- Flays ethnic nationalism as Nigeria’s bane
The Chairman of Air Peace, Barrister Allen Onyema says local investors do not benefit from the ease of doing business in Nigeria as they face multiple statutory bottlenecks which stifle their growth.
He equally stressed that businesses, particularly airlines, do not lack capacity; but lack government support and ease of doing business.
Onyema made these statements in an address he delivered on August 28, 2023, at the Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association held in Abuja where he also said the practice of ethnic nationalism has slowed Nigeria’s development.
Speaking on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, Onyema said the the country is not serious about encouraging indigenous investment especially when those supposed to provide conducive environments are leading the charge to kill them.
In his words: “We are not serious in this country about encouraging indigenous investments. How do you grow your economy when local investors are being treated with levity and envy by their own ministers? How do you grow your economy when indigenous investments are overtaxed?Â
“These same investors are providing jobs for the populace. How do you grow your economy when people in government see you as an enemy, a rival, because they are beclouded by whatever sentiments they believe in, thereby making business difficult.Â
On capacity he stated, “Air Peace has about 14 million USD stranded in the Central Bank Nigeria. It is not hidden. We also have about 15 aircraft stranded abroad. After, people will say Nigerian airlines lack capacity. They do not lack capacity; what they lack is truthful government support and ease of doing business.
“Do you know the amount this country spends on aircraft maintenance through its airlines? Air Peace alone in 2022, expended 78 billion naira on maintenance and these funds went to foreign countries. How can local investments grow like this?”.
The Air Peace boss went on to recount how he applied to run a maintenance hangar in 2015 after paying over 100 million naira to FAAN to lease land at the Lagos Airport but added that Air Peace is yet to get the land eight years after.
He said: “As I speak to you, we are yet to get that land. We are the largest carrier in West and Central Africa and the fastest growing airline in Africa. Yet we do not have a maintenance hangar. Not because we do not have funds to build one. If we had been given the land to build the hangar, by now, Nigeria will have an MRO they will be proud of, and this will attract foreign investments because other countries will come here to maintain their aircraft”.Â
Onyema equally mused on what he described as Ethnic Nationalism stating that it is one of Nigeria’s Bane.
According to him, the issue of regional and tribal nationalism as one of the major banes besetting the Nigerian state and remarked that attaining nationhood with that kind of mindset is impossible.
“It is only when we start fighting for each other that we can have a nation. What we are doing now is fighting against each other which is the bane that has stunted our development. It is not good. Nigerians are fighting against each other instead of fighting for one another. Until we fight for one other, there may never be nationhood. We need to fight for one another”, he maintained.
Stressing the need to embrace broad nationalism and eschew tribal sentiments that have snail paced the nation’s development across various economic fronts, the aviation cognoscente and lawyer said the Tinubu-led Government should imperatively come up with policies and action plans to unite the country.
