Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, had commended the efforts being made by the Enugu state government boost business in the state by developing the Akanu Ibiam International Airport through the establishment of Enugu Air.
He said that there are indications of increased economic activities at the Enugu airport, showing that there is injection of new capital and increase in businesses in Enugu state.
Chidoka said that when there is increase in business it will show in the number of people that travel at the airport and that how to build flight route is when there are a lot of economic activities going on at one particular place.
“I walked to board my Air Peace flight from Enugu this morning (June 23), I could not resist taking a short video of two Enugu Air aircraft parked alongside our Air Peace aircraft. The terminal was busy, and all three flights appeared full.
“The Enugu Air flights had arrived from Abuja and Lagos—a smart strategy. By night-stopping aircraft in both cities, the airline can bring passengers into Enugu early in the morning and then return with passengers travelling to Nigeria’s two busiest destinations.
Our Air Peace flight, a Boeing 737-800 in an all-economy configuration, was also full. This is how route development works. Over time, passenger traffic grows and compounds because travellers gain confidence that they can reliably get in and out of a destination”, the former Minister said.
He gave kudos to the Enugu state government for establishing an airline, saying that the government need to inject capital into the economic system to galvanise it, adding that no country has ever grown with private capital; that government ought to intervene from time to time
What private investor would have prioritised Enugu in the way Enugu State has done through Enugu Air? Most investors would naturally focus on the “golden triangle” of Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, where demand is already established and returns are more predictable.
No country has developed on private capital alone. At critical moments, the state must intervene to develop markets, build infrastructure, reduce risk, and create the conditions for private investment to flourish. “
He said the establishment of airlines by states is not with the objective to have permanent state ownership, but strategic intervention where appropriate, by private-sector participation and eventual divestment.
“The orthodoxy that “government has no business in business” is not a universal law. Development requires pragmatism, not ideology.
‘The Enugu Air experiment offers lessons that extend far beyond aviation. Similar thinking can be applied to industrial parks, technology hubs, logistics infrastructure, skills development, and other sectors where private capital may be reluctant to make the first move.
“But for such interventions to succeed, Nigeria and its states must first build capable, professional, and modern bureaucracies focused on development outcomes. Institutions, more than aircraft or infrastructure, are the foundation of sustainable progress, “he said.
