State of Digital Journalism: The Media Business Is, And Will Be, Just Fine

No, not another “future of journalism” post!

It's become something of a regular trend to put the media industry under a microscope and ponder where things are heading from where they've been. Some say journalism is on an unstoppable decline that won't end well. Others say we're entering a new golden age of news.

And depending on the perspective you take, both arguments could be correct. But where some see this decline in the traditional journalism model, I see the emergence of exciting and innovative organizations that will power the industry in the digital and mobile age.

In order for this long-term vision to fully come to fruition, though, here are some of the changes established media organizations have to follow and the moves many younger organizations have already taken to stay ahead of the game.

Mobile Is the Future, But the Future Is Now

A late-2013 report from Pew Research Center revealed that 64 percent of tablet owners and 62 percent of smartphone owners said they got their news on their devices. These percentages are only going to increase as mobile broadband proliferates across the world.

For Mashable in 2014, roughly 45 percent of our traffic comes from users on tablets and mobile devices. We prepared for this mobile user growth by launching a responsive website in December 2012, which I'll get to below, but other media companies can set themselves up for future success by investing in their mobile strategies.

Other great examples of organizations that have invested (or are investing) in mobile-first strategies are Quartz, The Boston Globe and Circa -- which was originally founded as a mobile-only news organization.

Building Sites For All Shapes and Sizes

I wrote a piece on Mashable in December 2012 when we first launched our responsive website. In it, I wrote, "Media companies like ours are seeing a major shift in the consumption habits of their audiences." At the time, 2012 marked the first time since 2001 that PC sales were projected to be lower than they were the previous year.

It was a prominent sign of the major changes to come. While some media organizations welcomed these changes with mobile apps, we worried about the issue of building for multiple app stores -- in 2014, Mashable is accessed monthly by roughly 5,000 different devices.

Responsive web design was the route for us as we wanted consistency and a fully-functional site that worked equally well on every device. But outside of Mashable, there are some sites that have developed fantastic mobile websites -- Wired is an example -- or excellent mobile apps -- I recommend the Breaking News app.

Making News Accessible Whenever, Wherever

Email newsletters. Push notifications. Smartwatches. Smartphones. Tablets. Mobile apps. Second screen. Live streams. Video hangouts. Flipboard. Pulse. Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Vine. Snapchat. Instagram. Google+. StumbleUpon. Pinterest. And this could go on and on.

The ways users are accessing content outside of the traditional website (or print product) are continuing to grow and become more diverse by the day.

A recent study of 2,000 U.S. adults showed that more than 60 percent of people use at least two devices each day, and more than 40% use at least three devices. Of those who use at least two devices, more than half of them say they start a task on one device and finish it on another.

This study highlights the push toward not committing to one platform or social network. For the media organizations that will see the greatest successes in the future, being effective across many platforms, networks and devices is imperative.

Investing In People

There have been more stories in recent memory about the declining job market in the news industry than about the growth of the space. Many legacy media organizations have had to drastically cut staff numbers as they try to pivot in this new media economy.

The media companies that are disrupting the space today were able to approach the industry as lean startups in some ways early on in their existences and could make iterations quickly when analytics or user feedback dictated it.

Today these organizations -- the Voxs, the Vices, the Mashables of the industry -- are doubling down on people. There's much to be said of the great benefits of technology, but having high-quality people talent who can not only do excellent reporting work, but can also find creative ways to tell and share a story, is absolutely crucial, and the real differentiator.

Mashable has been following this line recently with some of the major hires we've made on our editorial team -- most notably, our Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer Jim Roberts. We have been ramping up our hiring efforts (Yes, we're hiring!) as we plan to expand to new coverage areas and locations.

We recently completed our first-ever capital raise, and much of those resources will go to quickly, and responsibly, building our editorial powerhouse.

My enthusiasm for the present and future for Mashable and for the media industry is the highest it has ever been since I started in the business in 2005.The competition is fierce, but welcomed as it will push every organization to find new and creative ways to create brilliant work.

Some may say the proliferation of technology has made the role of media organizations less important. On the contrary, I believe our job is more important than ever, and the ways that we deliver this content today will influence how a global society will share information for generations to come.

I am excited for Mashable and the other disruptors in this industry to lead the way.

Uganda Holds Suspected Ebola Passenger From Nigeria

Uganda Holds Suspected Ebola Passenger From NigeriaEbola Passenger From Nigeria

Ugandan Ministry of Health officials on Monday placed a female passenger from Nigeria with the deadly Ebola-like symptoms at an isolation unit at the country's Entebbe International Airport, a spokesperson said.

