By Steve Omolale– That the iconic Murtala Mohammed Airport Terminal Two, Ikeja, Lagos, popularly known as MMA2, is still standing solid 18 years after it started operation is a testament to the resilience, innovativeness, tenacity and diehard commitment and belief of its promoter and management that the project could, and has, indeed, revolutionised the country’s aviation sector. It is also a strident proof that the private sector holds the ace for development of the Nigerian economy.
As the first successful Public- Private Partnership (PPP) in Nigeria, which came on stream under the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration in May 2007, MMA2 has undoubtedly changed the narrative and the way many Nigerians hitherto viewed public enterprises. And who can blame them? A situation in which government officials have deliberately grounded many of those enterprises and infrastructure with mindless corruption would naturally make Nigerians wink at their sincerity in managing the facilities.
The brainchild of billionaire businessman and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Wale Babalakin, through his Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), MMA2 came at a time Nigeria was craving for radical upliftment of the country’s aviation infrastructure. With the loss of the former domestic terminal at the Murtala Muhammed Airport to a raging inferno, the void created by this and the dearth of other befitting facilities at the terminal was palpable; a national embarrassment sort of. And to save the country from this monumental humiliation, Obasanjo, in his wisdom, needed a competent private company to handle the reconstruction of a befitting domestic terminal. However, the terminal design pushed forward by the government agency responsible for overseeing the reconstruction was what looked like a shed, unbefitting of a country like Nigeria. But, determined to deliver a world-class terminal, BASL, which was called upon as the reserved bidder for the reconstruction when the bid winner could not deliver for over a year after winning the bid, took the gauntlet and mobilised all available resources and expertise at its disposal, including visits by the project team to South Africa, to deliver the multipurpose terminal, under the Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) scheme. The terminal has expectedly stood firm for the past 18 years and has become the pride of the nation and cynosure of all eyes, especially for first-time fliers and visitors. It has also proved cynics, who thought nothing good and enduring could ever come out of Nigeria, wrong.
The first flight operation from MMA2 took off on May 7, 2007, amid pomp and colours, joy and excitement, with Chanchangi Airline’s Lagos-Kaduna flight.
The aircraft, a Boeing 727 with registration number 5N BEU and flight number NCH 334 left the terminal by 5.15 pm with 70 elated passengers.
And over the years, despite suffering all manner of obstacles in litigations and outright attempts to surreptitiously take over the terminal from its operator, BASL has remained undaunted in its resolve to sustain the facility, although at a huge cost to Babalakin, who has always sought the best hands, both locally and internationally, to manage MMA2 which he considers as a legacy project, providing jobs directly and indirectly for thousands of Nigerians and foreigners alike.
Surely, to keep the one-stop terminal open and lit 24/7, 365 days in a year is no mean task, especially considering the cost of providing electricity and maintaining all the facilities therein and routinely replacing some to meet international standards. It is for this simple reason that faltering individuals have never and can never manage MMA2. For if it had been otherwise, the terminal would have been one ramshackle structure a long time ago.
According to its slogan, “More than a terminal”, BASL has taken MMA2 beyond the imagination of stakeholders in the aviation industry. It has, indeed, become an all-rounder facility, providing flying, parking, shopping and other unforgettable experiences to fliers and visitors.
However, the refusal of the government to grant MMA2 the permission to commence regional flight operations despite the availability in abundance of all the facilities needed for this is befuddling many aviation stakeholders.
This notwithstanding, and believing in consistently giving back to the society for its unflinching support, the management of the terminal has elevated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to a high pedestal. Year in year out, while marking its anniversary, it has always supported segments of the society in different ways. And this year, the case is not different as it celebrates the 18th anniversary of MMA2 with a visit to the Bethesda Home and School for the Blind in Lagos with a lot goodies, including financial support, for the school, in what the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Kola Bamigboye, aptly described as “a moment of reflection, gratitude, and renewed commitment to the values that drive us”.
While it keeps raising the bar in terminal management in West Africa, as BASL had, in the past, hosted some aviation managers from the sub-region who came to understudy its shrewdness in managing MMA2, a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Ajoke Yinka-Olawuyi, as part of the celebration, summed it up thus: “Since its commissioning in 2007, MMA2 has set the benchmark for terminal management in Nigeria, combining operational efficiency with customer-centric services. The 18th anniversary highlights BASL’s ongoing focus on service excellence, innovation and community engagement.”
Indeed, this unique management style is what has sustained the terminal in the last 18 years and will keep sustaining it in many decades to come.
*Omolale, a journalist, sent in this piece from Lagos.
