Open letter to the Minister of Aviation

I opted to use this medium instead of seeking a personal audience to discuss this subject of serious national importance. This pertains to our nation’s capital and the economy, as well as the inconveniences it will create to every passenger flying in and out of Abuja. Information about the intended closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe […]

I opted to use this medium instead of seeking a personal audience to discuss this subject of serious national importance. This pertains to our nation’s capital and the economy, as well as the inconveniences it will create to every passenger flying in and out of Abuja.

Information about the intended closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the only gateway on air to the nation’s capital, has been widely circulated. According to the information, the airport will be closed for a period of six weeks, from March to mid-April, 2017. The reason for the planned closure is to rehabilitate the only runway of the airport; hence airline operators have been directed to relocate to Kaduna. 

Inasmuch as the planned rehabilitation is important, the authorities should have considered the inconveniences and danger it would cause thousands of passengers. Some of the questions we need to ask are: Is there any provision of logistics to support the airline operators in Kaduna? Are these airline operators willing to relocate to Kaduna for a period of six weeks? What about the cost of this movement and its resultant effect on passengers? Did they consider the logistics of transporting Abuja passengers from Kaduna by rail as I am made to understand?

My suggestion is that the minister should explore a more convenient option of managing the rehabilitation of the runway in such a way that flight operations would not be hugely disrupted. It is a fact that several other countries did the same thing without celebrating a closure of their runways for 24 hours. Those countries demanded working plans from their contractors, which entailed a 10-hour schedule that ensured the completion of a certain length or section of the runway, such that by the time the last flight arrived or departed, the airport would be closed for the day and the contractors would work till the following morning when flight operations would resume. 

With this arrangement, a win-win situation would be achieved while all forms of inconveniences would be eliminated. 

Has the minister thought of a situation where the government finds it difficult to release fund for the completion of the work on schedule and the contractor has opened up the entire length of the runway? Would the Abuja airport remain closed forever?

We need to look at all options and avoid taking dangerous actions that would lead to regrets. We have witnessed a situation where rehabilitation of terminal buildings was abandoned and passengers were ushered into temporary tents. Also, rehabilitation of roads was abandoned and they became worse than they were before the contracts were awarded because the contractors chose to scarify the entire length of the roads to get quick payments. And the commuters were left to bear the brunt. 

The minister’s attention needs to be drawn to the above facts before the entire country is pushed into a bottomless pit. I hope my plea would be considered for necessary action. Thank you very much. 

Engineer Mustafa Bello