…Isa Bayero’s disturbing sense of entitlement, as evident in his request that the flight be delayed for the Emir, may have overshadowed an airline customer’s genuine concerns. But it still doesn’t take anything away from the irresponsibility of Nigerian airlines, among which Air Peace is prominent. Nigerians know this; almost everyone who flies regularly in Nigeria knows (and perhaps has experienced) this.
Last week, details of the disagreement between Air Peace and the Emir of Kano dominated news headlines. The Emir reportedly missed his Lagos-Kano flight, after his flight from Banjul was delayed by the airline.
Isa Bayero, an aide to Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, reportedly asked the airline to delay the Kano flight, but Air Peace declined. Bayero later wrote a letter of complaint to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), seeking punitive actions against Air Peace for what he tagged “disrespect to the emir and the people of Kano State.”
As things began to degenerate between the airline and the Emir’s aide, he addressed a press conference in Kano and gave the airline a 72-hour ultimatum to offer an apology for allegedly ‘disrespecting’ the monarch. But Air Peace reacted, saying that it did not disrespect the Emir of Kano as alleged in the petition.
The issue, quite expectedly, has generated ‘debates’ on social media, where many Nigerians chastised the Emir’s aide, and by extension the Emir of Kano himself, for being “entitled”.
In the middle of the controversies, I spoke with the Communications Lead of Air Peace and asked him to address a major allegation leveled against the airline by Bayero: that despite having to check into a hotel at personal cost, the airline asked the Emir and his entourage to pay for “No Show”, when they attempted to rebook another flight after they missed their original Lagos-Kano flight due to the Banjul delay. But the airline’s spokesman declined and hung up. To be sure, in all of its media engagements, Air Peace has remained silent on this particular allegation, neither has it explained the cause of the delay in Banjul.
In the past week, I have had two separate (off-the-record) conversations with two top aviation experts, who both agreed that, beyond the media showboating, the path of reconciliation is the most responsible path for Air Peace to take. Due to its potential to generate very, very avoidable (ethnic/political) tension and needless social media noise, it was advisable for the airline, as a business concern, to ensure that peace reigns.
In some ways, whether in politics, culture or business, the Nigerian “big man” is guilty by default. Although if situated in the context of the class struggle between the rich and the hoi polloi, this is partly understandable. But the fact remains that the “big (wo)man” can never be on the right side of an issue, any issue whatsoever, especially in the chaotic space of today’s social media, where clarity is perpetually in the thrall of emotions, (ethno-religious) solidarity, needless ‘vayolence’, faux activism, bullying, and general mob action.
First off, Isa Bayero’s disturbing sense of entitlement, as evident in his request that the flight be delayed for the Emir, may have overshadowed an airline customer’s genuine concerns. But it still doesn’t take anything away from the irresponsibility of Nigerian airlines, among which Air Peace is prominent. Nigerians know this; almost everyone who flies regularly in Nigeria knows (and perhaps has experienced) this. Many can’t just come to terms with a simple logic: Chastising Isa Bayero for making a mess of genuine grievances with his request and upbraiding Air Peace for being shoddy in its customer service performance are two actions that are not mutually exclusive.
In 2019 alone, the NCAA recorded 41,968 cases of missing and delayed luggage in Nigeria. The agency also recorded the operation of 65,401 flights, of which 37,510 (about 57 per cent!) were delayed and 356 were cancelled! Everyone who flies in Nigeria has stories to tell, and they aren’t love stories in the main. I wrote, penultimate Saturday, about Ibom Air’s suffocating Iberibe-ism. The NCAA regulations on these infractions are clear, but everyone knows that airlines adhere to these regulations — only in the breach! But these things don’t matter on cyberia, not even when it does not involve a “common man”.
In the past week, I have had two separate (off-the-record) conversations with two top aviation experts, who both agreed that, beyond the media showboating, the path of reconciliation is the most responsible path for Air Peace to take. Due to its potential to generate very, very avoidable (ethnic/political) tension and needless social media noise, it was advisable for the airline, as a business concern, to ensure that peace reigns.
That Isa Bayero mishandled genuine grievances wouldn’t take anything away from the disturbing concerns within the aviation space. Missing (or sometimes stolen) luggage. Delayed flight. Cancelled flight etc. Penultimate week…I wrote about Ibom Air’s Iberibe-ism. So, there are hundreds of other passengers facing similarly poor treatment, yet suffering in silence, partly because they do not have the voice and influence of a Bayero.
In a sense, the darts being thrown at the Emir of Kano, since the crisis broke out, have their roots in ethnic hate, or the attempt to check what some consider the “feudal North’s” excesses and perceived sense of entitlement. Yet, when we strip the actual issues of emotions, and then move past Bayero’s embarrassing theatrics, there are fundamental issues of regulatory concern and consumer protection that remain unaddressed. For instance, why ask a passenger to pay for “No Show” on another flight of yours that he missed after you delayed his initial flight and even failed to offer any explanation?
In terms of consumer protection regulations, the Nigerian aviation sector is quite messy. In the absence of extant regulatory mechanisms, airlines are at the height of their show of crass irresponsibility in their treatment of consumers. The case with the Emir isn’t the first of such controversial treatment of passengers and it wont be the last, only that the airline is dealing with an aide who, bent on showing the Emir his influence within the sector, has failed to keep his excitement in check.
That Isa Bayero mishandled genuine grievances wouldn’t take anything away from the disturbing concerns within the aviation space. Missing (or sometimes stolen) luggage. Delayed flight. Cancelled flight etc. Penultimate week, as mentioned above, I wrote about Ibom Air’s Iberibe-ism. So, there are hundreds of other passengers facing similarly poor treatment, yet suffering in silence, partly because they do not have the voice and influence of a Bayero.
And so beyond chastising Bayero, we must also realise that the aviation space needs systemic overhaul, especially in the area of compliance to consumer protection regulations.
Oladeinde Olawoyin tweets via @Ola_deinde.
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