Rukia Nakamatte, the ministry of health spokesperson told Xinhua by telephone that the samples had been taken from a female passenger who travelled from Nigeria to Uganda for testing at Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, 40 kilometres south of the capital Kampala.

"The passenger was stopped as she arrived at the airport. She was showing signs of fever like Ebola. We are waiting for the test results from the research institute for confirmation," said Nakamatte.

"We have put all the necessary precautions to handle all the suspected cases and any confirmations," she said.

This is the second passenger to be put in isolation unit and tested for Ebola in the East Africa country following the current outbreak sweeping Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Uganda has suffered Ebola outbreaks in the past, similar to viral haemorrhagic fevers like Marbug, Crimean Congo and Yellow Fever.

Ebola is a highly infectious disease spread through body contact with an infected person. It presents with high fever, bleeding, diarrhoea and red eyes among other symptoms.

SUICIDE BOMBER NOT CAUGHT AT NAMA’s FACILITY The attention of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has been drawn to insinuations that a suspected suicide bomber was arrested at one of the agency’s facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Monday. The basic truth however, is that the said suspect was on the ground making phone calls along the airport road close to CENTREX, an annex office of NAMA when the agency’s security personnel accosted him of his presence. His incoherent explanation exposed him to the security personnel who later found on him with some devices suspected to be explosives. He was subsequently handed over to the Airport Police Command for further investigation. The managing director, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam in a reaction commended the security personnel for their vigilance and prompt arrest of the suspect. ‘Supo Atobatele,gm,pa,nama,hqtr.,Lagos.

By Supo Atobatele

The attention of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has been drawn to insinuations that a suspected suicide bomber was arrested at one of the agency’s facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos yesterday.

The basic truth however, is that the said suspect was on the ground making phone calls along the airport road close to CENTREX, an annex office of NAMA when the agency’s security personnel accosted him of his presence.

His incoherent explanation exposed him to the security personnel who later found on him with some devices suspected to be explosives.

He was subsequently handed over to the Airport Police Command for  further investigation.

The managing director, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam in a reaction commended the security personnel for their vigilance and prompt arrest of the suspect.

Supo Atobatele, is the General Manager, Public Affairs,NAMA.

SAA ANNOUNCES INCREASE IN FLIGHT FREQUENCIES BETWEEN LAGOS & J'BURG

South African Airways (SAA) has increased frequency between Lagos and Johannesburg from 7 to 8 services per week effective 2 September 2014. Strong passenger demand and an additional state of the art A320s inducted to the fleet, are among the reasons that prompted SAA to add frequencies to its developing Lagos route.

Thobi Duma, SAA Country Manager in Nigeria explains: “SAA stands ready to offer seamless customer service to our valued passengers. This will ensure increased connectivity and better connecting times to flights in the evening out of Johannesburg.

“We are noting a steady growth and we maintain that the increases in frequency will provide both business and leisure passengers travelling to and from these destinations with more flexibility and greater choice to connect onto SAA’s extensive global network,” adds Duma.

Owing to the increased frequencies, passengers connecting from Lagos to other cities such as Abuja will be able to connect without challenges as opposed to the current schedule where they spend the night in Lagos before connecting. Furthermore, passengers from South Africa will be afforded more time to engage in their activities before flying out at 23h00 on Tuesday nights.

This is part of SAA’s “Gaining Altitude” strategy to add flights in developing routes like Lagos and offering passengers convenient connections to the rest of the world. SAA will continue to look at new opportunities to add capacity to its existing network and further strengthen its brand presence around the world.

“As SAA, we are committed to be a catalyst for the growth of business and investment in Nigeria by ensuring that our passengers receive the comfort of flying with a very safe and secure carrier that has consistently been Africa’s most awarded airline, and recently voted by Skytrax as the Best Airline in Africa for 12 consecutive years,” concludes Duma.

UNITED AIRLINES TO LAY-OFF OVER 100 WORKERS

United Airlines says it is preparing to lay off 109 workers this fall at Detroit Metro Airport and transfer their work to an outside vendor.

The affected positions include 51 customer service representatives, 49 ramp service workers and various other positions. The layoffs are to happen on or after Oct. 1.

United Airlines announced the terminations in a notice filed with state officials that was posted online last Thursday.

The carrier said the layoffs are needed "to have sustainable financial success and run an efficient and reliable operation." The notice did not identify the new vendor or specify whether the workers could find jobs there.

James Carlson, spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents most of the affected workers, said United has been doing similar outsourcing this year at 11 other airports and that the new vendors almost always pay lower wages.

"We don't believe this is a good move by United to outsource this work," he said.

