•Highlights innovation deficit among local engineers
By Chinelo Obogo
The Chief Executive Officer of NIGAME Aircraft Consultancy in Florida, USA, Olufemi Adeniyi, has shared a compelling account of his time at Bristow Helicopters in Nigeria, where he observed a striking pay disparity and unequal working conditions between expatriates and Nigerian professionals, despite both groups having the same expertise and performing identical roles.
He shared his story in response to an exclusive report by Daily Sun, which accused Bristow Helicopters of blatantly disregarding Nigeria’s expatriate quota laws and engaging in discrimination against local pilots and engineers.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, Adeniji shared his personal experience during his tenure at Bristow Helicopters, revealing the deep frustrations he felt witnessing the systemic neglect of Nigerian talent.
He explained that, despite possessing the same skill sets and qualifications as their expatriate counterparts, Nigerian employees were often sidelined from roles that demanded critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Adeniji expressed his dismay at the management’s failure to recognise the full potential of Nigerian professionals, which he believed stifled their growth and development.
He advocated for the fair treatment of local staff, pushing for them to be given the same opportunities and responsibilities as expatriates.
His fight was not just for equality in the workplace, but for the dignity and recognition that Nigerian professionals rightfully deserved.
“When I was at Bristow, I fought this culture of not recognising Nigerian professionals until the management decided to transfer me overseas, so this is not new. When I was there, they refused to take me overseas for a particular training because they said I would fail. The reason they said that was because the people they employed before me did it four to five times and failed. So when they finally decided to send me, I passed, and before I even came back, Bristow UK sent a report back that they would like to keep me.
“When I got back, I had to fight with my Nigerian brothers in Eket. The problems then were that the pay and conditions of service for expatriates and Nigerians were different. I fought the management and told them that we and the expatriates have the same head and we are doing the same job, but they were not giving Nigerians tasking jobs that would require using their brains. One example was that they used to assemble helicopters in two weeks, but yours truly did it in five days, and I flew the helicopter to Ibadan in a test flight. It was an eye-opener to the management that this guy is different. The then Managing Director told me that I needed to be taken out of the country, but I told my Nigerian colleagues that they want to use ‘divide and rule’ to separate us,” he said.
However, Adeniji expressed a deep concern about what he described as a lack of innovation and critical thinking among local engineers. Recalling his time at the company, he shared that he often had to bring in expatriates to Nigeria, as local engineers seemed unable to think beyond conventional solutions. This lack of creativity, he explained, hindered the development of the industry and made it challenging to implement innovative approaches that were necessary for its growth. His experience underscored the pressing need for local engineers to cultivate a mindset focused on innovation and problem-solving to meet global standards.
“I am very blunt. You have to challenge yourself to prove to them that you know what you’re doing. If you don’t prove them wrong, they will keep you there. I had to bring expatriates to Nigeria because Nigerian aircraft engineers do not think outside the box. That is the problem we have. If you are not committed to anything, you are killing yourself. In any part of the world you work, if you don’t prove yourself, why would I give you the job? A job that is supposed to take two or three days to complete would take a Nigerian aircraft engineer two weeks. I have had people call me to ask how long it would take to repair something, and I would tell them it would take a maximum of four days. Then they will say their engineer gave them a quotation of two weeks,” he said.
On the current state of the aviation sector, Adeniji shared his frustrating experience while attempting to establish a Maintenance and Repair Organisation (MRO) in Nigeria.
He said that despite his efforts, the venture did not materialise due to Nigeria’s foreign exchange issues and difficult business environment and policies.
He said: “I tried to bring a Maintenance and Repair Organisation to Nigeria, but it didn’t work out. Six months ago, I tried it again, but the investor had very valid concerns about his money getting trapped because of our foreign exchange problems. He also complained about the lack of import waivers because we also wanted to open a store where we could sell aircraft parts in Nigeria, but the government refused to give any waivers. To some extent, I agree with the government on that because our people tend to exaggerate and pad up their invoices, which is why the government doesn’t trust foreign exchange releases to Nigeria’s aviation guys. If you are going abroad to do checks that will cost $30,000 and you inflate your invoice to $100,000 just because you want to get foreign exchange from the CBN, the government would not trust you. But the way around this is for the CBN to pay directly to the companies carrying out the maintenance, and that way, you can check corruption.”
After facing obstacles in Nigeria, Adeniji said he and his partners went to Cotonou, Benin, where they registered a helicopter company within a week in November 2023. He said the Beninese government provided substantial incentives, including a tax break for 15 years and an import duty waiver for spare parts and that the company has since expanded, with operations now extending into Ghana and plans for Côte d’Ivoire.