Decisive actions of the Nigerian authorities in shielding Air Peace, the country’s flag carrier in United Arab Emirates underscore the national principle that protecting Nigeria and its interests should indeed be the primary responsibility of the government in any diplomatic relationship.
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The tumultuous aviation scuffle between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has its origin in February this year when Emirates Airline, which is the flag carrier of the UAE stopped flights to Nigeria due to the suspension of its operations by the Federal Government. The suspension followed its demand for Nigerian travellers to take the Rapid Antigen Test (RDT) four hours before their flight to the country as stipulated in the COVID protocols of the UAE. When Emirates began its demand for the test, Nigerian Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, described the RDT requirement as “discriminatory profiling” of Nigerian travellers. The ban was later lifted after the airline agreed to stop the rapid antigen tests. But in a twist in March, the Federal Government reintroduced the ban, explaining that Emirates reneged on its promise and has continued to conduct rapid antigen tests for passengers before departure from Nigeria.
On November 27, the federal government through Hadi Sirika revealed it has lifted restrictions on Emirates flights ten months after the diplomatic strains around COVID-19 travel requirements on Nigerian passengers halted the operations of the airline in the country. Sirika said the airline had removed some of its travelling conditions for Nigeria. The UAE, in its Coronavirus protocol guideline dropped the Rapid Antigen Test (RDT) for COVID-19 as prerequisite for travelling to the Middle East country for Nigerians and some other countries. The Nigerian government therefore responded swiftly by lifting the ban it previously placed on Emirates Airline’s flights into Nigeria.
Giving further details he said “We received communications from Emirates removing some of the conditions for travelling for which we had concerns, having done that, it is necessary to lift the ban on Emirates. This subsequent lifting of the ban is a product of lengthy negotiations between us and them”. Sirika assured that the relationship between Nigeria and UAE remained strong. Similarly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, noted that the Nigerian government recognised that the UAE “has a responsibility” to protect the lives of her citizens and “whatever measures that they had taken were in the interest of her citizens.”
In a dramatic development about 2 weeks after the ban was lifted, the Federal Government withdrew its approval for Emirates Airlines winter schedule, cutting down the carrier’s daily flights to Abuja to just once a week. A day after, Emirates Airline announced the total suspension of its flights to Nigeria. The airline said it decision was due to the directive limiting its operation in the country to one flight per week. It noted that the suspension would continue until the civil aviation authorities from Nigeria and the UAE found a solution to the problem. The airline said it was committed to its operations in Nigeria, adding that it was ready to reinstate services once restrictions were lifted by the Nigerian authorities.
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Meanwhile, the Federal Government provided explanations on why it had to cut down the daily flights of Emirates Airlines to just one per week to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Musa Nuhu, stated that following the lifting of the ban on Emirates Airline’s passenger flights to Nigeria by the government, the United Arab Emirates-based airline applied to the Federal Ministry of Aviation for approval of its winter flight schedule. He said the requested schedule consisted of 21 weekly passenger flight frequencies to Nigeria, comprising two daily flights to Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos and one daily flight to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Nuhu further revealed that the Minister of Aviation graciously approved the winter schedule as requested without any hindrance or arrival slots requirements in the spirit and intent of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Nigeria and UAE.
He further stated that Air Peace Airlines, the only Nigerian airline that operated passenger flights to Sharjah International Airport in UAE, requested three weekly passenger flight frequencies and was granted only one weekly passenger flight frequency by UAE authorities. The NCAA boss stated that the Director-General of General Civil Aviation Authority in the UAE attributed this action to the non-availability of arrival slots at Sharjah International Airport. Nuhu said “Bilateral Air Services Agreement between countries are based on the principle of reciprocity for transparency and fairness to both sides. While Nigerian authorities approved the request of Emirates Airlines, UAE authorities acted in total disregard of the terms and provisions between the two countries by approving one out of the three weekly passenger flight frequencies requested by Air Peace Airlines.”
The UAE didn’t stop at suspending its operations in Nigeria, it went on to direct foreign airlines not to bring Nigerian passengers into UAE. Nigerian passengers were therefore denied boarding to UAE by other air operators such as Turkish Air, Ethiopian airlines and others.
Seeking solutions towards ending the stalemate, on tuesday 14th December, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, met with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, and his aviation counterpart, Hadi Sirika, over the flight dispute between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria. Also present at the meeting were representatives of Emirates Airline, the Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, and heads of agencies in the aviation sector.
After the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, Gbajabiamila told journalists that it was a fruitful deliberation where issues at stake were discussed. The Speaker said both Nigeria and UAE had good diplomatic relations and that they would not allow the current row to mar the long-standing friendship. The Speaker also commended the Minister of Aviation and his Foreign Affairs counterpart for the bold steps taken in the last couple of days toward ensuring an amicable resolution of the impasse. He observed that the UAE Government is already beginning to take steps to address what was an unfortunate situation. And again, due to the bold steps taken by the Ministers, the United Kingdom is beginning to take steps towards taking Nigeria off its travel red list.
With Nigeria’s staunch belief in the correctness of its actions standing firm and the UAE’s counter-actions very much rigid; diplomatic tensions were at the risk of escalating. But the UAE blinked first as it reversed its ill-thought decision on slots given to Air Peace Airlines, and it agreed to concede seven slots to the Nigerian carrier; even offering the airline to fly directly to Dubai and not Sharjah Airport that it had earlier requested. The General Civil Aviation Authority of UAE and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) has written to the Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, saying seven slots had been granted to Air Peace to operate in Dubai Airport. The Director General of the DCAA, Mohammed A. Ahli, said the Dubai Airports Authorities had confirmed and blocked seven slots for Air Peace describing the move as a gesture of goodwill and in support of the relations between the two countries.
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The Ministry of Aviation on Tuesday confirmed that the United Arab Emirates had indeed agreed to increase the flight slots allotted to Air Peace to operate into UAE. Director, Public Affairs of the Ministry, James Odaudu, confirmed to journalists that it was true that the UAE had allotted increased flight slots to Air Peace. But Air Peace insisted on Tuesday that it was still awaiting the official receipt of the reported letter from the United Arab Emirates on the concession of seven flight slots to the carrier by the UAE government. The situation appears to have been rescued from the imminent implosion it was heading towards and although it has not been finally laid to rest; a conciliatory end appears in sight.
The actions of the Federal Government throughout the aviation discord has elicited positive reactions and comments from the general public; who praised the government for putting Nigeria and its economic interests first. The posture of the government is indeed significant in a broader context; it has laid down an instructive marker to the global community that Nigeria and its companies are not to be taken for granted by other countries; and that it will do anything within its sovereign power to ensure that Nigeria and its interests are not treated with disdain or scorn by any country. It also underpinned the fact that Nigeria will not have symbols of its national pride subjected to undue disregard or any form of maltreatment whatsoever by any country. It is a laudable path of action that should be sustained and extended to many other areas where Nigeria and its interests are unjustifiably threatened by other countries. As noble as maintaining amicable diplomatic relationships are; it should never be at the cost of relegating our national sovereignty, pride and interests.
The unwavering stance of Nigeria forced the UAE into a rethink and made it back off from an earlier confrontation that threatened relations between both countries; a situation that was created by UAE in the first place from its unjust and unequitable allocation to Air Peace in its country’s airports.