If EBONYI, A poor state in south-eastern Nigeria, is known for anything, it is for the paucity of its development efforts, from reducing poverty to improving literacy.(如果说尼日利亚东南部的贫困州埃邦伊有什么出名之处，那就是其发展努力——从减贫到提高识字率——乏善可陈。) That may be because the state government has been pursuing higher ambitions: it has been trying to build an airport. It says it spent some 50bn naira ($38m) on it between 2020 and 2023 alone, more than half of what it spent on education in the same period. The project has been marred(被破坏，被损害) by corruption allegations and vandalism(故意破坏公物). After a few flights, air traffic stopped because of a defective(有缺陷的，故障的) runway. Undeterred(未被吓倒的，不气馁的), Ebonyi’s government is mulling(仔细考虑，反复思考) the next step: launching its very own airline.
尼日利亚东南部的贫困州埃邦伊若有什么出名之处，那就是其发展努力——从减贫到提高识字率——乏善可陈。这或许是因为州政府一直在追求更高的目标：它一直在试图修建一座机场。州政府称，仅2020年至2023年间，就在该项目上花费了约500亿奈拉（3800万美元），超过同期教育支出的一半。该项目一直受到腐败指控和破坏行为的困扰。在执飞了几次航班后，由于跑道存在缺陷，空中交通便停止了。埃邦伊州政府并未气馁，正在考虑下一步：成立自己的航空公司。
Nigeria’s state-run airlines have a modest(一般的，不算好的) record, to say the least. The state carrier, Nigeria Airways(尼日利亚国家航空公司，2000年代初破产), went bust in the early 2000s amid tales of unpaid salaries and rat-infested(老鼠成灾的) cabins. Of those run by state governments, three at least still operate (though only one is profitable). Ebonyi’s proposal is a “joke”, says Chris Aligbe, an aviation analyst. Yet state governors present plans to start their own carriers with some regularity(相当频繁地，经常). In July the governor of Kano(尼日利亚北部重要城市和州), a northern state, said a local airline would start operating within the year “by the grace of God”.
尼日利亚的州营航空公司业绩平平，至少可以这么说。国家航空公司——尼日利亚航空——在2000年代初破产，当时充斥着拖欠工资和机舱老鼠横行的传闻。在州政府运营的航空公司中，至少还有三家仍在运营（尽管只有一家盈利）。航空分析师克里斯·阿利格贝说，埃邦伊州的提议是个“笑话”。然而，州长们却经常提出成立自己航空公司的计划。今年7月，北部卡诺州州长表示，一家当地航空公司将在年内“承蒙上帝恩典”开始运营。
State governments are not best placed(并非最合适的，并非最有资格的) to run airlines, but a logic of sorts(某种（不太可靠的）逻辑) exists for their lofty(崇高的，高远的) plans. Nigeria is vast and has terrible road and rail networks, plus a big problem with bandits(土匪，劫匪). Being accessible by air could be a boon(福音，益处) for isolated(偏远的，孤立的) states, especially if it makes them more appealing to rich investors and tourists from Abuja, the capital, and Lagos, the commercial centre.
州政府并非运营航空公司的最佳主体，但它们这些雄心勃勃的计划也并非全无道理。尼日利亚幅员辽阔，公路和铁路网络糟糕，加上土匪问题严重。对偏远州来说，能通过航空抵达可能是一大福音，尤其是如果这能让它们对来自首都阿布贾和商业中心拉各斯的富有投资者和游客更具吸引力。
