Not impressed
"Why can’t they ask the newspapers houses to merge? You don’t force people to come together or merge. You don’t put a gun in somebody’s head to make merger effective. If a business is successful, people will merge and pull resources together and achieve what we call economies of scale. There is no where in the world where you put consolidation ahead of designation or liberalization. How much consolidation has taken place in Africa. It’s still an evolving process. That is not a justification to bring Virgin into Nigeria."
Im not impressed and im not convinced. It sounds like Mr. Odukoya is constantly dwelling in the immediate past, not realizing that Virgin Nigeria is really here and will stay.
It's time Bellview starts thinking of ways to compete and protect its own interests, pro-actively rather than reacting negatively and constantly mobilizing the media against Virgin Nigeria.
I don't recall ONCE Mr. Odukoya mentioning anything about welcoming competition, either domestically or internationally. In contrast, Aero contractors has often made statements welcoming competition and the technical and managerial know-how Virgin Nigeria will introduce to the country.
I also disagree with what he says about mergers. In MOST cases, companies merge as a result of intense market pressure and adaptation. The pressure on existing private carriers is very high now, especially after VK's announcement of very competetive fares, and it only makes sense for them to react by joining forces to become stronger against VK. Mergers doesnt mean merging with any airline. Good mergers result from two airlines of similar product type and market, consolidating to merge. I dont see why Bellview and Sosoliso for example, shouldnt merge. They both have a relatively good reputation and their route networks fit nicely into one another (no duplication). Another example is Bellview and Overland. The merged carrier would offer something VK doesnt offer (regional coverage of the hinterlands), and hence what I meant in 'stronger'.
There's no doubt the governments policies havnt been exactly consistent and fair to everyone, but I just hope Mr. Odukoya can just show a bit more confidence in adapting to a new reality in the Nigerian airline industry.
PS: The above interview is a bit dated.