Chidoka’s Soaring Profile

Osita Chidoka

From the Federal Road Safety Corps to the Ministry of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka is one of the promising leaders of a new generation Nigeria, writes Ojo M. Maduekwe

The principle of federal character as enshrined in the Constitution was considered in the appointment of the immediate past Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Nigeria Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Osita Chidoka, as the new Minister of Aviation by President Goodluck Jonathan. But more importantly, competence was unquestionably the overriding factor.

Since the new dawn some 15 years ago, Chidoka, the tenth in line of Aviation Ministers that Nigeria has had, starting from the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and now Jonathan, can be said to be the only one whose appointment has the semblance of career elevation.

Chidoka is coming from the FRSC, which technically is a parastatal under the Ministry of Transportation but can also be grouped under the same transportation sector with aviation.

He could be said to be treading on familiar terrain, unlike his predecessors: Ousegun Agagu, Kema Chikwe, Isa Yuguda, Babalola Borishade, Femi Fani-Kayode, Felix Hyatt, Babatunde Omotoba, Fidelia Njeze, and Stella Oduah.

Appointed into the FRSC in 2007 by President Obasanjo, at the age of 35 years, Chidoka boasts a record of being the first person to have headed the Commission at such a young age. And over the years, he has proven that performance is no respecter of age. Under his watch, the number of road accidents was reported to have dropped drastically.

He introduced into the FRSC, the practice of continuous awareness programs for road users, ICT to enhance successful patrol operations, establishment of modern communication centres, deployment of phones to capture offenders, workforce increment from 11,000 in 2007 to 19,000 in 2014, and capacity building for the corps personnel.

Given his achievements in road safety and the push for a better road infrastructure at the FRSC, a lot is expected of Chidoka.
The touted achievements of his immediate predecessor, Oduah, means that he would have to assert himself and build on her achievements, some of which were uncompleted at the termination of her appointment by President Jonathan on Wednesday, February 12, 2014.

Handing over to the Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, Dr. Samuel Ortom, Oduah, in a speech listed her achievements during her two and a half years stint to include, an aviation master plan; reconstruction and remodelling; commencement of new terminals; institution and capacity building; safety and security, and the noble idea of a Perishable Cargo and Aerotrolis.

“Using the Master Plan and Road Map, we were able to reconstruct and remodel all 22 federally-owned airports across the country. We also commenced the construction of five new international terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano. We also introduced the Perishable Cargo and Aerotrolis concepts to drive the growth and development of not only the aviation sector, but also the Nigerian economy.

“Construction of the cargo terminals has commenced across 16 airports across the country while modalities have been completed to kick-start the Aerotropolis project. We also carried out institutional reforms, built the capacity of NCAT to produce enough professionals both for the local aviation market and for export.

“My greatest satisfaction comes from our accomplishments in the area of safety and security of the Nigerian airspace. We were able to procure, update and install safety-critical infrastructure that has repositioned the sector to achieve our objective of zero-accident rate in the Nigerian airspace,” said Oduah.

For the former minister, her greatest achievement could have been in the area of safety and security but for former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the concept of a perishable and agro cargo terminal was greater.

At the inauguration of the international terminal of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Sanusi remarked: “Stella has spoken about a cargo airport for perishables and for agriculture. Now, for me, as an economist and as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, that is the most important and visionary step that the Aviation Minister has taken.

“Airports are not just to carry human beings from Lagos to Kano; it is not just there to make travel easy and comfortable experience for individuals… This is really a great opportunity for opening up an entire population and linking them up to the markets. So that the idea of agriculture airports and airport for perishables and airport for dry crops is an idea that recognises that airports are parts of the economic development of a region.”

For Chidoka, a safer and secure air transport system and an industry that can be made more economically viable should be of keen interest to him. Already, a safer and secure transportation system is something Chidoka understands. For those who followed him during his time at the FRSC, safety was an anthem. While at FRSC, Chidoka never stopped seizing opportunities to talk about the need for Nigeria to be more road safety conscious.

At a forum, he once made a case for Nigerian and African roads. “Africa in its present state presents a major challenge to current global efforts to increase safe road use due to the poor state of its road infrastructure. This could be attributed to the lack of a maintenance culture and the substandard quality of road construction in most African countries.

“Let me point out that the global drive towards the improvement of the quality of lives in Africa through the instruments of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will only increase road fatalities if the current road infrastructure is not improved upon.

“Therefore, we believe that foreign investments in Africa must adopt a holistic approach that underscores the need for a transportation system that guarantees safety, livability and a sense of community. I have no doubts in my mind that safer roads and diminished fatality index ratios will remain a mirage for Africa if its Governments are not made to appreciate the imperative of increased investments in the area of road infrastructure and furniture,” maintained Chidoka.

At the aviation ministry, unlike the FRSC, Chidoka’s work is half done. Wherein he complained of a disinterested government when it comes to investing in road infrastructure, Chidoka would not have to worry over that at the aviation ministry.
At the same forum, Chidoka said in contrast, the aviation sector in Africa presents an interesting comparison to the road sector. “It attracts higher government attention due to robust international conventions, elite interest and the international capacity to promote pilot training, certification, aircraft inspection and engineering.”

Funding may not be Chidoka’s problem as aviation minister but, maintenance of the industry’s infrastructure could be.
For starters, some of the reconstruction and construction works began by Oduah appear to be crumbling. An instance is the Yola International Airport, described by Oduah as “comparable to any terminal anywhere in the world,” but which remains to be utilised due to its caved rooftop.
According to industry experts, quality infrastructure construction, in partnership with the private sector, should be a priority focus for Chidoka.

According to a report in THISDAY, ‘Home Truths: the House Stella Oduah Built’, the airports are in dire need of maintenance. Sometimes the ventilation system is poor that passengers help themselves with hand fans.
Also, the airports, like many businesses in the country are powered using generating sets. There have been instances of blackouts in the airports. On February 18, 2014, there was a blackout at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, which reportedly lasted over an hour, the THISDAY report stated.

Chidoka should also consider important, capacity building of personnel working in the parastatals under the aviation ministry, such as Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigerian Metrological Agencies and Nigeria College of Aviation Technology.

Many people would also suggest that the immigration officers be included in the capacity building drive. In the THISDAY article, the writer narrated an experience: “At the Lagos airport, the immigration officers were stamping 2013 in people’s passport as they were departing last month. You’ll want to know how I found out. I went through the immigration officers without having my passport stamped on Sunday. They took my passport from me and returned it. When I returned to them after the officials of Virgin Atlantic I boarded to London discovered that I didn’t have my passport stamped, they called it human error. Isn’t that embarrassing enough?”

With a sector as important as the ministry of aviation, a lot is expected of Chidoka. But judging from his performance at the FRSC, not a few people believe that Chidoka would perform by addressing many of the challenges bedevilling the ministry, by initiating new ideas, and building on the existing achievements of his predecessors.