An average watcher of recent developments in the aviation sector in the country may be tempted to say Nigeria has never had it so good in terms of paying attention to upgrade in infrastructure and key navigational facilities at the nation's airports since most of them were built decades ago.
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For instance, the nation's flagship, the Murtala Muhammed Airport was commissioned in 1979 and ever since, no efforts had been made to renew it until the recent re-modelling embarked upon by the present administration.
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However, the re-modelling of physical infrastructure of airports is where the transformation of the industry stops as policy flip-flops still trail developments in the sector. Even the re modelling appears not holistic, what with the cooling system of Lagos airport which performance remains epileptic as the chillers are as old as the airport itself.
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Talks of replacing them had been mere lipservice, even by the present dispensation. What is the essence of exotic physical structures without comfort for the travelling public.
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The functionality of an airport goes beyond beautiful terminal buildings as exemplified by LeopoldSedarSenghor Airport in Dakar, Senegal, for instance. That airport is not presentable in terms of physical beauty but is functional 24 hours of the day without power failures, stuffy terminal building and epileptic navigational aids. Where Nigeria is struggling to position the MurtalaMuhammedAirport as a hub in West Africa without success, the airport in Dakar remains a natural hub due to its functionality.