Crucial Moment

About two weeks ago, the international business mogul cum chairman of the Virgin Groups, Sir Richard Branson, made a startling revelation about what transpired between him and some notable Nigerians during the days of Virgin Nigeria, an airline he helped to float on behalf of the Federal Government.

The statement credited to the British business man would have ordinarily been allowed to fizzle away, but coming from the calibre of somebody like him, it cannot be allowed to go free in view of the magnitude of the issues he raised.

There is no doubt that the statement had further put a question mark on the image of the country, especially in the area of foreign partnership.

The statement partly read; “We have Virgin’s ill-fated footsteps by setting up a new airline in Africa in conjunction with Nigerian government, the details of the doomed attempts to crack the Nigerian market in the 2000s is better imagined.

We put together a very good airline, the first airline in West Africa that was ever IOSA/IATA operational safety audit accredited but unfortunately it got tied down to the politics of the country.

“We fought daily battle against government agents who wanted to daily make fortune from us, politicians who saw the government 49% as a meal to seek for all kinds of favour, watchdogs (regulatory body) that didn’t know what to do and persistently asking for bribes at any point. Nigeria people are generally nice but the politicians are very insane, that may be irony because the people make up the politicians.”

Since Branson made this statement, people have reacted to it differently with some applying sentiments while few chose to give it a deep thought.

One thing that should not be ignored in this scenario is that Branson’s declaration had gone to confirm the level of decadence and deep corruption among those put in charge of public enterprises coupled with the greed for money being displayed by the political class.

While the Chairman of the Virgin Group can also not exonerate himself from the mess, in view of the manner the agreement he had with government on the floating of Virgin Nigeria was packaged, it became obvious that he got consumed in the deal because he too tried to play a smart game typical of a pure businessman.

However, this is not when to start apportioning blames but one thing that is obvious is that Branson’s outburst will definitely scare foreign investors not only from the aviation sector but also from other areas.

It is based on this that the Crucial Moment is joining with other Nigerians to fault the ongoing road shows embarked upon by the Minister of Aviation, Stella Adaeze Oduah, with her entourage into three foreign countries.

In view of the imminent effect Branson’s allegations will have on the image of the country, it is expected that government will urgently review its policies as regards foreign investments.

Ability to review such policies will make the environment more friendly for businesses. It is only when this is done that foreign investors will be interested in doing business in Nigeria.

Without this, whoever is embarking on road shows or whatever is just chasing shadows. Of what benefit will it be to the sector if policies that will make the aviation industry environment friendly are not tackled?

Definitely, any foreign investor who has plans to genuinely come and invest in Nigeria may be discouraged by Branson’s statement coupled with hostile policies.