This is the very least we expect from a man of your pedigree Festus Keyamo during your four year tenure

Ayo Akinfe

[1] If Nigeria was a country that had any shame, we would be eternally embarrassed about the fact that the country does not have a single aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. MRO's are an essential requirement to ensure that aircraft are maintained in pre-determined conditions of airworthiness to safely transport passengers and cargo. Airlines go through regular rigorous checks just as cars have to have an MOT every year to prove they are roadworthy

[2] What this means in practical terms is that whenever any aircraft lands in Nigeria, it leaves immediately to be maintained elsewhere. In plain language - There is no aircraft mechanic workshop in the whole of Nigeria. Globally, the commercial aircraft MRO market is influenced by external factors in the wider air transport industry including global fleet size, aircraft utilisation and increasing and decreasing air traffic volumes for both passengers and cargo. Please sort this out Festus

[3] In 2015, the global MRO market was worth $135.1bn, representing three quarters of the $180.3bn aircraft production market. Over the 2017–2026 decade, it is expected that the MRO market worldwide should reach over $900bn, with 23% in North America, 22% in Western Europe and 19% in Asia Pacific. Nigeria needs to get in on the act

[4] In 2018, the commercial aviation industry expended $88bn on MRO, while military aircraft spent $79.6bn, including field maintenance. Across Africa, the only MRO providers are South African Airways Technical (Saat), Ethiopian Airlines Maintenance and Engineering, Kenya Airways Technical, Air Algerie Technics and Tunisair Technics. There are also joint ventures such as Air France Industries’ and Royal Air Maroc’s Aerotechnic Industries

[5] Given how centrally located Nigeria is in Africa, the fact that Nigerians are the continents most travelled people and being the largest economy, we should be Africa’s aviation workshop, generating at least $20bn a year from MRO

[6] For me, Lagos, Abuja and Calabar, the gateway to east and central Africa, should all be major MRO and aviation hubs. Our aviation policy should be geared towards making them massive depots where airlines bring their planes from all across Africa

[7] Nigeria needs a major international airline in which the federal government has a minority stake of say 25%. This airline should be able to compete with the likes of Virgin, BA, Air France. KLM, Emirates, etc

[8] Given the size of the African aviation market and the field day the Europeans and Americans are having ripping us off, Nigeria has got to spearhead the creating of a continental giant. Just imagine the kind of carrier we would have if Nigeria Air, Egypt Air and Ethiopian Airlines merged their operations

[9] As a first step in all this, I expect to see Nigeria Air up and running within six months. No funny games Festus, we need an airline with at least a fleet of 20 planes flying to at least 10 African destinations and to at least another 190 global ones

[10] Domestically, I expect Festus to bring the airports in the 36 state capitals of Nigeria up to international standards. They should all be able to operate international flights. Why should a man have to fly to Lagos or Abuja first before leaving Nigeria