As Medview Airline launches operation into Ghana
Nigerian investors making foray into the West African market are now to enjoy greater support and protection to kick-start their business and stablise them as the Federal Government seeks to deepen Nigerian investments within the sub-region and boost its balance of trade with neighbouring countries.
Investment outflow from Nigeria to the ECOWAS sub-region has risen steadily by about 40 per cent in the last 15 years following the country’s return to democratic rule.
Nigerian investment in the region spans from banks, insurance, telecommunications, entertainment and film, manufacturing, oil and gas, and now aviation. Also, countries that have benefited from the flow include Ghana, Togo, The Gambia, Benin Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone and even as far as Sao Tome and Principe.
Analysts have cited as key incentive the steady or uninterrupted supply of electricity in some of these countries, which eliminates the reliance on high cost diesel or petrol powered generators and the attendant exorbitant impact on the cost of production and on the overall overhead of Nigerian-based companies.
Nigeria recently rebased its economy making its GDP the highest in Africa, ahead of South Africa. According to Ademola Onafowokan, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Ghana, the yardstick for measuring the economic prosperity of the country has to also reflect its investments offshore.
To achieve that target, the envoy said the trade commissions in the various embassies and high commissions will stop at nothing in lending its support to existing and fresh investors within the West African sub-region.
“We are here to support Nigerian companies to prosper so that Nigeria can also grow,” Onafowokan said at a reception party he organisd for the team from Medview Airlines at the Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana late Monday.
“The Nigerian government would not shy away from protecting any of its nationals that carry out business transactions in Ghana but for them to receive the government’s supports, their books must be open,” he added.
Alhaji Muneer Bankole, Managing Director of Medview Airline, who spoke at the reception said the feat would not have been possible without the extra support received by the Nigerian Mission in Ghana given the stiff protest from the Ghanaian regulatory authorities in granting a licence to a third Nigerian carrier on the Accra-Lagos route, without any Ghanaian carrier reciprocating in line with BASA deals global standards. Ghana lacks a national carrier, just like Nigeria. But unlike Nigeria, it doesn’t have the capacity in terms of indigenous airlines to reciprocate and fly into Lagos airport from Accra.
On Monday, Medview Airlines Limited launched its inaugural flight into the Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana as the third Nigerian carrier (aside Aero Contractors and Arik Air) with over 100 passengers, which included the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ademola Onafowokan; top Nigerian bankers and creditors to the airline; the business community; some movie stars from the local Nollywood industry and aviation correspondents.
The Medview Airlines boss, however, appealed to the government to create a more conducive environment for airline operators in Nigeria especially in making aviation fuel (Jet A1) available and affordable to run profitable airline businesses in the country.

FG moves to protect Nigerian investments in W’Africa