On Nigeria's Okada Air
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On Nigeria's Okada Air
Here's a piece that was posted on naija-talks.com. It concerns the defunct Nigerian carrier, Okada Air. Fellow ppruners, let's hear your takes on this blast from the past.
Before he bought Marcos' 1-11, Igbinedion in '84,flew in Fed Govt's HS 125-600, which had just been traded in for a pair of the latest Series 700. It caused a stir in Nigerian aviation, cos that HS was built to very high standards, with many options fitted. By '85 however, the jet began its retirement across the apron from the Aero facility, because Igbinedion would not pay for maintenance done by Aero. And that's how that one got away...
Even before the -600 was a -400/3/1 series, which flew as OGI charters, the great man's (aw, come on!) initials. That jet worked some more after the -600. Then, there was the 30-seat Shorts 300 TP, dubbed "Niger Express", bought for the Minna route. A casualty even as it started service. The great man would not arrange decent hotel accomodation for the British crew as agreed, and those ones flew home in a huff. This was '85. I don't know of it later saw revenue service, but it's said to have been abandoned in some northern airfield.
There's the early series Caravelle ('85), which, same year, was flown (to my pleasant surprise),by ex-WT pilots. Yep,the gentlemen brought in money for the CBN, and yours truly was at the AIS when they alighted to file flight plan etc. A BBC Radio lady reporter had put things in perspective when she observed that the great man seemed to buy these jets on a whim. In the 84-86 period, there was a DC8, and a 707. I thought a Caravelle side by side 1-11s, or the 707 alongside the DC8 made no sense. There was the sole Do 228-100 whose Okada career generated enough play to command a Nollywood flick. More was to come; they actually painted up a DC10 in the US, before plumping for 747s, in '93. There were four 727-200s, including two quality machines from Lufthansa.
Away from types and dates, they built a hangar at Benin airport, but cited it too close to the runway. The great man had a way of bullying his staff, and so, one day, slapped one of his pilots. That one replied with a whoezzing. Days later, the great man went and begged him. And would you believe it, Igbins actually commanded clout with the two-ship 1-11 exec flight of 87-93: something tells me MKO Abiola may have had those 1-11s in mind when, in 1990, he referred to his HS125, as a "Jalopy"
But hate it or love it, the airline contributed to the progress of the Nigeria of that era, by providing, well, maybe safe, and for some time in the minds of most Nigerians, reliable airline service, evinced in the name given to the then new motorbike taxis, which were quickly dubbed Okada, to wit: they whizzed in and out of traffic, while car taxis and buses were stuck for hours. This again reflected the steady decline in the fleet, time-table discipline and market of Nigeria airways. It was painful to watch, in '87-'90 only, two 737s, a DC10 and an A310 go out forever, even as Okada expanded to double digit 1-11 ops.
I'm a Bini man, resident for the most part in Benin City, Okada HQ, and so have had a grand view of the drama as it unfolded over the years. We miss the mix of emotions that was Okada Air. The milieu as it was then, created the circumstances that gave birth to the airline. The one thing you can be sure of is, there will never be another Okada Air
Before he bought Marcos' 1-11, Igbinedion in '84,flew in Fed Govt's HS 125-600, which had just been traded in for a pair of the latest Series 700. It caused a stir in Nigerian aviation, cos that HS was built to very high standards, with many options fitted. By '85 however, the jet began its retirement across the apron from the Aero facility, because Igbinedion would not pay for maintenance done by Aero. And that's how that one got away...
Even before the -600 was a -400/3/1 series, which flew as OGI charters, the great man's (aw, come on!) initials. That jet worked some more after the -600. Then, there was the 30-seat Shorts 300 TP, dubbed "Niger Express", bought for the Minna route. A casualty even as it started service. The great man would not arrange decent hotel accomodation for the British crew as agreed, and those ones flew home in a huff. This was '85. I don't know of it later saw revenue service, but it's said to have been abandoned in some northern airfield.
There's the early series Caravelle ('85), which, same year, was flown (to my pleasant surprise),by ex-WT pilots. Yep,the gentlemen brought in money for the CBN, and yours truly was at the AIS when they alighted to file flight plan etc. A BBC Radio lady reporter had put things in perspective when she observed that the great man seemed to buy these jets on a whim. In the 84-86 period, there was a DC8, and a 707. I thought a Caravelle side by side 1-11s, or the 707 alongside the DC8 made no sense. There was the sole Do 228-100 whose Okada career generated enough play to command a Nollywood flick. More was to come; they actually painted up a DC10 in the US, before plumping for 747s, in '93. There were four 727-200s, including two quality machines from Lufthansa.
Away from types and dates, they built a hangar at Benin airport, but cited it too close to the runway. The great man had a way of bullying his staff, and so, one day, slapped one of his pilots. That one replied with a whoezzing. Days later, the great man went and begged him. And would you believe it, Igbins actually commanded clout with the two-ship 1-11 exec flight of 87-93: something tells me MKO Abiola may have had those 1-11s in mind when, in 1990, he referred to his HS125, as a "Jalopy"
But hate it or love it, the airline contributed to the progress of the Nigeria of that era, by providing, well, maybe safe, and for some time in the minds of most Nigerians, reliable airline service, evinced in the name given to the then new motorbike taxis, which were quickly dubbed Okada, to wit: they whizzed in and out of traffic, while car taxis and buses were stuck for hours. This again reflected the steady decline in the fleet, time-table discipline and market of Nigeria airways. It was painful to watch, in '87-'90 only, two 737s, a DC10 and an A310 go out forever, even as Okada expanded to double digit 1-11 ops.
I'm a Bini man, resident for the most part in Benin City, Okada HQ, and so have had a grand view of the drama as it unfolded over the years. We miss the mix of emotions that was Okada Air. The milieu as it was then, created the circumstances that gave birth to the airline. The one thing you can be sure of is, there will never be another Okada Air
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Phantom Driver: you're based in Singapore, your profile says. If you're one of the Asians who worked in Okada maintenance, pls throw more light on the airline. Regards
