Resuscitating Idle Katsina Airport

By

Muktar Maimaje

muktarmaimaje@yahoo.com

It is common knowledge that majority of the States in Nigeria have an airport. They are however mostly prestige projects established without any economic plan. The airports are mainly used to ferry governors and other VIPs to and from the State capitals or for airlifts of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and Israel. In most domestic airports many days pass without the sound of aircraft landing or take off. In other words the airports in most States are idle. But should an airport built with millions of naira be left idle for most of the year? Is there no way that it can be made busy either by government, security agencies or the private sector?

Nigeria being largely agrarian can use these airports to improve internal trade within Nigeria by airlifting produce from the airports to other parts of Nigeria. My focus however is on Katsina State even though the same can be said about other States with idle domestic airports. Our State government can set up a contact committee to liaise with other States in northern Nigeria to organise a viable private sector driven trade with markets in southern Nigeria for milk and meat products such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, beef, lamb, chicken, goat head, cow leg and duck, fresh vegetables such as green beans, carrots, cabbage, lentil and garden egg, fresh fruits such as  guava, cashew, mangoes and other products such as cooking oil, poultry and eggs, food stuff such as rice, beans and maize and wheat flour etc that can be packaged and air freighted. From the south, other abundant produce such as fruits, fish, yam flour, palm oil, kolanuts and garri can be packaged and airlifted to markets in Katsina and other parts of northern Nigeria.

Warehouses close to the airports can store whatever is freighted to the airports. This will reduce the burden on our roads and be a buffer to the railways. The advantage of air travel is that food products will remain fresh for sale for a longer time. Cargo and passenger planes can be sourced from the private sector to facilitate the trade while chambers of commerce can organise wholesale and distribution centres from the warehouses.   

Standardisation, packaging, preservation and sanitary preparations of farm products will add value to the products and this will attract attention for such products in other parts of Africa and the World. This is where hard work, patience and commitment will be tested and the success of the project will depend on the production of farm product that is not only hygienically prepared but the packaging and pricing will meet modern trade requirements. This kind of trade is not new or strange because in the 1980’s Sambo Farms Ltd Funtua, Northern Dairies Ltd Funtua and Government Dairies at Runka were producing high quality poultry and dairy products with markets up to Lagos, but sadly today our shops are full of imported products. In fact apples, grapes and other fruits imported from South Africa, Lebanon and other Mediterranean countries are air freighted and sold on our streets. It is the same with imported fish and other sea products from foreign lands.

However adding value to agricultural produce requires knowledge and capital that are not available to peasants who are currently the major producers. It means government should encourage the peasants, youths, pensioners and businessmen who are willing to learn to embark not only in production itself but also processing that adds value in cleaning, storage, attractive and appropriate packaging and marketing.

My idea is simply that Government should liaise with relevant stakeholders to produce high quality agricultural products that can be air freighted and sold in other areas for economic gains. Katsina State government should liaise with the Federal Ministries in charge of Aviation, Trade and Agriculture, Nigeria and Northern Governors Forums, NNDC, SON, NABDA, NAFDAC, NACCIMA, Cooperative societies and the Presidency and other relevant stakeholders to give life to this idea. Since Katsina is scheduled to host the President during the upcoming Economic Summit the opportunity is now.