The union workers who have been on the job since April 2006 or earlier have guaranteed employment with United, but would need to relocate to another airport, Carlson said.

A United Airlines spokesman,Luke Punzenberger, said the layoffs were "a difficult decision, but we need to ensure that our costs are competitive."

AVIATION MINISTER REBUKES FAAN VERY POOR STATE OF UNDERGROUND TUNNEL OF MMIA

Osita Chidoka,Minister of Aviation

The Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka yesterday rebuked the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over the dilapidated state and environmental threat

posed by the abandoned underground facilities at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.
Speaking during the tour of the Lagos Airport facilities, Chidoka remarked that the abandonment of the underground facilities, which formerly used to house the disused Control Center of the Close Circuit Television(CCTV) which used to monitor movements around all sensitive and sterile areas of the airport complex, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and car park for airport users was a disgrace to the nation.
He also lamented the stinking and unkempt nature of the underground facilities and ordered the Authority's management to put facelift to the underground facilities.
The minister further insisted on seeing the car park, which is also underground at the terminal, suspecting that it would be flooded, which the Acting Airport Manager, South West, Engr. Noah Sanya responded in affirmative.
He said, “This thing I am seeing is not good for the image of the country. Look at the facility here, it is flooded. I believe we were not supposed to see this, but we have seen it.”
Besides, Chidoka queried why the arriving passengers at the airport were denied the usage of the arrival drop zone, stressing that the action of the Authority further inconvenient passengers at the airport.
He noted that if departing passengers could be allowed unrestrained access to the terminal’s drop off zone with their vehicles, he wondered why the same gesture could not be extended to the arriving passengers.
However, Sanya tried vigorously to convince the minister that the restriction was as a result of insecurity in the country, maintaining that it was easy for unscrupulous elements to perpetuate dastardly act at the arrival zone.
But, the minister rebuffed him and ordered the management of FAAN to re-open the access for the usage of the travelling public.
He said, “You go and put some old buses at the parking area and tell people to board them to the airside. I want to say it here now that you should remove the barrier here, which disallowed arriving passengers from being picked up by their relatives and allow passengers to have access to this place.
“You can put speed bumps here, which will reduce high speed. I don’t take all you are saying. Please, say something more intelligent to me.”
At the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Service, ARFFS, the minister was informed that FAAN had 90 fire tenders at all the airports, but only 43 of such tenders were functional.
The General Manager, Fire Service, Engr. Peter Onyeri said that while efforts were going on to repair the unserviceable tenders, the agency still needed more of such fire tenders to effectively man the airports.
The minister requested for the monitoring charts of the airport, which was later shown him by Onyeri.

ICAO AWARDS NAMIBIAN's HOSEA KUTAKO AIRPORT CAT.,9

The Namibian capital's Hosea Kutako International Airport has been upgraded to Category Nine status after a number of shortcomings identified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) were addressed.
ICAO downgraded the airport from Category Nine to Category Five last month following an audit of the Namibia Airports Company's facilities at the airport.
The audit found that specific elements on two rescue and fire fighting trucks were dysfunctional; and that training records of fire and rescue personnel were not available.
As a result of the downgrade, Air Namibia could no longer operate its A330-200 fleet in or out of the Hosea Kutako International Airport until the NAC rectified the shortcomings.
Speaking at a media briefing at the airport on Sunday, the NAC's acting Chief Executive Officer, Tamer El-Kallawi, said the safety deficiencies needed to be rectified immediately as the international airport operates in accordance with international standards and recommended practices.
The NAC has now acquired two new fire trucks as a measure to address deficiencies in the rescue and fire-fighting services at the airport.
El-Kallawi said the airport currently has four aviation fire and rescue vehicles in place, with the total capacity exceeding the requirements for Category Nine.
An additional nine fire trucks are due for delivery and will be distributed to other airports.
"All fire and rescue vehicles are in a serviceable condition with emphasis on maintenance agreements and standing operating procedures to avoid a repetition of what transpired. Additional fire and rescue personnel have been re-deployed to the Hosea Kutako International Airport to intensify the shift strength of the airport as a safety precautionary measure given that it is our flagship airport," he said.
El-Kallawi noted that there was a misunderstanding regarding the record keeping of the fire and rescue services training records, which could not be availed the fire officers at the time of the audit. He explained that all training records are kept by the company's Human Resources Department at the head office and not at the airport for safe keeping purposes.
Standing operating procedures regarding NAC's communication and alarm systems and all related emergency procedures were also reviewed to enhance safety measures.
El-Kallawi further highlighted the rehabilitation of six airports and upgrade of four airports around the country as part of the NAC's strategic plan for the next three years, which was finalised in May 2014 to improve the company's level of compliance.
He said six key priority areas were identified in the strategic plan, including the ensuring of the safety and security of airports, ensuring that airport infrastructure and equipment is periodically maintained to applicable standards, as well as generating revenue growth, and improving customer satisfaction.

