Allen Onyema rejects charges of neglecting Eastern airports to site MRO in Lagos
Air Peace Chairman Chief Allen Onyema has rejected accusations by citizens of the South-East that he neglected his home base in citing the billion-naira MRO at Lagos Airport instead of Enugu or Anambra Airports.
Onyema responded directly on the WhatsApp platform Igbo communication Professionals.
He said Air Peace was frustrated out of its original intention to site the project at Enugu Airport after approval by the Enugu State Government and investment of millions.
Onyema in his own words:
“On the Enugu thing, please check some news stories during the government of Governor Ugwuanyi. I visited the state officially several times, held meetings with the governor and his cabinet on my intention to be given land to build this MRO that, by God’s grace, will become the biggest in Africa on completion.
Our intentions were announced. In fairness, the Governor truly wanted. However, the usual intrigues and selfish interests from unknown others thwarted our intentions.
No one gave us the land. Some families started claiming ownership of some lands anticipated to be given to us. Airport land! The conflicts started. All my shuttles to Enugu came to nothing. I was pained.
At the Anambra Airport, I paid for land for the MRO facility. I paid over N100m for land there. The next thing was some community and families warning me that the land at the airport belonged to them. That the state government had no right to even build the airport without their permission!
I moved on. The land is still there, empty.
I believe the time has come for Igbos to look in the mirror and see who their true enemies are. When they gaze into the mirror, the real enemy will be staring back at them. Let us, as a people, undertake self-examination before we start complaining!
We moan a lot about everything, blaming everyone, every other tribe, except ourselves!
We are destroying the Igbo land ourselves while blaming others.
How many Ndi Igbo can safely invest in Igboland now? I have not visited my hometown in three and a half years due to the dire security situation in my area.
I acquired a large expanse of land to build an international hospital and a five-star hotel resort. The dream is already gone.
Let Igbos do self-introspection before blaming others.”
Crisis Communication: Here Are Four Lessons from Elumelu’s HEIRS Holdings Memo on Afriland Fire Incident
By Tony Onyima, PhD.
Crisis communication is one of the most sensitive and high-stakes roles in corporate leadership. When tragedy occurs, silence or missteps can undermine trust, whereas clarity, empathy, and prompt action can maintain credibility and foster resilience.
The recent memo from Mr. Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, following the Afriland Towers fire incident of September 16, 2025, exemplifies core principles of effective crisis communication. Here are four lessons from his internal memo (see attached) to the group staff:
1. Expresses Empathy and Shared Grief – He begins by acknowledging the loss in human terms, emphasising the irreplaceability of colleagues. This aligns with Coombs’ (2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), which highlights the importance of compassion and concern as primary response strategies in high-impact crises involving fatalities.
2. Offers Personal Commitment – By cutting short his trip to the UN General Assembly to return home, he demonstrates personal accountability and respect for the victims. This reflects Benoit’s (1997) Image Restoration Theory, which contends that leaders must signal corrective or restorative actions to maintain legitimacy during crises.
3. Reinforces Collective Resilience – The memo encourages staff to reach out to grieving colleagues and announces a minute of silence and future memorial. These measures channel grief into shared rituals, strengthening organisational solidarity at a moment of vulnerability.
4. Acknowledges External Support – By thanking emergency responders and the public, the communication broadens the circle of empathy and reinforces transparency.
Overall, the Heirs Holdings example illustrates that effective crisis communication is not about public relations spin, but about truth-telling with empathy, personal leadership, and reassurance of collective resilience. This memo exemplifies best practice in Nigeria’s corporate environment, where many leaders remain distant in moments of tragedy.
As Coombs (2007) reminds us, “an organisation’s priority in crisis response should be the physical and psychological well-being of stakeholders.” In other words, words must be comforting first before they are explained.
May God comfort the bereaved and accept the souls of the departed.
Dr Onyima teaches media at Paul University, Awka, Anambra State.
