Air Peace Chairman, Mr Allen Onyema, has explained how families stopped his airline from setting up a multi-billion-naira Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Enugu or Anambra airport.
Mr Onyema, a lawyer and entrepreneur, disclosed this on the WhatsApp platform of Igbo Communication Professionals, rubbishing the report that he ignored the South-East region where he is from to set up the facility in Lagos.
He explained that Air Peace had originally planned to locate the project in Enugu, following an approval by the state government, but families came up with plans to thwart the laudable project.
“On the Enugu thing, please check some news stories during the government of Governor Ugwuanyi. I visited the state officially several times, held meetings with the governor and his cabinet on my intention to be given land to build this MRO that, by God’s grace, will become the biggest in Africa on completion.
MRO at Obong Atta International Airport in Uyo, Akwa Ibom Source: The Guardian
“Our intentions were announced. In fairness, the governor truly wanted it. However, the usual intrigues and selfish interests from unknown others thwarted our intentions.”
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“No one agreed to release land,” he said, noting that some families began laying claims on the portions meant for the project.
“Some families started claiming ownership of some lands anticipated to be given to us. The conflicts started. All my shuttles to Enugu came to nothing. I was pained.
“At the Anambra Airport, I paid for land for the MRO facility. I paid over N100m for land there. The next thing was some community and families warning me that the land at the airport belonged to them, that the state government had no right to even build the airport without their permission.”
“The land is still there, empty,” he said, stressing that citizens of the South-East region must stop blaming others but themselves.
“The time has come for Igbos to look in the mirror and see who their true enemies are. When they gaze into the mirror, the real enemy will be staring back at them. Let us, as a people, undertake self-examination before we start complaining.
“We moan a lot about everything, blaming everyone, every other tribe, except ourselves. We are destroying the Igbo land ourselves while blaming others,” he said.
“How many Ndi Igbo can safely invest in Igboland now? I have not visited my hometown in three and a half years due to the dire security situation in my area.
“I acquired a large expanse of land to build an international hospital and a five-star hotel resort. The dream is already gone. Let Igbos do self-introspection before blaming others.”
In aviation, an MRO is an aircraft maintenance facility capable of performing required maintenance/inspection, FlyAirShare said. Maintenance includes inspections, routine maintenance items on the aircraft, while repair is associated with returning an accessory/component or aircraft to serviceable condition.
Overhaul, 0n the other hand, is the repair or replacement of parts on an aircraft accessory/component, engine, or an item on an aircraft back to original equipment manufacturers (OEM)’ standards.
Though this is not peculiar to the South-East region, land tenure system remains a major drag on investments in Nigeria. Communities sometimes stall development or investments for issues ranging from land ownership to family ties.
At the Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) annual induction ceremony for its new members on Friday, Onyema clarified reports in some Nigerian newspapers that the British government blocked Air Peace’s London flight.
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Onyema said, “These days they like misquoting me. Just today (Thursday), I woke up very enraged. I saw a news story quoting me from an event we had in Abuja on Tuesday that ‘British government prevented Air Peace from getting to London for seven years, says Onyema.’ I never said that.
“The same newspaper published on Tuesday: Thanks British Government for Supporting Air Peace. You can see an effort to cause mischief.”