FORMER MD OF FAAN,YUSUF DEAD

The former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf is dead.
Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf died at a hospital in India, in the early hours of Sunday, August 10, 2014, after a brief illness.
A press release by the General Manager, Corporate Communication, FAAN,Mr Yakubu Dati has disclosed.
His remains would be buried at his home in Zaria, Kaduna State on Wednesday, August 13, 2014.
The late Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf joined FAAN as the Director of Administration and was later appointed MD/CEO of the Authority in 2006. He served in that capacity till November 2007.
Late Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf will be remembered for pioneering some staff welfare policies during his tenure as CEO.

PHOTO NEWS: AVIATION MINISTER VISITS MMA2

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Dr. Jamaila Shuara; Managing Director,NAMA,Ibrahim 

AbdulsalamMinister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka; Chief Operating Officer, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services 

Limited(BASL), operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Ms. Adebisi  Awoniyi and 

the Chief Executive Office, BASL, Mr. Christophe Penninck, during the minister’s inspection tour of the 

Murtala Muhammed Airport (Domestic and International)…yesterday.

NATIONAL CARRIER: THE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

 The need for Nigeria to have highly functional and globally competitive national airline(s) has for so many years occupied minds within and outside the industry.  Like an incubus, the issue has refused to go away.  The discourse and arguments are laced with facts, half-truths, blurred perception and, more often than not, highly emotional on the sides of protagonists and antagonists alike.        

In all, the failure of Nigeria Airways has become an albatross and many an antagonist use it as premise to dismiss any attempt to refloat a new national carrier.  Some of them go to the extreme of declaring Nigeria incapable of floating and running a world-class airline.  This is unfortunate.  It is quite true that our history in the airline subsector is not just chequered, but also gives cause for concern overthe role of the ownership, which is the Federal Government, in the failure of ten attempts made to float and run an efficient National Carrier.

Unfortunately, this antagonist-position has stuck, as it were, in the minds ofNigerians. Very few Nigerians know, even in the industry, that there were three great chances created between 1992 and 2001, any one of which would have put us on a sound footing for competitive airline business operation.

These three chances were Capt Mohammed Jojis Air Nigeria 1992/1993, Engr Ibrahim Janis Turn Around 1997/1999 and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)s New Co 2000/2001.

Capt. Jojis Air Nigeria:

In January, 1992, Capt Mohammed Joji, a member of the AVM Dominic Abdullahi Bello led-Presidential Task Force which was obviously the soundest team ever put together to run Nigeria Airways 1989/1990, was appointed MD/CEO of Nigeria Airways by the then Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.  Capt. Joji, a professional who had worked with British Airways and returned to Nigeria to set up Skypower Express Airways Charter operation, was engaged to run Nigeria Airways.  At the end of the two-year tenure of PTF in 1990, Capt. Joji differed with his colleagues which included the likes of Dr. Pascal Dozie, Otumba Adesoye, Ishaku Umar, Stella Ugbonna and late Bassey Itam, wrote a Minority Report.

Armed with these backgrounds, Joji came into Nigeria Airways with a full and clear knowledge of the airline and, working with a Board Chairman of untainted integrity, Prince Tony Momoh, a veteran journalist and one-time Minister of Information under IBB, he hit the ground running.

On arrival, Joji told aviation journalists and staff that the Nigeria Airways he met was in coma and that his first action was to fit an oxygen mask over its nose and then work to revive it.  With consummate energy, courage and far-sightedness, he pursued his conviction that the only cure to the coma patient was a privatizationstrategy that will provide the airline not just cure, but a lifeline that will ensure steady growth as well as a birth of a new virile international carrier.  In a novel and ingenious restructuring, Joji created a new airline  AIR NIGERIA, not as a replacement but to exist together in a symbiotic relationship that would see the ailing mother, Nigeria Airways, fully back on its feet.  Air Nigeria was to operate international routes London, New York, Rome, Jeddah and Johannesburg while Nigeria Airways would remain a domestic and regional operator.

