NigerianFLIGHTDECK Travel and Business Reportage 
Kwara State Commissioner of Education, Dr Afeez Alabi has described aviation as a capital intensive venture that ordinarily should boost the nation’s economy but is being held back by the myriad of challenges it faces.
The commissioner made this known at the opening ceremony of the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) Training programme holding at International Aviation College (IAC), Ilorin where he gave the keynote address at the event.
Dr. Alabi said that the only way the industry can level up to its potential is through synergy and investment of a lot of capital.
He said,” part of what you see today is part of the fact that our government is responsive. The industry is an industry that is capital intensive. I know that it is an industry that requires a lot of capital to be invested.
“What you find in Nigeria and I’m sorry to say is not impressive in what we are experiencing in the sector. It is a sector that ordinarily should boost the economy of this nation no doubt, but we are not doing very much, it doesn’t mean we are all not doing anything.
“Generally, issues of policy thrust not being followed, the issues of bottlenecks, even on the part of operators they equally have to share the blame. Suffice it to say that every one of us has one or two lashes for what it happening today in the industry and at the same time we do have to form a synergy that would take the sector to the level you or I would be proud of.
Speaking earlier, Director General Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), Captain Shuaibu Musa Nuhu had charged the journalists to use their watchdog function to play the very important role in fostering stability in the industry.
The DG represented by Wakali Adamu said,”There is no doubt that there is an increased confidence in the sector as new airlines are coming on-board and existing operators are expanding their routes. Expectedly, our cost of surveillance programme and other oversight responsibilities as the regulator of the industry have increased correspondently.
Chairman LAAC, Mr. Olusegun Koiki in his remarks called on the state government not to treat the college as an appendage of the civil service as the school needs to be more competitive.
He said the government needs to give the school attention so it can thrive.
He said, “The management needs to tighten its seatbelt and be more competitive. The college may have been funded by the State Government, but as a specialised aviation training institution, it should not be treated as an appendage of the Kwara State Civil Service.
” It requires the input of topnotch professionals in all segments of aviation industry for it to remain relevant and be on the right track in the sub-sector.
“There is the need for the state government to take a serious look at the college and give it the appropriate attention and maximum support it deserves. This will make it competitive and more productive among its peers in the industry.
