By Capt Bala Jibrin
His Excellency,
May I start by paying compliments to you in this holy seasons of Eid-El-Fitr and the soon to be Easter!
May you enjoy good health, wisdom and the strength to steer the ship of state to the right course.
Most kindly, excuse my choice of an open letter means of reaching you as I’ve no other option than this mode. I thank you for the anticipated understanding and recognition of my predicament.
2.0 The subject matter of my letter is the many wrongs going on in the aviation sector. As the president, you have done your part by appointing a Minister to administer the sector as your representative in that sector. However, you will see shortly, and after going through my letter, that the Hon. Minister in-charge of the Ministry of Aviation is undermining your government by omission, commission, infractions and breaches to the Acts/Laws of the Federal Republic and the Constitution of the Federal Republic.
3.0 Find below, serially, such infractions the wrong doings to your government and the pains inflicted on more than half the population of the country. I believe strongly, and firmly too, that the Minister’s action have no blessing from you; neither were details of the consequences of the actions explained to you in the way I present them below for your digestion, understanding and the expectation of remedial actions from the highest office in the land; the Executive Office of the President, and C-in-C.
3.1 The Balkanisation of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria.
This is the Africa’s Premier Aviation training Institution, established by an Act of Parliament in 1964, with the name Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Centre, NCATC. It commenced operations in 1965. Funding and technical assistance were made to the project by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO and the United Nations. Development Program, UNDP. Effectively, the College as it is today is celebrating its 60th Birthday.
The college is made up of 6 schools; namely,
1. The Flying School
2. The Air Traffic Control School
3. The Engineering School
4. The Aeronautical Communication School
5. The Aviation Management School
6. The Emergency and Safety School
The 6 schools are all interfacing with each other none of them is a stand-alone unit.
For instance, all trainees for Air Traffic Controller must first obtain at the minimum a Private Pilot License. This is to enable the Controller to understand first-hand what a pilot can do or what he cannot do at a given phase of a flight. It is common knowledge that air accidents do occur at close proximity to airports when the pilots are in full contacts with the tower controller. These are at take-off and during landing. This shows a symbiotic relationship between Flying School and the Air Traffic Control School.
The Engineering School teaches would be engineers and technicians as Airframe, Power plant and Avionics mechanics. The engineers of the school also maintain the aircraft used by the student pilots on regular maintenance or repairs due faults discovered while in operations. Here, the student engineers have a lot to gain by the availability of the training aircraft the student pilot take their flying lessons with. This provides practical trainings whenever the aircraft are in the hangar for regular and fault tracing and fixing. It is not enough to be taught theories or demonstration by simulators or dummy engines at the workshops, it helps when the hangar is open with aircraft under regular or specific fault fixing and repairs.
Here again, symbiosis is established between the Flying School and the Engineering School.
The Emergency and Safety School is the mother of all. In everything aviation, safety is numero uno. Emergency procedures are drawn for Airports, Airlines, ATC, Hangars, even concessionaires are drilled an emergency and evacuation courses; the Technical Crew, Cabin Crew on flights are drilled regularly on safety and especially emergency landings, and evacuation.
This is to say every trainee has to take lessons from the Emergency and Safety training school.
Finally, the Control Tower at the Zaria Aerodrome used to control air traffic is also used by the trainee students of ATC.
3.2 A little over 40 years ago, I was privileged to serve my NYSC at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Training Centre, Zaria, as it was then known as.
I obtained my first degree in Flight Technology and my second degree in Air Transport Technology from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL.
I took my flight training from the same Institution; so also my Flight Engineer and Aircraft Dispatcher Certification.
On coming to the school in Zaria for my NYSC assignment, I discovered a lot in common with the facilities in my US University and what was in NCAT, Zaria. As a matter of fact, the Piper Aztec-F Aircraft deployed at Zaria is the same exact model of the Aircraft I took my multi-engine airplane training with in the U.S.A.
This established NCAT was in a good stead to deliver aviation education and training to Nigerians and other Africans. I also noticed the equipment and gadgets especially at the Flying School, the ATC School and the Engineering School were fixed to the floor of training rooms/laboratories. Consoles were fixed especially for controller positions and the Radar Training simulators as well.
About 2 years ago I visited NCAT in search of training facilities for fire fighters for a state owned Airport. I was conducted around the training facilities. I saw a simulator for the fire fighting training. It was what I saw on display at fire fighting equipment exhibition held at Hanover, Germany a few years earlier. It is the size of an F27 Aircraft with one side holding a jet engine on the rear end of the fuselage just like MD80 or the F-28 and on the other using a turboprop Engine with a propeller just like ATR-42 the Q400 or the Donnier 228, fixed on the wing.
