It was the first Pan-African University of Aviation. Established by the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development in 2022, the aim was to fill the gap in research and development in the aviation and aerospace sector as well as address the man-power shortages in Africa’s aviation industry.
With this development, the premier aviation university in Nigeria joined the ranks of 261 other beneficiary institutions, including public universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education to access TETFund’s interventions.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, affirmed the agency’s commitment to fund the new institution when he hosted the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), at the Fund’s headquarters in Abuja.
Specifically, the Executive Secretary announced that funding for the new institution will commence in January 2025.
“The good news is that the university has been enlisted and from January 2025; it will begin to enjoy the normal allocations. Within those allocations are provisions, not only for projects, but also for training of staff. You will have resources to carry out all levels of research. We will also give you funds for materials and other things that you need to operate efficiently,” he assured.
The Executive Secretary, who said the institution was long overdue, also assured that in addition to regular funding, management will make a strong case to the Board of Trustees for some special funding, including High-Impact Intervention.
According to him, developing domestic capacity and expertise in the aviation industry is crucial to maximising investments in infrastructure. For him, such step will reduce reliance on foreign services and create employment opportunities.
“We are glad that you are able to bring this to our aviation sector. There used to be a time where some of us were a bit worried about how the sector was developing. But you have been able to restore sanity and propel it to a direction of sustainable growth and the fact that you can restore the confidence of all the partners in the international aviation industry is something we are proud of. And we want to join others in commending you for that.
“This meeting is another example of the doggedness with which you pursue things you believe in. And I share that view that as a country, if we really want to reposition ourselves in global affairs and take our rightful place in terms of the status of the country in economic development, we must look at critical sectors where we have to play; the aviation sector is key to this. That is the reason we should spare no effort at not only providing the infrastructure but also developing the requisite capacity, including human capital to efficiently manage and operate these facilities.
“A time will come when we do not need to go abroad for every little thing we need to do in this sector. We should even expand to establish facilities to carry out checks in our country. We should have sufficient manpower in the sector to run every aspect of it. That way, we will also create good, quality jobs for our people, and when opportunity arises, we can export expertise because this is one area Nigeria has to play a big role going forward.”
Echono added that Nigerians are very gifted and hardworking people.
“In any way possible, we should try and produce the personnel, use the number we need at home and export the rest. This is because going forward, it is not going to be just fossil fuel and natural resources, the intellectual assets that the county has will be key factor in its own revenue generation,” he said.
Explaining the rationale behind the intervention agency’s Special High Impact projects, the TETFund boss said it is aimed at timely completion of major projects. He noted that a specialised institution such as AAAU requires special intervention to fast-track completion of projects.
“The second aspect is that as a specialised institution that is young and needs to grow quickly, you will need the special interventions that are available under our second window. It is a justification for our Special and High Impact Projects. The reason we reserve part of the funds for that is the realisation that if we share all the resources equally to institutions, the amount that goes to each institution will not be sufficient to carry out iconic or major projects and they will begin to drag for five to 10 years. And in that circumstance, it is only the contractor that benefits because of regular price review, including fluctuation claims, variation claims and so on. And a project that starts with N1 billion may end up gulping N5 billion.
“So, the spirit behind our Special High Impact is to focus on limited number of projects that can be completed immediately and we can now do that on rotation basis. We will make a strong case to the Board of Trustees in addition to the regular funding for some special funding to this institution so that we can bridge that gap,” he said.
Echono further reflected on Nigeria’s past economic glory, citing the national airline and strategic international investments.
“For us to get back there and even exceed those expectations, we need to make a lot of sacrifices and investments, and the Honourable Minister’s attitude of going everywhere is something that we as Nigerians should also emulate.
“We are in difficult times. There is a huge contest for resources because there are competing needs but we should do the right prioritisation and focus on the key drivers that we need to rescue this economy. We should also ensure that we are on the path of sustainable growth,” he said.
While calling for patience from Nigerians towards President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, he noted that some policy interventions were inevitable to put the economy on the right path and better the lives of citizens. He was upbeat that in a few years, Nigerians will see a lot of benefits for the decisions taken today.
Echono pledged the commitment of the Fund’s management to restore the ambience of the country’s tertiary institutions.
“We have also dispensed with dotting our campuses with small projects. We want to restore the ambience of our institutions to the extent that when you enter any of our campuses, you will know that this is a university campus. Many of the institutions we have established in recent past do not have such visage but we are going back to iconic buildings. We will begin to commission some of them and we are also restoring our campuses to place of pride,” he assured.
Earlier, the Aviation Minister lauded Echono for providing seed funding for the institution’s permanent site.
Keyamo then appealed to the Fund to provide capacity-building support for the university’s staff, research grants as well as assist in facilitating the institution’s relocation to its permanent site by 2025.
He noted that completing the project on schedule would help avoid financial implications of inflation and potential contract adjustments.
“This is your baby. As former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, you were one of the main drivers that made this university come to pass. So, in a way, we are tied to your umbilical cord.
“We took our first intake last year September. So far, the new intakes are about 150 beside the post-graduate students. More than 1,000 applied but we could barely take 10 per cent because of lack of facilities.”
Keyamo disclosed that the school is currently operating from a temporary site in one of the Aviation Ministry’s agencies, disclosing that it also enjoys the support of other agencies including the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), among others.
The Aviation Minister was accompanied by top ministry and university officials, led by AAAU Registrar, Mustapha Sheikh.
