SEPTEMBER 2004 heralded the entry of Virgin Nigeria, operated by the United States-based investor and majority owner of Virgin Atlantic, Mr Richard Branson. It was the fruit of the market-based efforts by President Olusegun Obansanjo under whom big companies such as MTN and Glo began operations in Nigeria.
In fact, the Obasanjo government wanted a strong national carrier after Nigeria Airways had collapsed. It then struck a deal with Mr Branson’s Virgin Group, owners of Virgin Atlantic.
Ownership was divided between the nation’s investors and Virgin Atlantic. While Nigerian institutional investors owned 51 percent of the venture, Virgin Atlantic owned 49 percent stake. Virgin Nigeria’s first flight took off on June 28, 2005, via Airbus A340-300. it was a Lagos-London’s Heathrow Airport flight, which was celebrated by former government officials.
The airline was quite successful in its first two years under Minister of Aviation at that time, Mr Isa Yuguda. It had flown over a million passengers in 2 years and was operating 14 aircraft, ranging from the tiny Fokker 50 to the Boeing 767-300ER and the Airbus A340-300, Vanguard noted.
The biggest turning point was the fight over Terminal 2 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMA2), Lagos, and later the Abuja international terminal. Virgin Nigeria was operating from a modern private terminal and sought to use the new Abuja international terminal for its planned long-haul flights to London, New York, and Johannesburg.
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But the Nigerian government suddenly reallocated the terminal to another airline (Arik Air), forcing Virgin Nigeria to operate from the old domestic wing. Virgin saw this as discriminatory, politically motivated, and a violation of prior agreements. This happened under a new minister, Prof Babalola Aborisade.
To add insult to injury, the Nigerian government insisted that the airline could no longer use the Virgin brand for international routes, claiming it was ‘not Nigerian enough.’
This forced the airline to rebrand as ‘Nigeria Eagle Airlines,’a move that destroyed the company’s global credibility and scared away foreign partners. Virgin Group responded by withdrawing completely from the venture.
By late 2008, it had become clear that there were cracks, The airline began stepping back immediately. In early 2009, Virgin Nigeria announced it would be ending its long haul services to London and Johannesburg, effective from the January 27.
“The decision to suspend both services is to enable us to review our entire long haul operations including our product offerings on these routes. In the meantime, our focus is on consolidating and continuing to expand our profitable domestic and regional flight operations,” the airline announced.
After Virgin exited in 2009, the Nigerian shareholders took full control. But the airline had lost access to aircraft leases, could not secure fuel credit, could not pay staff regularly, and there were accusations that key assets were diverted to other airlines while debts mounted.
By 2009, flights were frequently cancelled due to aircraft seizures, lack of spare parts, and insurance lapses. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) repeatedly grounded the airline for safety documentation lapses, outstanding fees, and insurance defaults.
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In 2010, the airline was finally suspended indefinitely after failing to meet regulatory and financial obligations. Staff were laid off, aircraft were repossessed, and the brand disappeared. Virgin Nigeria officially ceased operations later that year.
In his Channels TV interview in 2023, Mr Yuguda blamed a ‘minister’ for Virgin Nigeria’s demise. “You want to join the league (and) we had the opportunity but, unfortunately, we blew it because, soon after I left office, another minister came and another one came, then another one came,” he said.
The ex-minister added: “And he (minister) decided that it’s not a good transaction for him, so he decided to advise the government that they should drive away Richard Branson from Nigeria.
“It was just a pity. Richard Branson was on CNN, saying, ‘Nigeria is the worst place you can do business.’ He’s advising no international community member to come and invest in Nigeria.“Even the mere fact that Richard Branson was investing in Nigeria – he has Virgin Australia, Virgin America, Virgin India, and so many others, which are very successful airlines.”
Earlier in 2006, Mr Yuguda had contradicted claims by his successor, Prof. Babalola Borishade, that the exclusive right given Virgin Nigeria by the Nigerian government over the nation’s prime routes applied only to some routes in the host countries.
