Kevin From Canada, joined Dec 2000, 1129 posts, RR: 0 Posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 2722 times:
Nigerian parlament has finally made its decision for the acquisition of the new presidential aircraft. Positive.
5.5 billions nayra (48.71 mln US$).
Since his inauguration in May 1999 , Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has made 53 foreign trips (I guess this is the biggest money spending chapter in the country's budget ).
What airplane you think he will buy. He has 50 millions. I don't think he will go for a Gulfstream or Learjet.
BBJ or A319CJ.
Jwenting From Netherlands, joined Apr 2001, 10213 posts, RR: 21 Reply 1, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 2519 times:
BBJ sounds plausible.
Given the "big is beautifull" attitude among African heads of state, he'll probably get the largest possible aircraft for the money
Aviatsiya From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 2493 times:
I would not count out a Tu-204 or Tu-214 for Obasanjo.
Nigeria and Russia have signed a lot of agreements to do with oil, aviation and other issues, and if the Russian's do this right, they have a prime opportunity to snag such a deal. Just a shame they didn't seize on this opportunity whilst Obasanjo was in Moscow, only recently.
Na From Germany, joined Dec 1999, 9614 posts, RR: 10 Reply 5, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 2433 times:
The 747SP, very cheap on the market, will make a far better show. Fuel price is not so important for Nigeria, since they´re sitting on one of the largest oil-barrels in the world.
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 2386 times:
More than half of the country is in poverty, in spite of Nigeria being one of the worlds' biggest oil exporters, and this guy wants to buy himself a nice new BBJ (or something bigger). He should be happy with a KingAir and earn the rest.
Parra From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 9, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 2372 times:
Give the guy a break. Compared to the last guy he's a saint.
Why shouldn't the president of the most populous country in Africa have a prestige plane. Africa isn't just mud huts and famine but also industry and skyscrapers in big cities, especially in Nigeria.
Come to think of it the last guy has got billions of dollars tied up in Swiss banks and big surprise - they won't give it back to Nigeria.
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 11, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 2351 times:
>I can't believe that though<
And you shouldn't either. There's no such thing as an A340-400, last I heard.
Parra,
There are ways of getting the money back, which involves proving that the money was stolen. A number of countries have done so in the past. Yes, it's time consuming, but you can't expect the Swiss to maintain their reputation for sure banking if they gave away your fortune at the first sight of an accusation.
The Nigerians shouldn't have let him steal the money in the first place anyway.
In any case, that's hardly an excuse. Nigeria could have been as rich as South Africa, if not more, had their corruption not siphoned off everything.
This plane is a good example. It is not a productive asset, and costs the same as the average annual salaries of 50,000 Nigerians.
Bryston From Canada, joined Mar 2001, 137 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 4 days ago) and read 2335 times:
I think that it will depend if the guy wants a VIP aircraft or a passenger aircraft! Price for a well equipped biz jet can be very high! Something like 40-50 mln US$ for a GV or a Global Express...
Johnboy From United States of America, joined Aug 1999, 2472 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 2283 times:
Pretty pathetic if you ask me. Not that you're asking me, but I'll say it just the same.
Heavymetal From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 15, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 2266 times:
Every year Air International Magazine puts out listings of all of the world's Air Forces, their squadrons, equipment, etc.
It's funny...and kinda pathetic....that more often than not some of the poorest countries in the world are equipped with large VIP air wings with huge jetliners for their leaders.
And its' not just poor countries....The New Yorker magazine reported in 1999 about the grumblings in Brunei over the astronomical sums of money the Sultan and his immeadiate family were blowing through....including the purchase of the ultimate VIP transport....a fresh off-the-line 747-400.(Which has since been traded in for an A340 if I'm not mistaken).
KUGN From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 615 posts, RR: 6 Reply 16, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 19 hours ago) and read 2248 times:
Well, Nigeria holds prestigeous rank of being #1 on list of most corrupted countries in the world.
Did anyone had a chance to read a 1999 Time article about Nigeria's Y2K solution? They didn't need one, because state of chaos is normal in their society. Nothing runs on time, there is virutally no automation, and no one expects any quality output.
There is little wonder why countries under dictatorships have starving masses, virtually no human rights, poor state of healthcare, while state of the art huge VIP jets, expensive special edition vehicles and other million dollar gadgets.
Ned Kelly From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2001, 393 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 2223 times:
Has anyone seen the "fly on the wall" airport documentry about Lagos Airport on the Discovery Wings Channel? If the rest of the country is run along similar lines to the way the airport is run, then in my opinion some of the remarks made above about Nigeria are not too far off the mark.
