Stakeholders call for more funding in aviation sector
By Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo, Lagos
Industry players have called on government to encourage investors to ensure the survival of the aviation sector by sinking funds into the system.
Chief Executive Officer Topbrass Aviation limited, Capt. Roland Iyayi and Chief Operating Officer of Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo made these known in separate submissions at the 23rd annual conference and award ceremony organized by the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) with the theme: “Boosting aviation investment through policy.”
Speaking during the panel discussion at the conference, Chief Operating Officer Dana Air, Mbanuzuo said investors need certainty to sink funds into the aviation sub- sector, further stating that they need to understand the thrust of government in terms of policy.
According to the Mbanuzuo, policy somersaults has been a major cog in the growth of the industry and has also deterred investments as it makes investors wary, especially when there is no clear cut direction.
Mbanuzuo talked about his time with Virgin Nigeria and how a change of government wrecked the airline causing investors to pull out their funds.
” Someone comes in and puts a policy that might favour the industry and when he leaves another comes in and changes it all. Investors like certainty, people want to know what happens in two years time, in five years.
“Bringing in a new person should not mean the policy should change. Policies must be codified so no matter who comes in, he or she tows the path and continues instead of changing things around.”
Speaking on the same track, the Chief Executive Officer of Top Brass Aviation, Capt. Roland Iyayi posited during an interview that to grow the aviation sub-sector, there has to be a deliberate and consistent policy geared towards ensuring that the airlines who are the primary players in the industry can actually survive.
According to him, most things happening were reactive and that policies were meant to be proactive and predictive of situations with a view to addressing them when they arise.
He said that “essentially, what I said is that to grow aviation there has to be a deliberate and consistent policy geared towards ensuring that the airlines who are the primary players in the industry can actually survive. Unfortunately, like I said most of the things we do in the industry are borne out of knee jerk reactions. Something happens, we react, rather than been proactive.
“When you put a policy framework in place, it is assumed to be proactive because you are looking at the issues and you are proffering solutions by way of articulating a chart of course that you want to chart, to say this is the part we are going to thread over the next number of years to be able to see that we can grow a particular segment or segments of the industry and stay consistent with it.
“Not to say we have done it for few weeks and then say it is not aligning with what we want, so we change it. If you have inconsistencies you can never see the benefits of any policy you put in place. And I think that is the major thrust of all I have said. We have had policies in the past, not that we have not had, but we have never had them see the light of day more or less.”
He surmised that government and its parastatals must stay consistent, calling on the government to look at and focus on the issues, put a framework in place to address those issues and allow the industry enough air to breathe so it can grow.
