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| The Captain in an after-encounter shot with the GDA |
Celebrity pilot and City People Awards for Excellence Best Indigenous Pilot of the Year 2012, Captain Chris Ona Najomo is one of
Nigeria’s most gifted pilots with an impeccable flying career of over three
decades coupled with an aviation business record hard to replace with anything
else.
Chris Najomo who has the rare
opportunity of flying both the old and new generation aircrafts in over three
decades of his flying career is presently flying the Air Bus 330 modern aircraft brands with Arik Air Plc. Recently, some
local passengers and fervent fans of the Delta state, South-South Nigerian born
pilot were of the opinion that the veteran pilot was no more working with Arik Air due to the fact that they
couldn’t enjoy his flying skills on the local routes he normally plies any
longer. The opinion which came in form of a rumor almost graduated into a real
story until your Africa’s Number 1 Celebrity encounter blog asabeafrika went into town few days to
Easter celebration to search for the veteran pilot and in a no hold bared
interview in his Lagos office, Najomo
debunked the rumor before explaining the
real reason behind the story which was almost gaining ground in the aviation
circle in Lagos. Captain Najomo who
has been very busy since the beginning of the year gave us an hour interview
that enabled him speak on his career, recent promotion at Arik Air and some other valuable issues relating to the aviation
business industry. The Captain fondly called Jolly Papa by fans across the sector just returned from a scheduled
trip to London to honor our request. Najomo
who is seen as one of the knowledgeable pilots and aviation personality of the
last three decades in Nigeria explained to asabeafrika
in details real reason why his local fans and passengers who have over the
years become familiar with his marvelous skill at flying the aero plane are
curious about his absence from the local route where he usually flies the Boeing 737 jet series to the
international route where he now flies the Airbus
330 series. The man famously called Jolly
Papa also analyzed some of the reasons why plane crashes occur. Enjoy the excerpts.
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| The Captain Speaks to the GDA |
Exit from Arik, the true story
“That
is not true, the truth is that I now fly the new Airbus 330 which plies the international routes and that is the
reason why people could have the feeling that I am gone”. That was how Captain
Chris Najomo reacted to our first question before speaking further. “Sometimes,
as pilots, we are quite busy and sometimes we are not too busy because we have
our expatriates who are on vacation and most of the times some of them have
some challenges and for that reason, we the indigenous pilots on the fleet are
meant to be very busy. I mean you are here now when they just called that I
have to fly to London tomorrow and come back and go to Jo’bourg the next day.
So, usually it used to be once a week but now it is going to be like
back-to-back. Well, it is okay, flying is what I love doing and I do it well, I
got to go to London, come back. I go to Jo’bourg, come back and probably I am
going to have some few days off”.
is not true, the truth is that I now fly the new Airbus 330 which plies the international routes and that is the
reason why people could have the feeling that I am gone”. That was how Captain
Chris Najomo reacted to our first question before speaking further. “Sometimes,
as pilots, we are quite busy and sometimes we are not too busy because we have
our expatriates who are on vacation and most of the times some of them have
some challenges and for that reason, we the indigenous pilots on the fleet are
meant to be very busy. I mean you are here now when they just called that I
have to fly to London tomorrow and come back and go to Jo’bourg the next day.
So, usually it used to be once a week but now it is going to be like
back-to-back. Well, it is okay, flying is what I love doing and I do it well, I
got to go to London, come back. I go to Jo’bourg, come back and probably I am
going to have some few days off”.
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| Captain Chris and Mrs Martha Najomo |
City People Award and me
Last
year when the City People Magazine bestowed upon him the award of Best
Indigenous Pilot (2012) during the 16th
edition of the prestigious award in Lagos, many gave kudos to City
People for spotting Najomo and honoring him for a career
status well deserved. But how did the experience make Najomo feel? Hear him
speak “Well, to God is the glory because it is by God’s grace that one achieves
feats in business endeavors and vocations. I am not too surprised by the award,
I will tell you that. About ten years ago I won this award when I was at Albarka
Air and the following year I won it again, Best Pilot of the Year
Award by the Midwest Hall of Fame.
