Nigeria’s strategic position as Africa’s aviation hub formed a key message in the delivery of Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, when he addressed the global aviation community at the recently held International Route Development Conference, in Moscow, Russia.
The conference, themed Network Cargo 2024, focused on enhancing global partnerships through the highest standards of freight forwarding services, attracted transport ministers and industry leaders from across the world, all seeking to establish efficient and competitive cargo routes.
In his presentation, the aviation minister emphasised Nigeria’s unique geographical advantage in becoming the central hub for air transportation in Africa.
He stated, thus: “Geographically, we are in the best position to be the real hub of Africa. If you look at the map, we are equidistant to South America across the Atlantic, to Europe, and to Asia. We are about 6 to 7 hours to Doha, Dubai, and Brazil. With our population, we have the dream to develop a real hub for Africa.”
Keyamo further highlighted Nigeria’s untapped aviation potential, citing the significant volume of international traffic originating from the country. However, much of this traffic is currently serviced by foreign airlines.
“If you look at it, most of the flights originating from Nigeria are not indigenous. Airlines from Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, and other countries feed on our traffic. They know that Nigerians travel all over the world,” he remarked.
To address this imbalance, the minister expressed the Nigerian government’s commitment to increasing the capacity of local airlines, noting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is focused on strengthening Nigeria’s domestic aviation sector, ensuring that local operators benefit from the nation’s air traffic.
“Instead of giving up our traffic and airspace to other people, we are focused on ramping up the capacity of our local airlines. That is a major priority of President Tinubu’s administration,” he said.
A statement by Tunde Moshood, the minister’s special assistant on media and communications, noted that in line with the theme of the Network Cargo 2024 conference, the minister announced Nigeria’s plans to expand its international routes, with a particular focus on establishing direct connections to South America, specifically Brazil.
“It is ironic that to fly to Brazil from Nigeria, one has to first travel east to Addis Ababa or go to Angola before heading west. We are working to open up direct routes from Nigeria to South America, addressing this gap in our aviation connectivity,” Keyamo revealed.
Furthermore, the minister elaborated on Nigeria’s recent adoption of the Cape Town Convention’s practice directions, which regulate dry leasing — a common global practice in the aviation industry.
By domestically implementing these regulations, Nigeria has provided assurances to the leasing world that aircraft brought into the country will be protected under Nigerian law.
“The practice direction we signed last week ensures that Nigerian courts protect lessors and financiers, giving them the confidence that their aircraft are safe in Nigeria. This move will foster a symbiotic relationship, as we have the traffic and the need for new routes,” he added.
Keyamo underscored Nigeria’s commitment to achieving global standards in aviation by enhancing local airline capacity, securing international partnerships, and expanding direct routes to underserved destinations.