To drive this, Capt. Joji engaged a British Consultant, Mr. Keith Bolshaw, who helped to put together a start-up technical team from Swiss Air and Sabena.  The foreign technical partner would take 40% equity, Federal Government 40% and 20% would be sold to the public and staff.  Nigeria Airways would still remain 100% government.  As at this time, Africa and indeed Europe and Asia were still distant from the world of airline Privatization.  Only Nigeria Airways and Kenya Airways, another severely sick airline, were taking the leap.  At the African Airline Association (AFRAA) annual conference in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in 1992, both airlines were requested to present their proposals.  Kenya Airways was led by its Consultant, Brian Davis, a former British Airways staff, while Capt Joji and Keith Bolshaw led the Nigeria Airways presentation.  At the end, AFRAA adjudged the Nigeria Airways/Air Nigeria model well ahead of the Kenya Airwaysmodel.  

Back from Zimbabwe, Joji proceeded to transfer the BASA rights on New York, London, Jeddah, Rome and Jbourg from Nigeria Airways to Air Nigeria.  Air Nigeria was programmed to lease from Nigeria Airways its 4 wide-body aircraft: 2 DC10 and 2 A310 and pay a monthly rental of US$1million, which will be used to revive and revamp the ailing mother-airline.  As at this time, 100 graduates have,for the first time, been engaged as Cabin Executives for Air Nigeria and were undergoing training.

The aircraft were being checked and refurbished at both Sabena for A310 and at Varig Brazil for DC10 and B737.  One great impediment was the mammoth debt of Nigeria Airways which stood at about US$100million. Coincidentally, the then CBN Governor Alhaji Ahmed who suffered humiliation at the hands of British Airways which down-graded him and his family from first-class to a lower one on grounds that the airline was experiencing difficulties in repatriating its money from CBN, was so pained that he personally called Joji to find out why Nigeria Airways could not provide reliable and efficient service.

Briefed about the debt impediment, he asked Joji and Momoh to bring in detailed proposal which, after evaluation, he took a Memo to IBB requesting approval to provide the sum via bond.  IBB approved but with a caveat which ran like this:You know my views about Nigeria Airways, if any thing goes wrong with this, in or out of government, I will hold you responsible.  Ahmed took this with utmost sensitivity, set up a crack team and personally supervised the direct payment of all verified and certified creditors.

All seemed at this time to be clear for a take-off.  But not so.  New violent impediments confronted Jojis Air Nigeria: The Unions NAAPE rose against him, the senior Pilots, for very inexplicable reasons, since the new terms of service in Air Nigeria were five times better than those in Nigeria Airways and the junior Pilots on the grounds that remaining in Nigeria Airways would deny them career progression to bigger fleet.  Management and senior staff feared loss of jobs while ATSSAN, the Union covering the middle level staff and NUATE complained that the high qualifications demanded for jobs in Air Nigeria were beyond their reach.  Pensioners opposed it on grounds that they would lose their privilege of free travel tickets.  The then Minister of Aviation, late Wole Adeosun, took offence with Momoh and Joji as well as his Permanent Secretary Gidado Idris, for supporting the privatization programme without his clearance. This led to hot memos between him and Tony Momoh who was Airways Chairman.  Adeosun blocked the payment of maintenance fee for the A310 that was being prepared for Air Nigeria;an action that caused the seizure and loss of the A310 to our nation.

The final blow to the novel project was when in the wake of IBBs political quagmire, he replaced Joji with Engineer Andrew Agom in his bid to favour the then Senate President Iyorchia Ayu, who was critical to his political ambition to transit to Civilian President.  Agom was the Director of Engineering when Alabo Graham Douglas, as Aviation Minister, sacked Momohs Board and Management for failing to seek his approval to increase fares.  Douglas then appointed Agom as Sole Administrator, which created bad blood between Agom, the Board and his erstwhile colleagues.  A month later, Douglas was relieved and Momohs Board and Management returned except Capt. Jonathan Ibrahim, the acting MD who was now replaced by Joji.  Momohs Board humiliated Agom and eventually fired him.  Senator Ayu complained to Babangida to no avail.  So when Agom returned, Momohs Board and Joji were gone and with palpable vengeance, he completely dismantled the Air Nigeria/Nigeria Airways programme, reversed everything Joji did and ran back into the waiting hands of a Ministry that was bemoaning the loss of its first-class Parastatal, Nigeria Airways.

The way Joji left, he still left the oxygen mask over the nose of ailing Nigeria Airways but there was no longer oxygen in the cylinder and Agom was not interested in the refill.  And so, for a great idea which would have taken our nation to the heights, prima facie, the last line on its epitaph was Consumatum est it is finished.  Interestingly, Arap Moi continued with Kenya Airways programme despite protest from the airlines unions and vested interests.  Today, Kenya Airways, The Pride of Africa, bears out this wisdom of national interest being put over personal interest.  No doubt, had Joji been left, Air Nigeria would have been The Star of Africa,and the over US$1.5billion being lost annually to foreign airlines would have been curtailed.  But Capt. Mohammed Joji lived many years ahead of the time.

