Professor Itse Sagay SAN, former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), has attributed the collapse of the defunct Nigerian Airways to widespread indiscipline and gross mismanagement, warning that any attempt to revive a national carrier must avoid the same pitfalls.
Speaking on the fate of the once-thriving airline, Sagay in a chat with our correspondent lamented what he described as the “Nigerian tendency of abusing opportunities and institutions placed in our trust,” which, according to him, eventually crippled the national carrier, reports Daily Independent.
“I can’t understand why we don’t have a national carrier. We used to have one called the Nigerian Airways,” he said.
“However, the usual Nigerian tendency of abusing opportunities and things we have been put in trust of killed that airline. The people running it turned it into a personal institution which they abused.”
Sagay alleged that officials of the airline routinely misused its facilities for personal gain.
“They travelled on it freely with their girlfriends, family friends, and also flouted its operational laws such as sticking to departure time. They wouldn’t allow the plane to depart at the right time because one big man who was supposed to go with it was not ready,” he said.
The senior advocate noted that such misconduct and wasteful practices resulted in severe financial losses and operational inefficiency, which eventually led to the airline’s downfall.
“To put it in one word — great indiscipline governed the operations of Nigerian Airways and before you know it, the airline gradually lost its aircraft one by one. They also lost money and couldn’t maintain the existing aircraft. The indiscipline was so great that they could no longer sustain the airline and it died slowly until it was finally put away,” Sagay added.
While supporting the federal government’s renewed plan to establish a new national carrier, Sagay cautioned that unless the issues of corruption, mismanagement, and indiscipline are decisively addressed, history may repeat itself.
“If the federal government wants to establish a new national carrier, it is a good idea but I hope indiscipline will not destroy that effort,” he warned.
