The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari set out a Presidential Aviation Roadmap in 2016, laying the groundwork for what officials described as a comprehensive rebuild of Nigeria's aviation infrastructure and institutions. Central to the plan was a commitment to revive a Nigerian national carrier, more than a decade after the collapse of Nigeria Airways and the later closure of its short-lived successor, Air Nigeria.
The roadmap also outlined ambitions for new cargo airports to support agricultural and manufactured exports, a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility to reduce the industry's dependence on servicing aircraft abroad, and a national aircraft leasing company intended to make it easier and cheaper for Nigerian carriers to finance fleet expansion. Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika, a former commercial pilot, was the public face of the initiative.
Fulfilling a Campaign Promise
The push for a new national carrier traced back to a pledge Buhari made during his 2015 presidential campaign, and the 2016 roadmap represented the government's first detailed attempt to translate that promise into a working plan. Officials framed the proposed airline as a private sector-led venture rather than a return to the state-run model that had ultimately bankrupted Nigeria Airways, with the government expected to hold only a minority stake.
Ambitions Against a Difficult Backdrop
The roadmap's unveiling came at an awkward moment for the industry it was meant to transform, with airlines simultaneously grappling with fuel scarcity, a forex squeeze and a recession-hit economy. Sceptics questioned whether the government could deliver on such an ambitious set of infrastructure projects while existing carriers struggled to stay airborne, a tension that would continue to shape the roadmap's slow, multi-year rollout in the years that followed.