The Jani Ibrahim Turnaround Magic of 1997/1999:

The Second great opportunity thrown away was in 1997/1999 when Alhaji Jani Ibrahim, an oil and gas industry professional with experience in Property Management was appointed the MD/CEO of Nigeria Airways.  Jani Ibrahim entered the aviation industry as an unknown quantity and a neophyte as it were.  Nobody knew his full background.  He was considered by Airways staff as one of those unplained pegs that the government usually brought to the airline under job-for-the-boys syndrome.  Nobody had the foggiest idea about Janis vast business experience, nor his superior intellect.  

Jani took over from Group Captain Peter Gana, a serving Air Force officer, who took over from late Engineer Agom.  With Agoms foreclosure of Jojis Air Nigeria project and return to the Ministry, the airlines fortunes began a new decline.  By the time he handed over to Gana, the airlines challenges had mounted.  The debt profile, both domestic and external, had risen, over-flight charges to ASECNA and ENESA had mounted, insurance premium unpaid and operational aircraft grounded or seized.  Delays in staff salaries set in and pensioners were in the cold.  Nigeria Airways was no longer operating to London due government policies and the airlines debts.  This was Ganas operating environment.  

By the last week of Ganas exit, the challenges of his inherited operating environment had snowballed into strangulating dimension as the airlines Insurance Broker Alexander Howden, had withdrawn its insurance cover which crippled all operations including the two last return Christian Pilgrimage flights out of Israel.  As the crises raged on, Peter Gana was removed and replaced with Jani.  With severely contracted operations and mounting debts, even Drucker would have shuddered.  Many a manager would have sought funding from the government.  But Jani did not.  Rather, armed with a first-class Engineering degree and, most probably, one of the soundest minds that ever ran Nigeria Airways, he proceeded first with a painstaking study of the airline challenges so as to know theAchilles point in the vicious cycle of the dwindling fortunes of the airline.  His first action was to keep the skeletal operations ongoing.  Then, he invested the airline pension funds which had been left sitting with no accruing benefits.  Hethen cut down travels, sought to expand cargo operations through leases and began debt negotiations to achieve debt restructuring and reduction.  As at this time, Nigeria Airways was not flying to London due debt issues and Abachas sanction on BA, banning its operations in reciprocity.  Nigeria Airways was also not operating to New York, primarily due to the US ban on Murtala Mohammed Airport, citing safety issues.  So, unlike his predecessors, Jani had only Jeddah, a religious pilgrimage route, rather than high traffic commercial routes and Dubai, a new route started by Peter Gana and still under development.

Jani now turned to his Management with a gospel of partnership with airlines African and foreign that Nigeria Airways could reach a code-share or joint-venture arrangement to enlarge its market share and widen its revenue base.  Under consideration were Ethiopian airline and Cameroon airline.  But before this could emerge from the drawing board, Jani suffered a setback.  Jani was picked up by the Directorate of Military Intelligence over allegation of involvement in Abachas phantom coup.  Many believed that was the end of Jani, even if he was freed, he would not, as is usual, be allowed to return to the airline. However, in the period of his absence, while one hawkish director, in fact the most junior, pushed to replace him, the Management he left stepped up his joint venture idea and entered into a despicable arrangement with Bellview Airline, a domestic airline, to fly Nigeria Airways Amsterdam route.  

The Agreement exposed the lack of knowledge and exposure of the Management to business negotiations.  The smarter MD of Bellview Kayode Odukoya went away with the meat, leaving Nigeria Airways with feathers he easily could shed and shed, he did.  Just on the day of commencement of the Bellview operations, Jani surprisingly returned to his job with his integrity intact.  He ran through the Agreement and literally blew up at the ridiculous terms.  All attempts made to redraw the Agreement were rebuffed by Bellview as it continued operations.  Jani distanced Nigeria Airways from that operation, refused to repudiate the agreement, predicting the collapse of the operation without Nigeria Airways involvement.  He was correct the Bellview venture to Amsterdam faced loss-making challenges and eventually collapsed with the repossession of its operating aircraft due default in lease payment.

In the very short course of time, Abacha shockingly died.  Gen. Abubakar who succeeded him lifted the ban on British Airways and this was the great turnaround opportunity which nobody in Airways imagined.  Only Jani imagined and saw it.  For us all in Nigeria Airways, British Airways was not only a colossal competitor but a predator.  In pursuit of his strategy, Jani opened up contact with BA authorities led by Allan Burnet, and secured the first ever assistance when BA offered Nigeria Airways two of its B737 to lift players round the country during the FIFA U-21 world cup hosted by Nigeria.  The BA gesture was at no significant cost to Nigeria Airways despite the revenue which accrued, though NFA did not pay substantial part of the bill till the airline demise.