Sccutler From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 5092 posts, RR: 28 Reply 18, posted (11 years 10 months 2 weeks 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2192 times:
It will be an American-built aircraft.
Look for a substantial improvement (continuing the recent trend) in Washington-Abuja relations.
Look, also, for substantial cooperation between the USA and Nigeria on aviation-related matters.
...three miles from BRONS, clear for the ILS one five approach...
OO-AOG From Switzerland, joined Dec 2000, 1426 posts, RR: 5 Reply 20, posted (11 years 10 months 1 week 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 2129 times:
Would be better to spend the money on the Nigeria Airway's fleet rather than spending it on a new government plane. 3 derelict A310s stored since years due to lack of maintenance. Sad country.
Na From Germany, joined Dec 1999, 9614 posts, RR: 10 Reply 21, posted (11 years 10 months 1 week 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 2119 times:
"It's a shame that nobody has got anything good to say about Nigeria. Doesn't anyone realise that Nigeria is changing rapidly for the better?"
I know a lot of Nigerians and I´m quite close to the theme. Nigeria is changing for the better, that´s true, but to say "rapidly" is too much said. Corruption is - and will - still be a major factor of every business done with that country for years to come. That "worm" has gone too deep into the society over there and the difference between rich and poor is so great that I don´t believe in a rapid change unfortunately.
Of course this has to be said about many other (and not only) African states.
Mls515 From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 3069 posts, RR: 9 Reply 22, posted (11 years 10 months 1 week 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 2107 times:
see this from The Onion:
Point-Counterpoint: Nigeria
Nigeria May Be A Developing Nation, But It Is Rich In Culture vs. Get Me Out Of This Godforsaken Hellhole
Fanofjets From United States of America, joined Apr 2000, 1895 posts, RR: 3 Reply 23, posted (11 years 10 months 1 week 3 days 19 hours ago) and read 2065 times:
Thank you for the reference, Mls515; the account is chilling to say the least. True, Nigeria has a fascinating cultural and ethnic diversity, and its artistic and ethnological heritage is well worth studying, and I applaud the American student for his interest. However, I am sure the Nigerian student would find many uses for the $450 his US counterpart wants to spend on a native drum - the $450 is probably close to what the average Nigerian earns in a year. With all the misery, human rights violations, and abject socioeconomic inequity in Nigeria, I feel that matters such as what kind of aircraft the head of state should purchase with his stolen money are, at best, trivial.
Daniel
The aeroplane has unveiled for us the true face of the earth. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Ceilidh From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 24, posted (11 years 10 months 1 week 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 2057 times:
The Onion Point/Counterpoint article is somewhat suspicious to my mind. Bitek Okoye obviously doesn't live in Lagos otherwise he'd know that there are no more executions on Bar Beach in Victoria Island - and there haven't been any such executions there for at least 15 years.
Armed robbers are shot at Kirikiri prison; the rest are hung!
25 Greg: The Onion is an online parody of current topics. It's not meant to be any more serious than Mad TV or SNL... The fact that anyone would think the arti
26 Mls515: LOL!!!!!!!!!! I never thought anyone would take the article serious! Yes the Onion is a joke! It's making fun of idealistic intellectual wannabe colle
27 Ironminds: Ah, a new presidential jet...our foreign-aid dollars at work!
28 747-451: Great, he'll buy an A380 while his people live in squalor.
29 Aviatsiya: This has been a great thread with people expressing opinions on a country's government of which they know nothing about. Most of you will think of Nig
30 Airafrique: Nigeria does not need a Big plane. The money should be placed in Education and Health Care. The country needs Democracy. They should take exemple of m
31 Parra: What is George Bush doing flying around in a 747 when over 30% of Americans don't have access to basic healthcare? Every country in the world has faul
32 Notar520AC: I think the BBJ would do just fine. Maybe a 727, but not a 747-just wouldn't look right with el presidente. -Notar520AC
33 Flight152: Parra- What is George Bush doing flying around in a 747 when over 30% of Americans don't have access to basic healthcare? The 747 was there when he go
34 747-451: Para- President Bush didn't "order" it for himself, rather, it is a flying command post. It is not a symbol of "presitge", rather a ncessity for a lea
35 Heavymetal: To our foreign friends... The reason we have a 747 as Air Force One is to fly the President up front and all the reporters who hate him in the back. I
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