Mr Uzoma Nwagu is readers delight when it comes to talking about aviation industry and its development in Nigeria.This seasoned and enterprising aviator has being around for almost four decades and still counting. Having worked for both government and private organizations, his journey into the aviation industry if you ask me was not a suddenly flight.Prior to this time, he was the Director of Operations, LTT Cargo and Aviation Services Limited, where he held away as the man in charge of operations before he eventually established Excel Cargo and Aviation Services Limited in 2015.Since the formation of the company which thrives on three principles: Honesty, dedication and hard work, the organization which has provided employment opportunities for many Nigerians across divides has continued to grow in leaps and bound. Suffice to say that Excel Cargo and Aviation Services Limited is licensed by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), to render wide range of aviation services especially landing and overfly permits to various airlines operating in and out of the country.
The Excel boss recalled that, days were gone when lots of airlines operated into Nigeria compared to this time, Nigeria as a country lacks a national carrier which he said stimulates every growing economy. The aviation industry he said is not growing at the rate it should, compared to the population of the country and high mobility rate of the people. He advocated that the players in the industry should be given the necessary oxygenation by way of incentives and support from the government to reassure Nigerians that the authorities are keen to rewrite the wrongs of the past in the industry. Asked what can be done to replicate the old good days, he said; “Policy formulator in the system should borrow a cue from other counties that are doing well like Ethiopia and few others. The development of the industry should not be on the pages of newspapers. It’s no longer fashionable for anyone traveling outside the country, for example from the South East to travel all the way to either Abuja or Lagos. It tells you where we are looking at our population.
There should be functional international airports in all the geo political zones to reduce the sufferings of the people especially these days there are lots of uncertainties on the road”Reacting to the question on the sudden deaths of local airlines, the Excel helmsman advised that operators in the system should understand the nitty gritty in the system before throwing their hats in the ring. He explained that aviation is capital intensive industry and that, it will not be good for people to invest their hard earned money in an unfamiliar terrain which was the situation in the past given the unfortunate demise of so many airlines in the past that was also in quick successions.While calling on holders of different operating licenses in the industry to play according to the rule of the game, Nwagu also advised upcoming aviators to go for the knowledge first adding that, the Nigerian aviation industry is yet to be tapped fully and that will happen when professionals and technocrats finds their way in the system, laced with transparency in service procedures.
