By Joe Obi
In aviation, safety is everything. Safety is considered the first, the second and the third priority.
This explains why even in mundanematters as the construction of terminal
buildings, the major consideration is safety. Of course, due care is given to
aesthetics, delectable ambiences and passenger comfort and satisfaction; yet
all these are deliberately woven into the safety triangle. Policies and
regulations are also guided by the overriding principle of ensuring safety and
security of the airspace, the air passenger, as well as the airport user.
In the decade 2000-2010, especially in the years 2005 and 2006,
Nigeria experienced one of her lowest moments in the area of air safety.
Aircraft were not only described as flying coffins and literally falling off
the skies like leaves in winter, but the Authorities seemed at a loss on what
to do to get out of the doomed trajectory. What was more, accident reports that
ought to provide the what, the whys and the how’s of that tragic era as
valuable lessons to prevent reoccurrence were either hoarded, ‘sexed up’ or
highly politicised! And by the time they eventually saw the light of day, they had
practically lost all semblance of integrity and legitimacy. The net effect of
this was that the sector, and by extension, the nation lived dangerously. But
we certainly have come a long way from that deplorable era.
One of the first safety initiatives aviation Minister,
Princess Stella AdaezeOduah undertook on coming on board in July of 2011 was an
‘inquest’ into the reasons why most of the accident reports of the mid 2000’s
were not only mired in controversy but
never actually released. To cut a rather long and exasperating story
short, the Minister caused those reports to be released as they contained very
useful safety recommendations. Today, those recommendations are being
religiously implemented and the implementation closely monitored by the
Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB). This has gone a long way
in boosting the safety of the Nigerian airspace.
But unlike the airport terminals that we all see when we
travel through the nation’s airports, safety infrastructure, equipment and
facilities constitute the intangible essentials to air safety. They constitute
the back-end components of air safety. Back-end in the sense that passengers
and airport users, more often than not do not have the opportunity to see them
and how they function in the safety chain or architecture. So when one hears a
refrain like ‘’they’’ (meaning government) have not done anything to improve or
enhance the safety of the Nigerian airspace, you can only tolerate and forgive
their innocent ignorance. To be sure, the present government has done a lot; in
fact more than all previous administrations put together, in the area of
provision of safety infrastructure in the aviation sector.
As a consequence, the Nigerian airspace has never been safer
than it is today. Oh yes, I can see you cringing in disbelief, if not outrage,
questioning how anyone could make such ‘’outlandish’’ claim with the Dana and
Associated airlines’ crash of 2012 and 2013. Tragic, regrettable they are, but
if the safety infrastructure deployed between 2011 to date is juxtaposed
against what existed pre- 2011, there is no question that the Nigerian airspace
is far safer than it has ever been. A quick look at the State of Safety
Infrastructure pre and post July 2012 tells the whole story in graphic detail:
NIMET
|
Before July 2011
|
October 2013
|
||
|
1
|
Doppler
Weather Radar
|
0
|
2 installed (Abuja & PH),
Work on going on 2 at Yola& Maiduguri
|
|
2
|
Low
Level Windshear Alert Systems (LLWAS)
|
1 airport only (Abuja)
|
9 airports (Abuja, Kano, PH,
Ikeja, Benin, Enugu, Owerri, Yola, Sokoto).
|
|
3
|
Upper
Air Weather Monitoring Equipment
|
5 (Abuja, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Maiduguri)
|
8 (Abuja, Enugu, Kano, Lagos,
Maiduguri , Jos, Calabar, Yola)
|
|
4
|
Thunderstorm/Lightning
Detector Systems
|
6 locations
|
20 locations
|
|
5
|
Integrated
Aviation Weather Observation and Displays System (AWODS)
|
5 airports (Abuja, Lagos, Maiduguri, Ilorin and Port Harcourt).
