The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has claimed that Nigeria’s airspace is one of the safest in the world as commercial air transportation in the country has not recorded one single death in over seven years.
Speaking on Thursday at the second interactive session organised by the Air Traffic Controllers/Pilots Forum, the minister said that regardless of what international bodies like the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) say, commercial air transportation in Nigeria has not recorded a single death in the last four years.
Sirika, who was represented at the occasion by the Commissioner of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Akin Olateru, urged all aviation agencies to collaborate and ensure that this record is improved on.
“The early years of the aviation industry were filled with trials, errors and sacrifices but today however, gold is the standard and over the last few years, commercial aviation in Nigeria has increased tremendously. How did we do it? Since the beginning of this administration, there are four elements that we have been focusing on the infrastructure, equipment, human capital and systems processes and procedures.
“Anywhere you are in the world, even if you are running a bakery, you need to focus on those elements because if you score less than 70 per cent in each, you don’t have a hub. You may have a fantastic infrastructure but if you don’t have fantastic equipment or if your human capital is not up to date or you don’t have a procedure on how to do things, you don’t have a hub. This has been the focus of this administration.
“All aviation agencies are focused on their core mandates. The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should focus more on the infrastructure development of the airport that is why are talking about the Abuja and Enugu runway, etc. The Nigerian Air Management Agency (NAMA) is about navigational aids and about radio and instruments that should be their focus. AIB should focus on accident investigation and making sure that the reports are out on time and the safety recommendations can stand the test of time and can be implemented. There is no point coming up with safety recommendations that cannot be implemented. Together, we can make this industry much better.
“A lot of successes have been recorded since the beginning of this administration. Today, we have one of the best aviation safety records in the world. I don’t care what the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) says, Nigeria’s airspace is one of the safest in the world today. The facts are there. In the last seven years, commercial air transportation in Nigeria has not recorded one single death. How many countries in the world can lay claim to that fact? This is why today, Nigeria is one of the safest places to be in terms of air transportation. But we need to work harder and collaborate, there is no other way to it,” Olateru said.
THE SUN
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