USA Africa Dialogue Series - 32 Tweets: Why Nigerian Airways should stay mothballed - and why #History should return to our classrooms

 

Chxta Bee makes excellent points why the Nigerian Airways should remain mothballed - and why history is so sexy. Kai:

@Chxta: 1/ A few weeks ago, the President announced a committee to look into reviving Nigeria Airways #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 2/ Since then, some of his supporters have gone to town about how wonderful and profitable it could be for Nigeria #HistoryClass...

@Chxta: 3/ Today on #HistoryClass, we will be breezing through the rise, and the demise, of Nigeria's national carrier

@Chxta: 4/ A lot of today's #HistoryClass comes from newspaper archives, some of which is investigative work by @nicholasibekwe

@Chxta: 5/ Nigeria Airways started as West African Airways Corporation Nigeria (WAAC Nigeria) in 1958 with Nigeria as majority owner #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 6/ The defunct Elder Dempster Lines and BOAC held the remaining 49% of the shares, and BOAC were the airline managers #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 7/ Naturally, the first international route was Lagos-London, which was operated by a leased plane owned by BOAC #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 8/ Shortly after independence, WAAC Nigeria became the flag carrier of Nigeria and then, the government took sole possession #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 9/ The airline expanded fast, 5 new aircraft and new routes, Abidjan, Accra, Banjul, Dakar, Freetown and Monrovia by 1963 #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 10/ Gradually, starting from 1964, BOAC withdrew from operations, and Nigerians ran the airline more and more on their own #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 11/ Nigeria Airways' first crash was on 20/11/1969, a VC10 plane arriving in Lagos from Kano, killing all 87 people aboard #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 12/ By 1970, the airline had 2200 staff, 8 planes, with London, Frankfurt, Madrid and Rome and West African destinations #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 13/ In 1971, a Boeing 707, leased from Ethiopia, entered service to replace the plane which crashed two years before #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 14/ In 1972, British involvement in running the airline ended as Nigeria signed a management contract with America's TWA #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 15/ Fleet expansion continued, and by the end of 1978, Nigeria Airways had a total of twenty aircraft, mostly from the US #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 16/ The agreement with TWA ended in early 1979, and by September of that year, KLM were the new managers of Nigeria Airways #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 17/ During the 7 year period of TWA's management, Nigeria Airways suffered FIVE plane crashes killing a total of 194 people #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 18/ By the end of Shagari's reign, Nigeria Airways' debts were more than revenues, there were 500 staff for each plane #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 19/ When @MBuhari took over, 9 of its planes were unserviceable, 17 were flying, and there were 8500 employees most idle #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 20/ Buhari ordered the airline to reduce the number of employees and routes as a cost-cutting measure. It didn't work #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 21/ By the time Babangida came, another 1000 jobs were cut, and by 1988, with huge debts, most African routes were culled #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 22/ Staff salaries were left unpaid, and staff resorted to, err, self-help, pilfering what they could to sell #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 23/ By 1997, Nigeria Airways had only 3 planes, and had been banned from most Western destinations over safety concerns #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 24/ When Obasanjo took over in 1999, efforts were made to revive the airline, including leasing a plane from Air Djibouti #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 25/ Djibouti? We were such bad managers, and debtors that only Djibouti agreed to lease a plane to us! #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 26/ So, why did Nigeria Airways collapse? #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 27/ @NicholasIbekwe did excellent work on the demise of our former national flag carrier #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 28/ Every contract given out between 1997 and 1999 when Jani Ibrahim was Managing Director was found to be fraudulent #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 29/ But the biggest damage done to the airline was by Mohammed Joji who misappropriated a total of $31 million #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 30/ Not ONE, of the people who were indicted by Justice Nwazota Commission of Inquiry set up in 2002 has faced justice #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 31/ Nigeria Airways was a very good example of why the Nigerian government should be banned from running business #HistoryClass

@Chxta: 32/ I urge the government of @MBuhari not to waste everyone's time with this venture. Today's #HistoryClass is over.