I was shocked by the level of outrage and discontent that my case against Air Peace Airline has generated. It was not my intention to ignite such wide-spreading outcry against Air Peace or even against the entire Nigerian commercial aviation sector. But, the situation is now obvious to the world that hundreds of thousands of Nigerian air travelers have been badly hurt and they feel cheated and disrespected, not just by Air Peace, but by the entire airline operators in Nigeria. They have endured the indignities and pains quietly. No doubt, they saw my case as an opportunity to vent and to seek justice. Though that was not my original goal, I cannot shy away from the responsibility of giving my voice to their cause.
By the way, I have been contacted by concern Air Peace staff. They apologized for the inconvenience I suffered. I appreciate the gesture. But I made it clear to them that I have nothing personal against anyone in Air Peace. (In fact, I like them as individuals). They are actually nice people, who acted naturally given the circumstances. But that does not excuse what happened and that does not mean that I should not pursue this matter to the point where we can say that justice has been done. It is no longer just about me. It is now about many other people who are not able to receive personal apology.
It is important to have a clear understanding of what has been going on in the commercial aviation sector in Nigeria. The main problem is lack of adequate regulatory oversight. The primary target for the people’s rage should be the regulator – that is ; the government agency which is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the airline operators act in accordance with well-established standards for the commercial aviation industry. It was the failure of the requisite regulatory oversite that made it possible for Air Peace and others to abuse travelers with such reckless abandon. What Air Peace and others have been doing can be compared to a bunch of kids who found themselves in a candy store that is not supervised by any adult. Naturally, such kids will indulge themselves.
Finding themselves in an industry where there is no accountability for what happens to travelers, Air Peace and others took advantage. Businessmen and market operators do not fill loopholes. Rather, they constantly search for loopholes and take advantage of them whenever they find them. There is a loophole in the regulation of the airlines in Nigeria. One such loophole is that travelers have no rights and the airlines can treat them as they like and make more profits from such mistreatment. That is the loophole. The owners and managers of Air Peace are business people and commercial actors. They took advantage of the loophole and turned Nigerians into zombies without rights, and abused them as they liked. So, please, the anger should actually be directed at the Government which is too slow and too careless to notice the existence of these loopholes and fill them up quickly.
It is difficult for a single airline to regulate itself. So, Air Peace cannot regulate itself. Indeed, if it tries to do that, it may place itself at a competitive disadvantage in their industry. I understand that, and that is why I expect the current outrage to ultimately be directed toward all airlines and the government. I will be initiating steps to ensure that Nigeria Government officials get involved in this matter and optimize the regulatory environment for the airlines in Nigeria. This was my explanation to those who have contacted me. It is not about Air Peace. We are trying to achieve a lot more than simply getting Air Peace to apologize to me or to compensate me. I am not interested in personal compensation. I don’t need it. In fact, I was in the VIP lounge throughout the nine hours I spent in the airport waiting. I was served rice and fish. I was served coffee. There was beer and wine for me if I wanted. The airline staff and lounge officials were polite to me. I had access to clean bathrooms for the entire period I waited (in the VIP lounge). I had power to my laptop and phones, which meant I could work while waiting. What really hurt me was when I looked through the glass doors into the main lounge where thousands of travelers waited for hours and as I watched them fight, shout, panic and stampede over their delayed flights. I could see the agony on their faces and I could feel their pains. The relative comfort I had in the VIP lounge was not enough to keep me quiet. That was what hurt me. And I think it is right for me to speak for them now.
Judicial intervention is not the best way to regulate an industry as complex as the aviation industry. The best way all over the world is through an agency of the executive arm of government which sets standards and monitors on a continuing basis the behavior of the airline operators. But where such regulatory agency is either nonexistent, or too enfeebled or too incompetent to do its work, then the only option is the courts. That is the situation with my decision to sue Air Peace. The National Assembly is not holding any hearings and the executive is not doing anything about the situation with the airlines. The only option for me is to have Air Peace officials to explain in a court of law what is going on. I believe that with an effective cross-examination in a court trial, they will have an opportunity to answer questions and explain to the world what is happening.
Before I close this post, let me draw your attention to one bizarre aspect of the communications I have received in the past three days. That is; some people have contacted me to advise me that Air Peace Airlines is owned by an Igbo man that as a fellow Igbo, I should not continue with my case against Air Peace because it would amount to bringing down an Igbo business. I must confess that I have not seen or known a more ridiculous argument than that. It is not worth further discussion, actually. Only a crude uninformed person would reason like that. Airline business involves international business operations, subject to international and national laws and regulation. To expect that an airline can be run based on ethnic sentiments and standards is naiveté in its obscenest form. It is not in the interest of the owners of Air Peace for them to be seen as representatives of any tribe. Indeed, such will be damaging to them and to their reputation. On the contrary, I see the owners of Air Peace as international business people, running a complex business operation across several national and international boundaries. It will be unfortunate to try to reduce them to ethnic champions.
To avoid unnecessary efforts to reach me or to persuade me over this matter, let me emphasize: I am not against anyone in particular. I have admired Mr. Onyema and wished him success. I am not trying to bring anyone’s business down. Instead, I am hoping to give a voice to the oppressed. I see the problem as a sector-wide problem. I don’t see Air Peace as evil. There are two reasons why I am focused on Air Peace. First, I had that personal experience with Air Peace. Second, Air Peace is the industry leader when it comes to Nigerian commercial aviation. If any one airline in Nigeria is in a position to lead others toward improved standards of conduct, it will be Air Peace. I believe that other airlines are watching what happens to Air Peace and would learn from that.
Finally, I must state that I have not yet presented any direct communication or demands to Air Peace. All I did was to announce my intention to pursue a class-action lawsuit against them. By tomorrow, I shall present my demands to Air Peace. My letter will demand a number of reforms and changes by Air Peace. It will also demand that Air Peace lead the industry toward reforms. It will demand that Air Peace should apologize to its customers. It will also demand that Air Peace should beef up its claims and compensation department and allocate resources for compensation of travers who can establish that they have been mistreated by Air Peace in the past 12 months. As for me, I need NOTHING and I ask for NOTHING for myself. I am okay, and I have already forgiven them for what happened to me on 27th January, 2022.
It will be a mistake for Air Peace to try to sweep this matter under the carpet. In fact, when I was contacted yesterday (not by an Air Peace official) and requested to drop my case, I laughed at the person. I told him it is not in the interest of Air Peace for this matter to be dropped suddenly. Nigerians will get more angry with Air Peace if this matter were dropped suddenly. It will either suggest that Air Peace has paid me off or that there is no hope for the angry victims of airline abuses in Nigeria. And that will anger them more. If the leadership of Air Peace is strategic-minded, it will see the present challenge as a great opportunity to reinvent itself and win back the hearts of Nigerians for good.
(By Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire)
