by Nurat Uthman
To address the dearth of manpower in the aviation sector, the Federal Government has approved the listing of Eastwing Aviation Training Institute under the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
Having met the technical evaluation by the FG, the Institute can now commence the process of admission of students through the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, and the students, upon completion of their studies, will be awarded national diploma and high national diploma, respectively.
Speaking on the approval, the founder and CEO of Eastwing Aviation, Dr. Christopher Edeh, urged youths to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the institution to achieve their dream of becoming pilots, aviation engineers, cabin crew or other functions found in the sector.
He said: “What this approval means for our youths is that every one of them now has the opportunity to explore this field, even if it means just coming to us for advice. The institution would encourage and help build the dream because we do not want you to stay idle after graduating.
“It has been my desire to give back to society considering what I have passed through from the day I joined the Nigerian Air Force.
“Being the first aviation school in the South-East region means a lot to us. It means that I am getting closer to my dream and I have reached that stage where society can benefit from me.”
Explaining the process of getting the institute certified, Edeh disclosed that he worked with former colleagues to realize the project. “Those who worked with me on this project were colleagues that we served together. They have been very supportive throughout this quest. It was purely a communal effort, what you would call ‘Wazobia’ and we are where we are today.”
The Eastwing Aviation Institute also recently established a non-governmental organisation to encourage less privileged youths who are talented and who meet the basic requirements but are not able to financially pursue their dreams.
According to the founder, “We are hopeful that the new dawn would encourage a huge turn up. Many people regard the aviation sector as rocket science; now we have brought it to their doorsteps. For interested candidates, there are many areas in this field they can fit in; go to airports, all you see are many people carrying luggage and we believe they can do more than that.”
Speaking further, Dr Edeh recounted: “A good example is one of the security personnel I worked with who was talented and hardworking. I realised this and encouraged him to do more for himself seeing that he has potential. Today, he is an aircraft maintenance engineer in one of the airlines.”