|
14 (Abuja, Lagos and Port
Harcourt, Owerri, Maiduguri, Enugu, Ilorin, Calabar, Katsina,,
Zaria, Kano, Sokoto, Ibadan, Benin)
|
|
6
|
RETIM
Synergy Satellite Image Receivers
|
4 Airports
(Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt)
|
4 (Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Port
Harcourt) Upgraded from 3G to state-of-the-art 5G System
|
|
7
|
Pilot/Crew
Weather Briefing Facilities
|
2 airports (Lagos & Abuja)
|
10 (Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port
Harcourt, Owerri, Enugu, Calabar, Ilorin, Maiduguri, Jos)
|
|
8
|
Installation
of Aeromet Systems
|
19
|
22
|
|
9
|
SADIS
Weather Briefing System
|
1 (Lagos)
|
9 (Lagos, Abuja, PH, Kano,
Sokoto, Ilorin, Maiduguri, Owerri& Kaduna)
|
|
10
|
Marine
Weather Data Buoy
|
0
|
1 (Apapa)
|
|
11
|
Air
Quality & Ozone Monitoring system
|
0
|
5 (Abuja, Enugu, Lagos, Kano,
Maiduguri)
|
|
12
|
Instrument
Calibration Laboratory
|
0
|
1 (Abuja)
|
AIPB
|
July 2011
|
October 2013
|
|
|
Flight Safety Analytical Laboratory
|
0
|
1
|
|
Released Aircraft Accident Reports
|
1
|
9
|
|
Safety Recommendations
|
0
|
36
|
|
Wreckage preservation/accident reconstruction hangar
|
0
|
1
|
NCAT
|
July 2011
|
October 2013
|
||
|
1
|
Alsim AL-X Simulator
|
One (1)
|
|
|
2
|
360 Degrees Visual Tower Simulator for ATC Training
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
3
|
Boeing 737-200 for cabin crew training
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
4
|
(2) Nos Bell 206l-iv Helicopters
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
5
|
EADS SOCATA TBM 850 Single Engine Turbo prop Trainer Aircraft
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
6
|
Gas Turbine Trainer
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
7
|
Aerodynamics (Wind Tunnel) Trainer
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
8
|
Pilot Briefing Room
|
In a deplorable situation
|
|
|
9
|
ARTMACS Pc-Based Radar Simulator
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
10
|
Auto pilot Training station
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
11
|
Construction and Furnishing of Modern Lecture Rooms
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
12
|
Construction & furnishing of Students Hostel
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
13
|
Auditorium
|
Unavailable
|
|
|
14
|
College Library
|
Unavailable
|
NAMA
|
Before July 2011
|
October 2013
|
||
|
1
|
TRACON
Optimization through commencement of Area Radar
|
Project completed with Approach radar control in
Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt
|
Area Radar commenced in Lagos and Kano ACCs
|
|
2
|
Total
VHF Radio Coverage of Nigeria
|
On-going
|
Commissioned with ACC frequencies for Lagos West
& East, Kano West & East plus additional VSAT node in Wukari
|
|
3
|
11
Control Tower
|
0
|
Successfully deployed
|
|
4
|
AIS Automation
|
Not implemented
|
On-going (95% completion)
|
|
5
|
WGS-84
Survey
|
On-going
|
Completed with 22 airports surveyed. GNSS procedures
drawn for Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt
|
|
6
|
Solar
Power for Navigational Aids
|
0
|
6 locations
|
|
7
|
Calibration
of Navigational Aids
|
Not all Navigational Aids calibrated
|
All navigational Aids successfully calibrated
|
|
8
|
Airfield
Lighting for Lagos Runway 18L and Enugu Runway 24
|
Not done
|
Lagos RWY 18L and Enugu RWY 24 successfully
installed
|
|
9
|
Performance-Based
Navigation (PBN)
|
Not done
|
WGS-84 completed with successful trials
|
|
10
|
MLAT/ADS-B
in the Gulf of Guinea
|
Not done
|
Successfully initiated
|
|
11
|
Ground-to-Ground
Radio Trunking for 22 airports
|
Not done
|
Successfully initiated
|
NCAA
|
Before July 2011
|
October 2013
|
||
|
1
|
Flight Tracking System
|
Unavailable
|
Successfully deployed
|
|
2
|
Automated Flight Information Reporting
System (AFIRS)
|
Unavailable
|
Successfully deployed
|
|
3
|
IOSA Certification
|
None Done in Nigeria
|
2 Airlines successfully Certified
|
|
4
|
Interlining
|
Not done in Nigeria
|
On-going exercise
|
|
5
|
Consumer Protection
|
Unavailable
|
Established
|
As can be seen from the table above,at the Nigerian
Meteorological Agency (NiMet) for instance, before 2011, there was no single
Doppler Weather Radar in the entire nation. Today, we have two installed in
Abuja and Port Harcourt, while work is on-going at the Yola and Maiduguri
airports. Of course, we all know how crucial Doppler Weather Radars are to the
provision of timely and accurate weather information and forecast. Pre-2011,
there was also only one Low Level Windshear Alert System in Nigeria (Abuja airport).