Hostel and boarding facilities in the college are very adequate.
Intake of students is highly regulated by the standards of NCAA as recommended by the ICAO SARPS. An Instructor is only allowed not more than 3-4 students at a go. The annual intake into the Flying School does not exceed 40 students.
This is to allow for a person student and the Instructor. person close relationship between
Additionally, there is large expanse of land to allow for physical training of all categories of students and especially the fire fighter trainees.
The weather in Zaria is in-between the intense rains of the southern states and the extreme harshness of the Northern States; the Harmattan haze and fog is at minimum as well as the hot temperature which tempers with density altitude on the runway; limiting Aircraft performance.
These are the reasons why 70% of all flight training schools in the USA are domiciled in the State of Florida where the weather allows for flight training 300 days of the year. Zaria is Ideal for flight training.
From the foregoing it is empherical that the intended splitting of the NCAT to the 6 geopolitical zones is ill motivated and a politically wrong decision. The Hon. Minister has the law school in his mind whereas the 2 entities are not the same. Malaria cannot be treated with anti-acid. Mr. President, please rescind the decision and allow the college to remain where it is and celebrate its 60th birthday at home.
4.0 The Airstrip at a Church premises granted to a Bishop by the Hon. Minister of Aviation.
The Hon. Minister is ministering the aviation sector on behalf of the President for the benefit of all Nigerians. In the Oath of Office he swore to I am sure there’s a clause that emphasises “to do right to all manners of people without fear or favour and discharge my responsibility for the good of all”.
Mr. President, the site of the Airstrip is along the Lagos – Ibadan expressway, not too far away from Isheri, Ogun State, where the Lagos Airport VOR is situated; the LG (Lima Golf). That LG is the site where the Navigational Aide called VOR is stationed. It is the site of holding pattern where arriving aircraft to the 2 parallel runways of the Murtala Mohammed Airport are staggered in ascending altitudes making rounds in a rectangle known as holding patterns for sequential landings at both runways. Then there’s the Ibadan Airport. The air distance between Lagos and Ibadan is about 50 nautical miles only. In between Lagos and Ibadan is the new Ogun Cargo Airport in the Odugbolu axis. The Minister has now given approval for the establishment of a new Airstrip is this already chocked up environment. There’s what is called Airport Traffic Area in respect of every Airport. In this instance the existing 3 Airport Traffic Areas have overlapped. The introduction of a 4th Airstrip in the same corridor is but a disaster in the waiting. Especially this Airstrip is in the hands of non-state actors. Airport/Airstrips in the hands of non-state actors are very dangerous gambles with National Security, safety of air navigation and air traffic control in the busiest corridor of the Nigerian Airspace.
Besides, there’s not a study made public of the extreme need and urgency for the grant of this permit to an individual to operate his jet into the Airstrip. Only God knows what will be arriving into and out of this Airstrip. The NCAA that is supposed to police the affairs of our aviation sector as an unbiased arbiter, regulator and enforcer of rules and regulations has been compromised by the same Minister in appointing all 11 directors of the NCAA from the same faith as the donee of the right to establish the Airstrip.
Mr. President you are the No. 1 citizen of the land. You have over 200 million people as your constituents. You have an enormous responsibility throughout the Federation; and additionally regional dictates saddle you with the headship of the ECOWAS. Yet you drive from the villa to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for your departures and upon return you ride back to the villa by road. That’s how all the 36 states governor’s do. Some of the State Governors have to travel to neighbouring states to fly out. The Oba of Lagos drives to Ikeja for his flights. The Sultan goes by road to Sir Abubakar International Airport, the Ooni of Ife has the longest road with potholes and patches to arrive Ibadan for his flights. The Etsu Nupe has to drive to Minna from – Bida and at times to Abuja in order to fly out. The Shehu of Borno has to fly from Shehuri to Bulunkutu in order to fly out to Maiduguri Airport.
Why must the Bishop fly out for his Church?
Mr. President, only a few years ago, a reverend flew out of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, with the sum of US $10M in the baggage hold of his private jet. Only to be arrested and detained at a South African Airport. With all the security and detection tools at the NAIA, Abuja, no one detected anything foul with the $10M Cargo.
