The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has described the newly unveiled Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics as a game-changer that will reshape aviation education and manpower development in Nigeria and across the continent.
He said the university, recently licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC), is designed to equip students with both theoretical and hands-on practical aviation training, tied directly to an operational aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Lagos.
Keyamo made the comments in Abuja at the official unveiling of the university, established by renowned aviation engineer and entrepreneur, Isaac Balami.
He noted that the new aviation school is not just the achievement of the founder but a victory for the entire aviation family.
“IBUAM is the first institution in Africa to integrate a flying school, an aviation university, and a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility under a single management structure.
“There’s a growing global demand for pilots, aeronautical engineers, and air traffic controllers, Boeing’s projections show that African aviation will be the fastest-growing sector on the continent.
“IBUAM has come at the perfect time to prepare Nigeria for that future. The future of flight in Africa begins here. This university is not competing with the government; it is complementing our efforts to make Nigeria a continental aviation hub.”
Founder of the Aviation school, Isaac Balami, in his remarks said the establishment of the institution is a deliberate response to the critical skill gap in Nigeria’s and Africa’s aviation industry.
He noted that the institution is designed to offer hands-on training in aircraft maintenance, flight operations, and aviation management, in partnership with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“What took us 20 years to learn in the industry, we are giving it to our children in four to five years. That is the goal right there. And with the support of the NCAA, I believe some of you can do that.
“We want to assure the President and the Federal Executive Council that we will do our best to make Nigeria and Africa proud with this assignment given to us. IBUAM is a response to the skills gap.
“We’ve heard the VC say over 65,000 engineers, pilots and managers will be required in the next 10 to 12 years in Africa alone. Aviation College Zaria is doing very well. We have AFIT is doing very, very well, but they are even producing less than 500 top aviators currently. So there is a huge gap.
“Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco cannot even meet 20% of the demand and as the Giant of Africa, with the support of our visionary leader, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, I believe we can actually do it.
“At IBUAM, every student will spend every holiday and break in the hangar, flying, repairing engines, working on landing gears, and gaining the real experience the industry demands,” Balami noted.
Balami, a trained aircraft engineer, said the university was modelled to produce young professionals who can work unsupervised anywhere in the world by the age of 21.
He noted that Africa would require over 65,000 skilled aviation professionals in the next decade, with Nigeria and other leading countries currently producing less than 500 annually.
“We cannot continue to depend on expatriates when our youths can be trained to fill those roles. IBUAM is a response to that gap,” he said.