So, by His grace ten years after I am winning this same award in Arik
Air as Best Indigenous Pilot last year; to God be the glory I know the
awards is a commendation of my good efforts but it has not changed me because I
have continued to be what I am because that is what works for us in our
industry and God has been faithful in His doings that we have good updates, we
have good machines we fly, state-of-the-art aircrafts. So, the essence of the
award was to make me put my acts together once again. I know as a passenger, if
you fly me, Captain Chris Najomo,
you will want to fly me again. And that is why I am called Jolly Papa”.
year when the City People Magazine bestowed upon him the award of Best
Indigenous Pilot (2012) during the 16th
edition of the prestigious award in Lagos, many gave kudos to City
People for spotting Najomo and honoring him for a career
status well deserved. But how did the experience make Najomo feel? Hear him
speak “Well, to God is the glory because it is by God’s grace that one achieves
feats in business endeavors and vocations. I am not too surprised by the award,
I will tell you that. About ten years ago I won this award when I was at Albarka
Air and the following year I won it again, Best Pilot of the Year
Award by the Midwest Hall of Fame.
So, by His grace ten years after I am winning this same award in Arik
Air as Best Indigenous Pilot last year; to God be the glory I know the
awards is a commendation of my good efforts but it has not changed me because I
have continued to be what I am because that is what works for us in our
industry and God has been faithful in His doings that we have good updates, we
have good machines we fly, state-of-the-art aircrafts. So, the essence of the
award was to make me put my acts together once again. I know as a passenger, if
you fly me, Captain Chris Najomo,
you will want to fly me again. And that is why I am called Jolly Papa”.
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| Captain Chris Najom….85% of Air Crashes caused by human factor |
How I made my own crowd in 30 years
This
blog wondered why Captain Chris has
such a strong followership that reveres him so well even in his absence and
this was his response “I feel so humbled and I still give God the glory; yes I
know my colleagues in the lower fleet, the 737
are great guys.. and you wont believe this….even on the Warri Flight which is a
Propeller Aircraft, some passengers will just get in there and say ‘is it
Captain Najomo?’ and the cabin crew would say ‘Captain Najomo does not fly the Q-400
propeller’ I was on the 737
as at that time. But since I left for the Air
Bus, all my esteemed passengers I owe it to them, they have been asking
after me, ‘where is Jolly Papa, where is Jolly Papa, where is Jolly Papa, where
is Captain Najomo? And of course they will say to them ‘he is now flying the airbus and they will say ‘nooo, why did
you take him to the air bus?’. And some would say ‘oh, good that is where he
belongs’ and some would say noo, bring him back to the local, we need him. Go
everywhere, Portharcourt, Enugu, Jos, Calabar, everywhere. I really-really
enjoy my passengers on the Portharcourt routes and Calabar routes but again,
like they say ‘do what you know how to do best’ and to God be the glory, the
results will always take you to the next level”.
blog wondered why Captain Chris has
such a strong followership that reveres him so well even in his absence and
this was his response “I feel so humbled and I still give God the glory; yes I
know my colleagues in the lower fleet, the 737
are great guys.. and you wont believe this….even on the Warri Flight which is a
Propeller Aircraft, some passengers will just get in there and say ‘is it
Captain Najomo?’ and the cabin crew would say ‘Captain Najomo does not fly the Q-400
propeller’ I was on the 737
as at that time. But since I left for the Air
Bus, all my esteemed passengers I owe it to them, they have been asking
after me, ‘where is Jolly Papa, where is Jolly Papa, where is Jolly Papa, where
is Captain Najomo? And of course they will say to them ‘he is now flying the airbus and they will say ‘nooo, why did
you take him to the air bus?’. And some would say ‘oh, good that is where he
belongs’ and some would say noo, bring him back to the local, we need him. Go
everywhere, Portharcourt, Enugu, Jos, Calabar, everywhere. I really-really
enjoy my passengers on the Portharcourt routes and Calabar routes but again,
like they say ‘do what you know how to do best’ and to God be the glory, the
results will always take you to the next level”.
