The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, has charged newly graduated pilots of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to give their best to the country, especially now that the armed forces are working tirelessly to deny terrorists and other criminal syndicates and armed gangs freedom of action.
He also urged them not to view their flying qualifications merely as personal milestones, but as a solemn national responsibility.
A statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the CAS gave this charge during the combined graduation ceremony of Basic Transport Flying Course 5 and Ab-initio Student Pilot Course 49, at the 401 Flying Training School (FTS), Kaduna.
Addressing the 35 new aviators, comprising 10 Basic Transport Course graduates and 25 Ab-initio Student Pilots, the CAS reminded them of the immense trust placed on their shoulders, noting that their graduation marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment to national service.
According to him, “Earning your flying qualification is not just a personal achievement; it is a national responsibility. You carry not just rank and wings, but the hopes of millions of Nigerians who depend on us for safety and security.”
He further stressed that the operational strength of the NAF is directly linked to the standard of its training.
He said, “In the Nigerian Air Force, we say that the quality of our training determines the strength of our operations. This is why, under my leadership, we are upgrading training institutions, inducting more aircraft, and evolving our doctrines to meet the demands of modern warfare.”
Abubakar described the graduation as another milestone in the ongoing transformation of the NAF into a more agile, resilient, and technology-driven force.
He commended the 401 FTS for over four decades of excellence in pilot training, during which it has produced more than 700 pilots for the NAF, Nigerian Navy, and other African countries, including Republic of Benin, Cape Verde, Niger, Zimbabwe, and Sierra Leone.
The CAS concluded by reiterating the Nigerian Air Force’s unwavering dedication to enhancing professional capacity, improving personnel welfare, and executing its constitutional mandate to safeguard Nigeria’s territorial integrity while supporting national development.