in collective bargaining. But union leaders in this country are basically operating for themselves and not in the interest of the common good of the common man. I am not a union person, because I am a conservative. I believe the government cannot do everything for us. Union should intervene on realistic basis. An industry is failing and union is asking for more money. Where will the investor/owner of the airline get the money from?
Banks believe that aviation is too difficult to invest in, but that is wrong because it is not different from other sectors. To an extent, we run down our economy with our mouth, but in the UK, they always say good things about the economy, even when it is in debt
Are you exonerating the owners of the airlines?
No. The industry is failing and I agree that the managements have issues, but where were the union when it was going wrong? I see a lot in the airlines, I cannot own an airline and you expect me to be driving a rickety car, and if I buy a car worth N50 million, union will begin to shout. There is responsibility of the owners to think about their workers, but I don’t understand how they cannot pay salaries. You might not believe it, but it has happened. They fly around, but can’t pay salaries, because they started with -25 per cent interest rate as they have collected loans from banks. Unions are part of the problems of the sector, as they are not being proactive. In the UK, there are no rights and wrong, we fix issues and start looking for the rights and people get punished. I don’t believe anyone of the investors are stealing their own money.
But in the case of Aero, there were allegations that the former owners diverted some funds to some people. How would you react to this allegation?
That is absolutely wrong. We are not telling ourselves the truth. Aero has been operating for 50 years and it is not possible for it not to have debts. Anybody who is operating a genuine business must have a debt, if you don’t have a debt, then you are part of the corruption market and you are not doing the right thing. You must have debt, profit and expenses, because that is what the business is all about. However, the unions have a right in Nigeria to either approach airlines, when there is an allegation of fraud or go to court. They should not use it to clout what the problem is, the problem in Aero has nothing to do with diversion of funds, but lack of loan repayment structure on the part of the receivership manager.
Some foreign airlines are threatening to leave the country due to the safety measure introduced by the government. What is your take on this?
Safety is a very crucial factor to be considered first in the aviation sector. Runway cannot be managed and a temporary one cannot be put in place, because all runway must meet the international standard. I suggest we support the government and move from Kaduna as suggested.