The Difference: Boeing 737 & the
Air Bus
Air Bus
Asabeafrika asked the veteran pilot to
describe his experience on both the Boeing series and the Air Bus series and
what he told us could be a research thesis for an aviation student. “Well, we
are talking of two different types of aircrafts. Boeing is American built,
Airbus
is French built. However they all both carry the same technology in terms of
modern techniques and usability. It makes the work easy for the pilot because
everything is all new techs and all that; the airbus has it own peculiarities,
it equally shares some similarities with Boeing. Boeing has peculiar technology as
well and I must say that I am enjoying both worlds, I can not say that I have missed my 737 experience but the airbus makes the pilot kind of lazy
because everything is all high tech and I am enjoying the feelings the airbus
is giving me now. We have good routes and we have good colleagues and we look
forwards to as better future”.
describe his experience on both the Boeing series and the Air Bus series and
what he told us could be a research thesis for an aviation student. “Well, we
are talking of two different types of aircrafts. Boeing is American built,
Airbus
is French built. However they all both carry the same technology in terms of
modern techniques and usability. It makes the work easy for the pilot because
everything is all new techs and all that; the airbus has it own peculiarities,
it equally shares some similarities with Boeing. Boeing has peculiar technology as
well and I must say that I am enjoying both worlds, I can not say that I have missed my 737 experience but the airbus makes the pilot kind of lazy
because everything is all high tech and I am enjoying the feelings the airbus
is giving me now. We have good routes and we have good colleagues and we look
forwards to as better future”.
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| Captain Chris Najomo makes a point to the GDA |
Pilots; not highest paid in Nigeria
The
next question we put to Najomo made him adjust his sitting
position as he tries hard to re-orientate asabeafrika on what seems an
ambiguous perception to him “Yes, it ought to be like that in my field
especially if we look at it against the back drop of what my counterparts get
abroad. It ought to be like that but what I can say to that is that pilots are
reasonably paid. It could be better than what we are earning now and if you
relate it to the kind of risk and challenges a pilot goes through. You tell
somebody ‘come and pilot’ and you fly from here to London six hours; while
everybody is sleeping, drinking, we are there in the cockpit navigating the
aircraft, trying to dodge all the storms, trying to make sure we confirm with
best international practice. I think there is no amount of money you can pay a
pilot that will be reckonable to his efforts as a gatekeeper against
unfavorable eventualities. If you even pay
a pilot N2.5 Million Naira a month, he
earns it and it is expected. So, if it has not gotten there yet, it should get
there one day”.
next question we put to Najomo made him adjust his sitting
position as he tries hard to re-orientate asabeafrika on what seems an
ambiguous perception to him “Yes, it ought to be like that in my field
especially if we look at it against the back drop of what my counterparts get
abroad. It ought to be like that but what I can say to that is that pilots are
reasonably paid. It could be better than what we are earning now and if you
relate it to the kind of risk and challenges a pilot goes through. You tell
somebody ‘come and pilot’ and you fly from here to London six hours; while
everybody is sleeping, drinking, we are there in the cockpit navigating the
aircraft, trying to dodge all the storms, trying to make sure we confirm with
best international practice. I think there is no amount of money you can pay a
pilot that will be reckonable to his efforts as a gatekeeper against
unfavorable eventualities. If you even pay
a pilot N2.5 Million Naira a month, he
earns it and it is expected. So, if it has not gotten there yet, it should get
there one day”.
“That
is why a pilot must be well paid. A pilot must be well rested; a pilot must not
have emotional problems. A pilot must have all it takes to be in fair good
condition. A pilot must be medically fit…So, if you pay a pilot very well, I
am very sure he will be able to take care of his home front. So, it is all
about proper handling of the mind and emotions of the man in the cockpit”.