Jani further solidified this new relationship as it now opened up a JV partnership discussion with BA.  The mutual respect that arose culminated in one of the best airline JV ever entered into by any airline globally.  As at this time, all Nigeria Airways wide-body aircraft DC10s and A310s were either grounded or seized by creditors.  Jani agreed with British Airways to deploy one of its B747 jumbo to fly Nigeria Airways seven weekly frequency on the Lagos/London route.  The aircraft would be painted in Nigeria Airways livery, use Nigeria Airways call-sign.  The aircraft would be operated by British Airways with some Nigeria Airways cabin crew, trained by BA in joint operation with BA cabin crew.  Nigeria Airways was to have 100 seats free and would not incur any cost whatsoever for the entire operations.  This JV was approved by late Dr. Olusegun Agagu who was then the Minister of Aviation.

Having achieved this, Jani turned to the marketing department, especially to the highly resourceful manager in London, Jonathan Jiya, charging him to fill up the 100 seats.  Following Janis footsteps, Jiya, who later became MD of Nigeria Airways and now traditional ruler of Esan community in Bida, invented, for the first time ever in the global aviation industry, the 2-piece concept which allowed passengers to check-in two baggages of 23kg each.  Jani approved this and its market success alarmed not only BA but all European airlines at inception.  Today, 2-piece concept is now a global practice.  Not many Nigerians, let alone the global aviation world, know that the innovative marketing strategy was a Jiya/Jani creation.

More importantly, the British Airways JV earned Nigeria Airways N100million monthly.  This improved liquidity, made timely salary payment easier and regular, same for pension and freed revenue from other sources for debt repayment, administration, retraining and maintenance.

In fact, on Obasanjos election to office in 1999, Jani had gone to brief him about his plans to extend the JV to the New York route and how he would turnaround Nigeria Airways without any money from the government.  OBJ had told him that he was seeing for the first time a young man saying he did not need money from government to do such job and said to him: I need you in the Presidency.  Jani probably did not realize that OBJ had already put in motion the process of engaging IFC to work on Nigeria Airways privatization.

Towards the close of 1999, in the usual Ministerial hobby-horse of changing every Management, performing or non-performing, Agagu replaced Jani with Yomi Jones.  This signaled the end of a great pathway to recovery and pride.  If Joji lived ahead of his time, Jani proved that ideas, not money, make most remarkable changes in life.  If Jani had been left, we would have been a member of the global airline alliance called One World which includes BA and American Airlines.

The IFC New Co:

For most Nigerians, May 1999 heralded a great new hope not just because of the dawn of democracy after over sixteen years of painful military regimes, but because of the newly elected President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who Nigerians believed had integrity and held so much promise.

Before even assumption of office, OBJ had made statements that gave indication of his mindset.  One of these included the decision to privatize the ailing National Carrier Nigeria Airways.  True to his promise, the then President, on assumption of office, created the National Council on Privatization (NCP) headed by the Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a Secretariat for NCP, the Bureau of Public Enterprise BPE.  And on October 7, 1999, the Agreement for Nigeria Airways privatization was signed between Nigeria and the World Bank.  Atiku initialed for Nigeria while James D. Wolfensohn, President of World Bank and IFC, initialed for the World Bank.  The World Bank appointed its investment arm International Finance Corporation IFC to handle the assignment.  IFC as the lead Consultant worked with six other Consultants: Nathan Associates, Ashurst Aviation and AW Consultants Ltd for technical matters, Northon Rose (UK) and Olaniwun Ajayi and Co (Nig) for legal matters and Arthur Anderson Nigeria for accounting matters.  The mandate was: Restructure and Privatize Nigeria Airways.  It is very noteworthy that the entire process was transparent to the absolute.

The Consortium of Consultants took their job with professional excellence as they carried out in-depth, extensive and all-encompassing study of not just Nigeria Airways, but the entire Nigerian Aviation/Airline industry and market.

About a year later, IFC had produced its Report in a 147-page compendium.  The Report was accepted by the NCP, the Aviation Steering Committee ASTRIC, chaired by the Minister of Aviation as well as the Federal Executive Council.  The stage was then set for Phases 2 and 3 of the Project which were respectively SALE PREPARATION and SALE IMPLEMENTATION.  Nigerians had high hopes, but the incubus again showed up.