Imagine Mr. President Sir, if it were the Sultan, Shehu of Borno or the Emir of Bauchi that was caught with the $10M raw bank notes, and that the white man with the reverend was an Arab or worst still an Iranian or Pakistani; would the said story be forgotten! No, that story will still be mentioned by a section of the media in Nigeria. Mr. President, Sir, an Airstrip in the hands of non-state actors must not be allowed. Let’s look at this simple analogy sir. We need a 1600Km road network to drive to Maiduguri from Lagos. This will take anywhere between 2430 hours of driving, rest, food, fueling stops & more. However, all that is needed is a 2km stretch of a runway and an aircraft would take off, fly for 12 hours and lands in New York or Washington DC; in 10 hours to Brazil or India. This is how dangerous a runway/airstrip can be. The National Security is compromised so also the safety of the Citizens. Anything can be taken out and anything can be brought in without screening or checks. We have at the moment many unguarded and unfenced airstrips dotted all over the country that is what the Minister should worry about.
Back to the US $10 million; everyone knows what $10M cash is for. It is for no other use than purchase of weapons, arms and ammunition, payment for mercenaries to cause mayhem in a section of the country or for money laundering.
Mr. President, more than anyone else, you know of the numerous churches in the area under reference Cele, RCC, Glory Land, Sat Guru Mahraj, NASFAT, etc. if for any reason these organisations apply for a permit to establish an airstrip, they must be listened to. A dangerous precedence has been established. According to Prof. Y.Y Bambale, “Do not start something you cannot finish”.
How I wished the minister reminded himself of the provisions in the ICPC Act, where it says giving unearned, underserved, unqualified grant of a public property or rights to an individual or organisation is an offence under the Act and an appropriate punishment was equally prescribed for such donor.
5.0 The appointment by the Hon. Minister of Aviation of 11 directors of the NCAA, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority – All 11 from one faith.
The NCAA is the heart and soul of the Aviation sector. It is the Regulator and Enforcer of Rules and Regulations and Compliance with ICAO SARPS. Every agency of government in the sector defers to the NCAA. The DG NCAA in Aviation matters has superior authority than the Minister of Aviation. All operators of airlines, tour operators, state owned airports and aviation training schools all defer to the NCAA.
5.1 The Minister met the NCAA with 8 directorates and chose to expand the directorates to 11. He handpicked all 11 Directors without adverts, and that is not up to half of the 11 directors came from within the system. There was no interview. All 11 directors selectively and personally appointed are Christians.
Whatever happened to provisions of the Federal Character Commission Act? Was the Chairman of the FCC informed? Was there compromise from the Chairman of the FCC? Or was it the case of “Business as usual”!
Mr. President Sir, certainly without doubt, the Minister has erred. He has breached the principles of morality, sensibility and sensitivity at once. He has also breached his Oath of alliance to the Federal Republic. He swore on the Holy Scripture and made worthless what he swore by in the exclusion of Muslims from NCAA Management. I am certainly convinced that you know nothing about this blunder. Mr. President, the buck stops at your desk. Bring in the remedy as quickly as you can, please. The minister assumes docility from the injured as a sign of weakness. Be it known to him that the reaction of the oppressed need not to be forcibly invited. We understand further, that a list of 18 training Coordinators has 17 Christians and 1 Muslim. Meanwhile, training of staff is top most priority in the annual budget of the NCAA.
Aviation Ministers from 1984 that I know of from Real Admiral Koshoni in 1984 when I joined the Nigeria Airways as a Pilot, on to central Jerry Useni, AVM Okpere, Alh. Bunu Sherif, Alabo Tonye Douglas, Engr. Wale Ige, Wole Gdeosun, Bashir Dalhatu, Aremu Yahaya, Ebenezer Babatope, AVM Nsikak Eduok, Acmdre. Ita Udo-Ime, Capt. Ben-Briggs, Segun Agagu, Mrs. Kema Chikwe, Mall. Isa Yuguda, Prof. Borishade, Mr. Femi Fani Kayode, Mr. Felix Hyat, Babatunde Omotoba, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze, Mrs. Stella Oduah, Mr. Osita Chidoka, Sen. Hadi Sirika non has desecrated the constitution, Acts of the National Assembly and the laws of decency and morality the way the current minister wrecked in 18 months.
Finally Mr. President Sir, I submit hereby for your consideration and most urgent attention in view of the very sensitive nature of the infractions carried out by the Hon. Minister’s action of commissions and omissions. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing personal about it. I felt duty bound to so write as I’ve been an aviation sector practitioner for over 45 years. I am senior enough to say the truth to power. I chose not the option to be silent. Silence is cowardice in this case.
It is my hope you find this letter worth the while.
Wishing you the very best, now and always.
Capt. Bala Jibrin writes from Gidan Gona, G R A, Bauchi