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| The Veteran Arik Air Captain Chris Najomo |
Why Arik leads
We
wanted Najomo to tell us why his organization seems to have assumed
the role of market leader in the Nigerian aviation sector and he didn’t go far
to tell us why “The answer is foresightedness; I give it all to our chairman, he
has done well. Chief Arumeni Johnson, God bless you (Najomo prays) He has
tried in the last 7 years, he kept it going; it is not easy to run an airline business.
I have run an airline before and I am talking from the perspective of a
stakeholder. I give it to Chief Arumeni Johnson because it is not easy at all.
Any one coming into this industry, you got to be strong financially and you got
to be strong technically. You must have some oversea partners which is not easy
and he (Arumeni) has been able to do everything best to run the company and
that is why I say you can’t beat the man. Everybody wants to beat Chief
Arumeni Johnson but you can’t beat him because he is very passionate
about professionalism in all ramifications. He has the best air planes, we fly
almost the whole Nigerian route, and we have the best routes in the
international line. Within 7 years, we know the mileage we have covered; our
planes are well serviced by Lufthansa Techniques, the training
is superb. I have gone to trainings in my entire 34 years of flying; I have
received the best training in Arik. It is an all inclusive
aviation company. So, it is all well and done, he has tried. Remuneration will
be better; it is getting better by the day. The management is getting better, I
can not say there are no challenges but let us give him time, it will get
better”.
wanted Najomo to tell us why his organization seems to have assumed
the role of market leader in the Nigerian aviation sector and he didn’t go far
to tell us why “The answer is foresightedness; I give it all to our chairman, he
has done well. Chief Arumeni Johnson, God bless you (Najomo prays) He has
tried in the last 7 years, he kept it going; it is not easy to run an airline business.
I have run an airline before and I am talking from the perspective of a
stakeholder. I give it to Chief Arumeni Johnson because it is not easy at all.
Any one coming into this industry, you got to be strong financially and you got
to be strong technically. You must have some oversea partners which is not easy
and he (Arumeni) has been able to do everything best to run the company and
that is why I say you can’t beat the man. Everybody wants to beat Chief
Arumeni Johnson but you can’t beat him because he is very passionate
about professionalism in all ramifications. He has the best air planes, we fly
almost the whole Nigerian route, and we have the best routes in the
international line. Within 7 years, we know the mileage we have covered; our
planes are well serviced by Lufthansa Techniques, the training
is superb. I have gone to trainings in my entire 34 years of flying; I have
received the best training in Arik. It is an all inclusive
aviation company. So, it is all well and done, he has tried. Remuneration will
be better; it is getting better by the day. The management is getting better, I
can not say there are no challenges but let us give him time, it will get
better”.
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| Captain Chris….I am still with the Arik Family | Captain Najom… ‘It is a fallacy that pilots are the highest paid in Nigeria |
The Missing Malaysian MZ 730 Aircraft
and my fear
and my fear
On
what he feels with the issue of the missing Malaysian MZ 730 air craft,
Najomo’s mood changes with sober reflection written all over his face as he
speaks in low tune “You see, it is one mystery that is yet to be cracked. Even we
pilots can still not decode it. We have checked A, B, C and D yet it is still a
mystery but I know whatever that may have happened God will reveal it to us
because we have checked everything; we have looked at how did they turn, why
didn’t they make an emergency call? They flew for 5-6 hours, why didn’t they
say, even if it was a hijack, the hijackers would have made a demand. Even if
it was an emergency, they would have called the ‘May Day’. If the aircraft had
gone down, what about the ELP, so, it is just a bundle of mystery that nobody
can comment on now. I know the FA and other international aviation
investigation bodies are doing their best to crack the mystery of the missing
plane and I wish them best of luck”.
what he feels with the issue of the missing Malaysian MZ 730 air craft,
Najomo’s mood changes with sober reflection written all over his face as he
speaks in low tune “You see, it is one mystery that is yet to be cracked. Even we
pilots can still not decode it. We have checked A, B, C and D yet it is still a
mystery but I know whatever that may have happened God will reveal it to us
because we have checked everything; we have looked at how did they turn, why
didn’t they make an emergency call? They flew for 5-6 hours, why didn’t they
say, even if it was a hijack, the hijackers would have made a demand. Even if
it was an emergency, they would have called the ‘May Day’. If the aircraft had
gone down, what about the ELP, so, it is just a bundle of mystery that nobody
can comment on now. I know the FA and other international aviation
investigation bodies are doing their best to crack the mystery of the missing
plane and I wish them best of luck”.