Someone had gone to tell OBJ that his Vice President was organizing to buy Nigeria Airways from IFC through BPE.  This incensed the President who then decided to scuttle the whole project, using his then Minister of Aviation Dr. Kema Chikwe.  Through her, the President undermined all the recommendations of IFC that guaranteed successful privatization.

On October 28, 2000, the NCP wrote a 13-page memo complaining to the President of the disruptive actions of the Minister to no avail.  Simpliciter, Kema Chikwe was acting the Presidents script.  By the turn of 2001, it became clear that no reprieve was coming.  The IFC, on March 15, 2001, in frustration, informed the Minister of its decision to withdraw in a 2-page letter signed by its manager, Mr. M.D. Leonard.  Thus ended a highly redemptive dream and we went back to our ignoble squalor.  Once again, an excellent venture that would have put us on the platform of global elite airline operation was shot down at the altar of personal political emotions and intrigues by same man who originated it.  Our nation was the loser.

Without fear of being controverted, had Joji, or Jani or indeed the IFC been allowed to drive on, our nation would have been a cynosure of successful airline operations.

No matter what, as the effort to find a solution to the floatation of a sound National Carrier continues, the stunning strategies of Joji and Jani as well as the IFC advisory and excellent professional approach will all combinedly be a prolegomenon to any future effort towards floatation of a virile National Carrier.

 

 

Chris Aligbe

kandimuwa@yahoo.com

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

EBOLA: GHANA DENIES BANNING FLIGHTS FROM NIGERIA OTHERS

The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority(GCAA) has said it did not ban flights emanating from Nigeria due to the dreaded EBOLA virus as reported by some media.

The GCAA's in a statement yesterday noted that:" The attention of GCAA has been drawn to an online publication on the above subject on Saturday, 2nd August, 2014 and we wish to state emphatically that the publication is erroneous and misleading."

It stated further that:"The GCAA, as the sole Regulator of the Air Transport industry and Provider of Air Navigation Service in the country has not ban any airline from Nigeria and other African Country from operating to Ghana because of Suspicion that the flights might be carrying passengers with the Ebola virus."

"We can confirm that flight operations to and from Nigeria and other African countries are normal without any interruption."

"The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority wishes to assure passengers and the General Public that it is working with all Stakeholders to ensure that the Kotoka International Airport and all other airports in the country remain safe and secure", the statement concluded.

Boeing Partners with South African Airways to Turn New Tobacco Plant into Jet Fuel

Boeing South African Airways (SAA) and SkyNRG announced today they are collaborating to make sustainable aviation biofuel from a new type of tobacco plant. This initiative broadens cooperation between Boeing and SAA to develop renewable jet fuel in ways that supportSouth Africa's goals for public health as well as economic and rural development.

"It's an honor for Boeing to work with South African Airways on a pioneering project to make sustainable jet fuel from an energy-rich tobacco plant," said J. Miguel Santos, managing director for Africa, Boeing International. "South Africa is leading efforts to commercialize a valuable new source of biofuel that can further reduce aviation's environmental footprint and advance the region's economy."

SkyNRG is expanding production of the hybrid plant known as Solaris as an energy crop that farmers could grow instead of traditional tobacco. Test farming of the plants, which are effectively nicotine-free, is underway in South Africa with biofuel production expected from large and small farms in the next few years. Initially, oil from the plant's seeds will be converted into jet fuel. In coming years, Boeing expects emerging technologies to increase South Africa'saviation biofuel production from the rest of the plant.

"By using hybrid tobacco, we can leverage knowledge of tobacco growers in South Africa to grow a marketable biofuel crop without encouraging smoking," said Ian Cruickshank, South African Airways Group Environmental Affairs Specialist. "This is another way that SAA and Boeing are driving development of sustainable biofuel while enhancing our region's economic opportunity."

"We strongly believe in the potential of successfully rolling out Solaris in the Southern African region to power sustainable fuels that are also affordable," said Maarten van Dijk, Chief Technology Officer, SkyNRG.

In October 2013, Boeing and SAA said they would work together to develop a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa. As part of that effort, they are working with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials to position farmers with small plots of land to grow biofuel feedstocks that provide socioeconomic value to communities without harming food supplies, fresh water or land use.

Boeing is the aviation industry's leader in the development of sustainable aviation biofuel, working with partners in the United States, Europe, China, Middle East, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, Australia and other countries. When produced sustainably, aviation biofuel reduces carbon emissions by 50 to 80 percent compared to petroleum jet fuel through its lifecycle. Airlines have conducted more than 1,500 passenger flights using biofuel since the fuel was approved in 2011.

SOURCE Boeing