by Sola Kuti
So, President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted on establishing a national carrier, an airline for Nigeria similar to the defunct Nigerian Airways.
I think it is a terrible idea for the Nigerian government to dabble into this territory.
No Nigerian government has managed a successful fish and chip shop or pure water factory, talk less of an airline.
Why can’t the federal government just support a giant carrier to emerge and regulate it properly.
I wish to suggest that the FG invests in Aero and Arik. A merger of the two struggling airlines and making the emergent giant the national career, wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Is it by force that Nigeria must own an airline?
Is British Airways a government owned airline?
Let’s look at the British Airways model, via Wikipedia:
A British Airways Board was established by the United Kingdom government in 1972 to manage the two nationalised airline corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways, and two smaller, regional airlines, Cambrian Airways, from Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines, from Newcastle upon Tyne.
On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. After almost 13 years as a state company, British Airways was privatised in February 1987 as part of a wider privatisation plan by the Conservative government. The carrier soon expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1987, followed by Dan-Air in 1992 and British Midland International in 2012.
British airways is currently owned by International Airlines Grouo IAG.
Is American Airlines a government owned airline??
Wikipedia says: The former parent company of American Airlines, AMR Corporation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2011, and in February 2013 announced plans to merge with US Airways Group, creating the largest airline in the world. AMR and US Airways Group completed the merger on December 9, 2013, with the new holding company American Airlines Group, Inc. being listed on NASDAQ that day, and the two airlines received a single air operator’s certificate on April 8, 2015.
Somebody, please explain to Baba.
Sola Kuti (SK) is a new age politician, a serial entrepreneur and social justice crusader with a passion for children. He has been a member of the PDP for 12 years. Connect with him on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