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| ‘It is nice meeting you sir,’ GDA to Captain Chris Najomo |
Plane Crashes; the real thing
responsible in most cases
responsible in most cases
So, what is the major factor that leads to an air
crash, human error or technical error? We asked the veteran and he lectured us
like a lecturer “In my entire 34 years experience in this job, I have
discovered that 85% of (Plane) crashes are due to human factor or you can also
call it human error. The 15% is usually just maybe material failure or
equipment failure but 85% is purely human error and that is the fact. That is
why a pilot must be well paid. A pilot must be well rested; a pilot must not
have emotional problems. A pilot must have all it takes to be in fair good
condition. A pilot must be medically fit. You see, all these ones combine the
85% of the human factor and human error because a sick pilot can never be in
the best frame of mind to do anything good. An underpaid pilot will always be
bothered about his bills. A divorced pilot or a pilot that has emotional
problem will have problem flying properly with the right frame of mind. So, if
you pay a pilot very well, I am very sure he will be able to take care of his
home front. So, it is all about proper handling of the mind and emotions of the
man in the cockpit”
crash, human error or technical error? We asked the veteran and he lectured us
like a lecturer “In my entire 34 years experience in this job, I have
discovered that 85% of (Plane) crashes are due to human factor or you can also
call it human error. The 15% is usually just maybe material failure or
equipment failure but 85% is purely human error and that is the fact. That is
why a pilot must be well paid. A pilot must be well rested; a pilot must not
have emotional problems. A pilot must have all it takes to be in fair good
condition. A pilot must be medically fit. You see, all these ones combine the
85% of the human factor and human error because a sick pilot can never be in
the best frame of mind to do anything good. An underpaid pilot will always be
bothered about his bills. A divorced pilot or a pilot that has emotional
problem will have problem flying properly with the right frame of mind. So, if
you pay a pilot very well, I am very sure he will be able to take care of his
home front. So, it is all about proper handling of the mind and emotions of the
man in the cockpit”
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| Chris Najomo….’Why my fans call me Jolly Papa |
A word for
my fans
my fans
Jolly Papa didn’t end the encounter without a word for his
anxious fans who still miss his presence on the local route; hear the jolly
Papa “Thank you very much, all my esteemed customers; my friends, my peers, my
colleagues. I know you miss me all out there in the local sector. I have not
gone (From arik) I am still here; I fly the airbus to London, Jo’bourg and New
York. I miss you too and I tell you, you got the best bunch of guys
with my colleagues in the fleet. I can assure you that Jolly Papa is still with
the family and I will always be with the family”.
Jolly Papa who is famously known for chatting up his
passengers and giving them details of the geographical routes like a Dee-Jay
while flying says it is his trademark culture and even now, on the airbus “I
have started already. On arrival Jo’bourg one day, as we came down and we were
going through checks, all the pilots said “Jolly Papa, Jolly Papa, Jolly Papa,
I love your flight”. I think it is all about creating my own niche, about
creating my own swag and that is exactly the reason for the difference”.
passengers and giving them details of the geographical routes like a Dee-Jay
while flying says it is his trademark culture and even now, on the airbus “I
have started already. On arrival Jo’bourg one day, as we came down and we were
going through checks, all the pilots said “Jolly Papa, Jolly Papa, Jolly Papa,
I love your flight”. I think it is all about creating my own niche, about
creating my own swag and that is exactly the reason for the difference”.
