By Fred Iwenjora
*Firiehiwot Mekonnen
Pretty and delectable Firiehiwot Mekonnen is the General Manager of
Ethiopia Airlines in Nigeria.
Before rising to her new position, the mother of one was head of traffic
and sales in Abuja.
In the wake of the news of Ethiopia Airline powering with an all female
crew of pilots, engineers and cabin crew members in an international flight from Boles International Airport Addis
Ababa to Lagos, she speaks of the massive
responsibility of managing ET’s huge business of five daily flights to
and from Nigeria and her love and
relationship with the country.
She also speaks about
the new ET policy of empowering women to be the very best of what they could be
and other issues.
What was your first
impression about Nigeria upon your arrival?
My first impression about Nigeria was very nice and very
beautiful. Nigerians are very enterprising people. They are very happy and bubbly
with energy. I like that. They can start up a conversation with you
even when they do not know you.
Did you hear any
stories about the country before your arrival?
Yes I heard a lot about Nigeria before my posting that
Nigeria is Africa’s giant with lots of blessed resources. I also heard some
crazy stories about how Nigerians act. I have since found out that most of the
stories are exaggerated. Yes to some outsiders, Nigerians are different but Nigerians
are one of the most welcoming people I have met.
Did your real
impression fit into the stories you heard?
In fact the impression I got once I came to Nigeria was
different from what I heard. I came to really connect with Nigeria and
Nigerians. I eat Nigerian food, dress in Nigerian attire, participate in
different social gatherings. All these and others doubled my love for the
country and its people who are really friendly. I cannot describe how it feels
to attend Nigerian parties and events. It is so colorful.
Are there Nigerian
foods, culture and tradition including fashion that you connect with?
I love Nigerian food. In fact, I go out with friends to
Nigerian restaurants. I love the culture of friendship and family ties too. The
attires are really different and I have quite a number of Nigerian national
dresses because they are beautiful, colorful and graceful. I feel happy
whenever I wear them. Even my family members and friends now have Nigerian
dresses. I have been exposed to the richness of Nigerian culture and its
people, Nigerian films (Nollywood) and the music. Do you know that Dangote has
become a household name in Ethiopia since he built one of his factories in
Ethiopia?
There are very few
women managing many big organizations including airlines like you; do you see
this development as a change from the norm and a win for women in the world and
especially in Africa?
I see the world as continuously changing as to give more
opportunity to women to become more leaders at the top of organizations and
this is already proving itself by the way of increased productivity and
improved efficiency Ethiopian Airline, the leading aviation group in Africa is
taking the leading path in making this come true. One of the value statement of
Ethiopian Airline is “ equal opportunity, employer committed to diversity and
fairness” So you can see that this is happening already. ET has given women the
chance to be pilots, engineers, ground handlers, aviation instructors, regional and country
managers. If you come and see the biggest aviation Academy in Africa is in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia you will see lots of women studying these fields from all
over Africa countries.
*Ethiopian Beauties in the sky
ET did an amazing
thing recently when it launched an all women crew; do you see this as also one
of the winning ways for African women?
ET brought the all women operated flight to Lagos on
December 16, 2017 to show that women can do anything and to show that Nigeria
can be a leading country that empowers women . This all women operated
international flight was the first in Africa and it got applause from all
corners of the world. Again on March 8, 2018,
ET will do another all women operated flight to one of our new
international destinations Buenos Aires,
Argentina. This is intended to inspire African girls. This very bold statement
is very important.
Could you make an
assessment of ET business in Nigeria and Africa in general?
ET the only SKYTRAX 4 star airline in Africa is now flying
to five destinations in Nigeria everyday including to Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna,
Kano and Enugu. It airlifted the highest number of international passengers out
of Nigeria in 2017 according to NCAA analysis. This is history; that an African
airline carried the highest number of passengers in another African country. We
are happy that we were able to defend Africa in this rating. Even during the
closure of Abuja airport, ET was the only international airline that agreed to
fly Kaduna
Already we are seeking partnerships with other African
countries to strengthen their capacity to thrive like us. We are doing this in
Togo, Malawi, Zambia, and more recently in Guinea. We fly to over 100
destinations worldwide with the most modern fleet of Boeing B787, Dreamliner
B777 and Airbus A350. With our vision 2025 strategy, we are opening up more
international routes in the next six months including to Geneva Switzerland,
Buenos Aires Argentina, Nosybe Madagascar, and Kisangani DRC
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