Today, there are nine (Abuja, Kano, PH,
Lagos, Benin, Enugu, Owerri, Yola and Sokoto) airports.
Similarly, before 2011, NiMet had only five Upper Air Weather
Monitoring Equipment but there are eight presently. The list goes on, and on,
and on. The table speaks for itself and the same goes for the other agencies.
Today, as a result of the heavy investment in safety infrastructure,
communication between Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers which use to be a
serious challengein the past is now seamless. The Total Radar Coverage of
Nigeria (TRACON)optimization through the commencement of Area Radar, deployment
of Airfield Lighting and other Instrument Landing Systems to all major
airports, migration to Performance-Based Navigation through the World Geodetic
Survey-84 (WGS-84), Multi-lateration, Ground-to-Ground Radio Trunking for all
22 airports, solar power for navigational aids, just to mention a few, are part
of the improvements being brought to bear on air safety in Nigeria.
For the AIPB, the newly-acquired and installed Flight Safety
Analytical Laboratory, the first of its kind in West Africa and one of a few on
the African continent, speaks to the determination of the present
administration to transform the safety index in Nigeria forever. The Nigerian
Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is also not left out. Apart from the review of
the Civil Aviation Policy which has now repositioned the sector to properly
confront present day realities, the successful deployment of Flight Tracking
System, Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS), IOSA
Certification, Interlining as well as the institutionalisation of the Consumer
Bill of Rights, where none existed in the past, speak volumes of government’s
commitment to air safety.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is also
contributing its fair share to the enhancement of secure and safer skies in
Nigeria. As at 2011 for instance, FAAN had only 20 Fire Tenders. Today, there
are 46 in the fleet. Firemen and Women’s kits that were outdated and worn out
have been replaced with 450 brand new kits; and while there was no 3-in-1
(Liquids, Metals, and Explosive) detection screening equipment pre-2011, one
has already been installed in MMIA, Lagos, while installation is on-going at
all the remaining airports.
There were also only 7 Serviceable Fire Hydrant Systems pre-2011 but the story is dramatically different today as 7 have been installed while work is in progress at the remaining airports. This is also not talking about the total reconstruction and remodelling (a critical component of aviation safety), of all 22 federally–owned airports across the country!
Perhaps most fundamentally, the Nigerian College of Aviation
Technology (NCAT), Zaria has been repositioned to become the manpower training
and development mill for the sector and for the production of aviation
professionals for export. This is critical, as the entiresafety infrastructure
will be meaningless without the right technical skills to man, manage and
maintain them.
Now, no one can behold the massive revolution in the area of
procurement, installation and deployment of safety-critical infrastructure as
elaborated in the foregoing and still honestly claim that ‘’nothing is being
done to improve air safety in Nigeria’’. Figures, they say, don’t lie and the
figures are there for all to see that no single administration, since
independence has invested more in the area of air safety than the present administration
of President GoodluckEbele Jonathan.
Tragically, much of what makes for aviation safety are back-end
intangibles that the ordinary passenger or airport user cannot easily behold.
This is made worse by the raucous cacophony of dishonest, selfish and self-seeking
critics whose voices are daily struggling to drown the authentic voices that
truly reflect the state of the industry in Nigeria.
Joe Obi
is Special Assistant
(Media) to the Honourable Minister of Aviation. He contributed this piece from
Abuja.
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