Thirty-five new pilots emerged from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) during the combined graduation ceremony of Basic Transport Flying Course 5 and Ab-initio Student Pilot Course 49 held on Friday May 2, 2025 at the 401 Flying Training School (FTS), Kaduna.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, who addressed the newly graduated pilots, charged them to view their flying qualifications not merely as personal milestones, but as a solemn national responsibility.
The 35 new aviators comprise of 10 Basic Transport Course graduates and 25 Ab-initio Student Pilots.
Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI) of Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said in a statement that Air Marshal Abubakar reminded them of the immense trust placed on their shoulders, noting that their graduation marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment to national service.
“Earning your flying qualification is not just a personal achievement, it is a national responsibility,” the CAS declared. “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. “In the Nigerian Air Force, we say that the quality of our training determines the strength of our operations,” he noted. “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.”
Air Marshal 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.
