By Emeka Alex Duru, PhD
In the 1990’s while the current National Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), General Mohammed Buba Marwa functioned as military administrator of Lagos State, rumour of existence of certain brand of killer beans pervaded the state. Stories were peddled and amplified on how members of some families were wiped out after eating the bebeansakara balls or moi moi that were made from the product.
Incidentally, no precise victims of the said products were mentioned, nor their locations identified. It took Governor Marwa eating Akara balls in full glare of Lagosians at Ketu Market, for the rumour to subside. But by the time it was halted, much damage had been done. Many retail sellers and distributors of the products had been forced out of business and state’s economy, heavily assaulted. Unfortunately, those that engineered the demarketing campaign had achieved their nefarious agenda.
Within same period, massive campaigns were launched against producers of a popular sanitary towel, with allegation that their wares contained strains of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) virus. Not even the prompt intervention by officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in explaining that HIV/AIDS does not survive in inanimate environment, succeeded in debunking the faulty narrative. The immediate result was loss of patronage and eventual eclipse of the manufacturers and marketers of the sanitary towel. Jobs were lost and economy worsted.
Elsewhere, vigorous smear campaigns were mounted against a brand of food seasoning, “White Maggi” accused of causing stomach upset. Explanations by experts that all the seasonings contained same monosodium glutamate, did not achieve much in the negative branding of the product. The seasoning has not fully recovered from the campaign. A particular strand ran through the devious demarketing projects; they were initiated and sustained my mischievous minds or often driven by industry envy.
Nigeria and West Africa’s largest airline, Air Peace, is currently contending with the nasty experience of demarketing by idle minds and procured hands. In its eventful 12 years of operation, Air Peace has grown to become not just Nigeria’s largest carrier but the biggest airline in West African subregion, carrying with it, a phenomenal story of vision and consistency. It has further soared into international skies where it is spreading its wings and competing favourably on the global stage. At the last count, the organisation has over 38 aircraft conveying passengers to 20 local destinations and 10 regional and international airports. Its latest routes – Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (ABV) to London Heathrow (LHR) and ABV to London Gatwick (LGW), add to the success story.
However, while Air Peace soars, there have been growing demarketing efforts against the airline, apparently to weaken the brand’s reputation for safety and reliability. The campaigns involve amplifying, and creating negativity around service failures that the airline has no control of.
Among these were the videos posted by Big Brother celebrity Housemate Tacha, and Nollywood actress Funke Akindele, who on May 1, 2026, alleged that Air Peace abandoned passengers at London Gatwick. She also accused the airline of not caring for elderly travellers. The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, has however put a lie to the fleeting allegation of the airline abandoning passengers in London without accommodation following a flight disruption caused by a bird strike.
Some other demarketing efforts against the airline include rehash of old incidents presented as new incidents. The tales are in most cases, one-sided stories with deliberate intention at ignoring the current operational challenges confronting global aviation industry.
To be sure, every air passenger deserves fairness and respect in promptness of travel schedule and care. Elementary civic education on the advantages of air travel over other modes of transportation, harps on, speed, precision, predictability of schedule and safety. Any gap in the order, due to delay or flight cancellation, is enough to upset the traveller. That was my lot last year over a particular incident in which our Port Harcourt to Lagos flight was delayed for some hours. You can therefore imagine my reaction at a chance meeting with the chairman of the airline, Dr. Allen Onyema on the incident.
To my shock and enlightenment, he explained that no airline gains from flight delays, stressing that once the first flight of any airline is delayed over weather or other reasons, the rest of the flights for that day would be delayed by the number of minutes or hours of the first delay. That comes with huge cost to the airline affected in terms of taxes and charges by relevant aviation authorities.
The delays and cancellations are not deliberate but often inevitable. Incidences of bird strikes, adverse weather conditions, mandatory technical safety checks, airport congestion, and regulatory bottlenecks are among the factors that disrupt flight operations anywhere in the world. In the present context, the global aviation industry is passing through pronounced operational strains. The persistent scarcity and astronomical cost of Jet A-1 aviation fuel continue to exert enormous pressure on airline operators. The ongoing Middle East tensions have further worsened global supply uncertainties, driving operating costs to unprecedented levels and affecting flight schedules.
The disruptions are not peculiar to airline operators in Nigeria. On Saturday, May 9, a Delta Air Lines flight DL54, scheduled service from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), USA, to Lagos (LOS), was forced to abort its journey mid-way across the Atlantic Ocean, returning to Georgia after eight hours of flying. Also, United Airlines suspended flights for two days last week. Last year, British Airways suspended a particular flight for three days. It was a partner airline that finally took the passengers to London. Here at the local level, in one week alone, Rano Air temporarily suspended flight operations to some domestic routes. Flight suspensions, delays and cancellations, are not funny.
There is therefore the need for more strategic communications by the staff and management of the airlines to handle the discomforting situation in a win-win manner for all. But singling out Air Peace for flagellation and outright demarketing, is certainly not the way to go. The aviation sector is one that thrives on brand reputation and reacts to shock.
It therefore needs to be handled with adequate care. In the last 25 years, the sector has consumed 21 airlines that ventured into its space. These include Nigeria Airways, Albarka Air, Oriental Airlines, Discovery Air, Air Midwest, Okada Air, Zenith Air, EAS Airlines, NICON Airways, Med-View Airline, Space World Airlines, First Nation, Hak Air, Slok Air, IRS Airlines, Air Nigeria, ADC Airlines, Associated Aviation, Chanchangi, Sosoliso, Bellview and Virgin Nigeria. While some were downed by excessive regulatory demands, some were crippled by debilitating accidents and other occurrences.
Air Peace, has however, continued to glow in essence and impacts. The symbolism of its name, “Air Peace,” is not for nothing. Having former President and elder statesman Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, aboard its flagship international service – Boeing 777-200ER – from Lagos to London Gatwick, Friday, May 8, is a testament to Air Peace’s commitment to delivering safe, reliable, and world-class air travel experiences,
In a continent where turbulence has too often defined both politics and economics, the airline has offered a sense of stability, offering thousands of direct and indirect jobs to Nigerians and massively contributing to the national economy. Air Peace also stands as a beacon of national pride, when it matters most. It has on occasions, evacuated stranded Nigerians in times of crisis – from South Africa, during xenophobic attacks; Sudan, in the heat of civil unrest – often at little or no cost to the evacuees. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020, Air Peace made Nigeria proud, flying the country’s flag, as it were, to bring medical supplies to the country and delivering also to other nations.
Few airlines anywhere in the world wear that badge of social responsibility so boldly. These are considerations those pushing the smear campaigns against Air Peace, should give thoughts to and desist from their unpatriotic agenda.
Dr. Emeka Alex Duru, is the Editor, TheNiche Newspapers, Lagos.