Finchglow Holdings, a travel conglomerate, has urged the government to prioritise education and development of the people, who are the greatest asset of the country.

The call was made at the launch of the new Lagos Aviation Academy (LAA) facility in Ikeja, Lagos, recently.

Using Singapore as a case study, the Group Managing Director of Finchglow Holdings, Bankole Bernard, said the country has a population of about five million people out of which 4.5 million are registered with the national library signifying that they don’t joke with education or knowledge.

He also stated that he was looking forward to driving the aviation industry forward, and easily exporting people to every corners of the world.

“Phillipines as a nation, if you are unaware, one of the things they do is to export their citizens, to other part of the countries to work. And the country makes a living, from such. Is anything stopping us? We have over 200 million people. We would stop talking about unemployment; there is job for people to do, it’s just somebody directing them on the right path,” he said.

According to Bernard, the company would develop people and create value.

“We realised that in our little capacity, we can enhance and develop people to add value, not only to our industry, but to the rest of the world, and that is what we are, and would continue to do in LAA,” he said.

On collaboration with the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Bernard said they are willing to work with the association to increase the level of professionalism amongst the travel agencies.

“As we are aware we have quacks and NANTA as a body too is interested in improving the knowledge base of their members. And I think that’s the step in the right direction for NANTA. And we are willing to collaborate, with as many bodies as possible,” Bernard said.

With the aim to provide excellent aviation training and education, the aviation expert stated that the new building facility at the LAA would have a multiplier effect and that the academy can now run courses concurrently without any hindrance.

Representing the acting Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, Lagos Regional Manager, Bukola Teriba, congratulated the GMD of Finchglow holdings on the unveiling of the academy.

She said it is not just good for the industry, but for Nigeria as a whole. “Because you know now, a lot of professionals were not too much in the aviation industry, we were lacking. And we thought that instead of travelling abroad, and spending so much, we have our schools here that have the capacity to train these aviation professionals and we are so proud of you.”

Teriba advised the institute to keep up the high standard.

LAA has been granted full licence to operate in its entirety by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the Association of Approved Training Organisations in Nigeria (AATON).

The academy has produced IATA Best Performers in Nigeria for four years running, in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022, respectively, in its seven years of operation.