US embassy cable - 05LAGOS1722

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 001722 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS FAA FOR ACONLEY, 
TRANSPORTATION FOR FAA; DAKAR PLEASE PASS TO FAA REP ED 
JONES; ROME PLEASE PASS TO TSA REP JOHN HALINSKI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2015 
TAGS: EAIR, EINV, PREL, NI 
SUBJECT: AVIATION MINISTER SUPPORTS U.S.-NIGERIA DIRECT AIR 
SERVICES 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Brian L. Browne 
for reasons 1.4 (D). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  The Consul General met Aviation Minister 
Borishade on October 20 for a readout on the aviation 
industry and the issues the Minister will likely raise during 
his October 28 meeting with Transportation Secretary Mineta. 
(This meeting occurred before the October 22 Bellview air 
crash. The Minister has cancelled his October 28 visit). 
Borishade cited four areas for possible USG assistance: 
improving and building runways in their gateway airports, 
strengthening maintenance facilities for routine aircraft 
maintenance, expanding air cargo handling through 
buy-own-and-transfer (BOT) operations with private sector 
involvement, and creating a regional aviation training 
school.  He supported resumption of U.S.-Nigeria direct air 
services, yet, irked by Virgin Nigeria's (VN) temporizing on 
its DOT application, Borishade asserted that promoting VN 
would not be a primary objective of his U.S. visit.  The 
Minister also requested assistance on drafting an improved 
comprehensive Aviation Bill.  End Summary. 
 
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Current Challenges in Aviation 
------------------------------ 
 
2. (C) On October 20, Aviation Minister Babalola Borishade 
and Director General Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority 
(NCAA), Fidelis Onyeyiri, met Consul General Browne, 
Contingency and Security Solutions International (CSSI) CEO 
Clayton Scott, CSSI Security Consultant David Ryder, and 
notetaker Ken Reiman to give a preview of key issues he would 
raise during his visit to Washington.  Not being very 
charitable in assessing the performance of his predecessor, 
Borishade stated that many fundamental reforms and 
clearly-needed infrastructural improvements had languished or 
were poorly implemented.  Unfortunately, the Ministry's 
checkered performance came against a backdrop of rapid 
expansion of the industry in Nigeria.  He said the Ministry 
now "must run to catch up to international standards" and 
needed experienced aviation experts to assist in the process. 
 He said private/public partnerships and partnership with USG 
were crucial to reinvigorate the sector, particularly in 
upgrading infrastructural facilities and providing training. 
Borishade emphasized that it was in the USG interest to 
ameliorate the Nigerian aviation industry to spur mutually 
beneficial bilateral trade and investment.  Borishade said he 
would attend an aviation/transportation meeting in Miami, 
Florida from October 31-November 2 where he would provide an 
update on Nigeria's aviation industry, including the status 
of the Aviation Bill. 
 
3. (C) Borishade focused on four areas to develop Nigeria's 
aviation sector to meet international standards: adequate 
safe runways in gateway airports such as Ilori, Calabar, 
Kano, and Port Harcourt, building a large-scale maintenance 
facility for routine aircraft maintenance, expanding air 
cargo handling through (BOT) operations, and establishing a 
regional aviation training school.  Borishade emphasized that 
the political will was there to liberalize the aviation 
sector, and that President Obasanjo strongly favored private 
partnerships.  The creation of an aviation training (flight 
and maintenance training) school would also cut the costs of 
having to send student abroad for training, Borishade said. 
The Minister emphasized construction of the large maintenance 
facility and the training school were essential building 
blocks in his and the President's vision to establish Lagos 
as the undisputed regional aviation hub. 
 
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We Want Continental Back 
------------------------ 
 
4. (C) Borishade planned to speak with Continental Airlines 
executives during his October 27-November 2 trip in an 
attempt to woo them back into the Nigerian aviation market. 
He said the "Continental incident" was unfortunate and hurt 
Nigeria.  He mentioned a preliminary meeting with a lawyer 
from Continental on October 20 in Lagos.  Borishade claimed a 
major reason for the imbroglio over Continental was that the 
GON did not fully comprehend the extent of the differences 
between the U.S. and U.K on aviation.  The GON's 
underestimation in this dispute led it to take some impolitic 
moves, he suggested.  Borishade confided he had met VN CEO 
Simon Harford on October 19, telling Harford that VN delay in 
submitting a DOT application was unhelpful.  Clearly 
signaling that the honeymoon between the Ministry and VN was 
over, Borishade claimed VN was using the Ministry for its own 
corporate purposes, and said he personally told Harford that 
VN dilatoriness with the DOT application was "bullshit". 
Borishade said he spoke with President Obasanjo about VN's 
slipperiness.  The President said he reserved no monopoly for 
VN on the direct route and that Borishade should appeal to 
both international and other domestic carriers to fill the 
void if VN continues to play coy. 
 
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Assistance with Aviation Bill Requested 
--------------------------------------- 
 
5. (C) Borishade requested USG assistance to improve a 
comprehensive Aviation Bill to pass through the National 
Assembly.  He said he would like the DOT to assist 
strengthening the current Bill, particularly provisions 
dealing with independence and regulatory ambitions of the 
NCAA.  Once the legislation was annealed, concomitant 
regulations also needed to be amended in parallel fashion. 
Borishade welcomed any legal suggestions and advice the USG 
could provide. 
 
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Comment 
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6. (C) This meeting took place before the Bellview tragedy 
and before the cancellation of Borishade's visit.  This 
tragic event will now reshape the parametering priorities and 
tone of Borishade's future visit to Washington which has been 
postponed indefinitely.  While the GON-VN relationship is 
publicly chummy, Borishade appears to be far from enamored 
and his trust in Virgin's CEO Harford has ebbed considerably. 
 Perhaps due to a combination of his own misgivings and of 
pressure from the domestic carriers, Borishade seems to be 
distancing himself from VN and now wants to soft-pedal his 
link with VN.  This could all be a ruse by Borishade to get 
us to see him and his ministry in a favorable light in hopes 
we will reveal to him about how we would handle a VN 
application for the direct route.  However, it is unlikely 
that he is trying to dupe us.  He appeared sincere in his 
desire to open up and place the Continental airlines 
situation in the past, but his hope that Continental could be 
coaxed to return is not likely to fly, and reveals his lack 
of personal familiarity with this tense episode.  While he 
may not get Continental to return, we will try to hold him to 
the promise that the same mistake would not be repeated with 
another U.S. carrier should one express interest in the 
Nigerian market.  End Comment. 
BROWNE