FAAN: Contributing to ease of doing business through improved management and service

Rachel Akinsoyinu is a top official in one of Nigeria’s biggest companies in the service industry. Her company has offices in almost every major city in Nigeria. Rachael was at the meeting when the company decided to expand its operations to five African countries and she would be leading the charge. She loves her job, and leading expansion beyond Nigeria’s borders comes with perks but she was visibly disturbed. Memories of the stress associated with travelling through Nigerian airports plagued her. She considered rejecting the offer.

Rachel didn’t know times had changed. She imagined Nigerian airports were still as stressful as they used to be. That was before the country decided to evolve and rise above its business as usual attitude. Rachel did not know that after Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President, signed three executive orders in May 18, 2017 many things changed.

The three executive orders signed in summary were: The promotion of transparency and efficiency in the business environment, to facilitate ease of doing business in Nigeria; support for local content in public procurement by the government and timely submission of annual budgetary estimates by all statutory and non-statutory agencies.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) took the first order as a cue to revamp operations at the airports.

One of the things that got Rachael worked up about her new role was that it would involve frequent interfaces with touts at the airports. She hated it since the day she lost her camera to a tout who posed as a security official.

Touting has totally been eradicated from the airports, she found out at last. Instead, what is conspicuously noticeable is the efficiency of the neatly dressed officials  of the FAAN Aviation Security (AVSEC) in their deep blue uniforms. There have always been dedicated entry and exit doors at the airports, but passengers hardly complied. They come in through exits and go out through entries, not because they want to be rebels, but because the signs are not clearly defined and no one was saddled with the duties of enforcing the directions.

“I am surprised at the improvements I am seeing at the airport,” Rachel said when she eventually came to the airport in February 2018 during one of the first trips since she accepted the new role.

“I used to feel like I was navigating a maze whenever I came to the airports. Touts would swarm on you like flies on rotten food but now they are nowhere to be found and I can find my way around with all the hard to miss signs all over the place. This is a huge improvement.”

The executive order on port operations clearly called for an end to touting. “There shall be no touting whatsoever by official or unofficial persons at any port in Nigeria. On duty staff shall be properly identified by uniform and official cards. Off duty staff shall stay away from the ports except with the express approval of the agency head. The FAAN Aviation Security (AVSEC) and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Security shall enforce this order,” the order reads.

What the implementation of the order did in essence was that it eliminated unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks at the airports and, in effect, contributed immensely to the ease of doing business in the country.

Another thing that would normally give passengers headache at the airports, especially the international airports is the multiple checks they have to go through in the hands of different border agencies. It is now a different story. The security agencies at the checkpoints have been streamlined so that passengers are checked by all the agencies at just one point.

“We only check luggage manually to confirm or dispel suspicions raised by the machine,” an official said.

Amaechi Festus, a frequent flier corroborates Rachael’s observation. He noted that the improvement starts from outside. He lauded the improvement made at the car parks at the local and international airports.

“The room for improvement is the largest, but you must commend FAAN and others for the improvements so far,” Festus said. If you look at where they are coming from, you’ll see a lot of improvement. If you come to this place some years back, it was in constant confusion and there was no organisation at all. But with this improvement and the body language of the authorities in charge it looks like a new dawn is on the horizon.”

In June 2016, Rachel had made a vow never to use the toilets in the airports. She had been embarrassed by the stench from the toilet when she needed to use it and the handles and water system had not worked. The nausea followed her home. She took a photo and showed anyone that cared to look at it. She told them about the deplorable state of Nigerian airports.

Seeing the radical improvement at the airport, Rachel decided to find out if the authorities in charge of managing the airports are just playing to the gallery. She broke her vow and visited the toilets.  She had held her breath in anticipation of the stench that would greet her and the ugly sight. She was disappointed. There was no stench and the toilet bowls were sparkling white.

Rachel was moved to give a tip to the toilet janitor as she stepped out. The janitor refused, then goes on to lecture Rachel about the “no bribe” policy they now operate at the airports all over the country. Rachel was left with no choice but to also lecture the janitor on the difference between a bribe and a tip.

In the arrival hall of the international airport, closeby to the six new carousels, FAAN has provided a convenient place for the immigration officials to grants visas on arrival, as part of the executive order. Above each carousel, electronic signages inform arriving passengers where to find their luggage. Now the airport can handle multiple arrivals thus easing the time it takes for baggage clearance and document processing .

These visible improvements such as  In the process of implementing the visa on arrival policy in Nigeria have translated into the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report for 2018. According to the report, Nigeria was ranked 145th, 24 steps higher than its 169th position in 2017. The airport authority’s reform of its operations, in compliance to the executive order, has contributed to Nigeria’s improvement in area of starting business. FAAN is capitalising is on experiences like those of Rachel and Festus to achieve its goal of significantly improving its services and ultimately contributing its own quota to the ease of doing business in the country.

Engr Saleh Dunoma, MD/CEO FAAN restated recently at a press conference that FAAN is seeking to consolidate its achievement in improving ease of doing business in the country by hosting the 59th ACI-Africa Board and Committees Meetings & Regional Conference and Exhibition in Nigeria.

“In line with the presidential mandate on ease of doing business in Nigeria, this conference will bring together professionals who will bring together their wealth of experience to come up with positions that will ensure the ease of doing airport business in Nigeria and Africa. This conference will bring together investors from all over the world,” Dunoma said about the conference scheduled to take place from 14-20 April 2018 in Lagos. Nigeria is currently seeking investments in the various industries especially in the aviation industry.

ACI-Africa, an association of Africa’s airports, is part of Airport Council International (ACI), the global trade representative of airport authorities throughout the world. With over 50 members operating 250 airports in 47 countries throughout the continent, it is the voice of African airports – leading, representing and serving the African airport community.

With less than 20% of commercial revenue, airports in Africa must transform themselves from being not just public service providers but commercial enterprises that generate profits. The conference will highlight the importance of industry partners and public-private partnership for innovative project creation, leadership and strategic planning as tools to achieve these goals.

Dunoma maintains that “This conference will afford investors firsthand information about the needs and opportunities in the Nigerian aviation sector.”

Investments in and enhancement of non-aeronautical assets are critical component of an airport’s revenue stream and bottom line. They contribute significantly to making airports sustainable.

The objective of FAAN, which is currently managing over 22 airports across the country on behalf of the Federal Government, is to tap into the potentials of airports as generators of economic growth, jobs and facilitate international trade and tourism.

No wonder Rachael, like many other travellers who are impressed by the achievements of FAAN, concluded, on arrival from her first trip a week later, that airports problem was the least of her troubles on her new appointment.

Endurance Okafor