The founder of the Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management, Oshodi, Lagos State, Mr Isaac Balami, has revealed plans for students of the institution to design and build Nigeria’s first indigenous aircraft within one year, with the long-term goal of supporting national security operations.
Balami disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Lagos ahead of the resumption of the university’s maiden batch of 60 students.
According to him, the aircraft project will be driven by original research and innovation rather than copied designs, and will be executed under the guidance of Nigerian professors with international experience from the United Kingdom and the United States.
“The short-term goal is that by next year, our students will design and build the first made-in-Nigeria aircraft,” Balami said.
“I am not talking about copying anyone’s aircraft. I am talking about original ideas, working with professors from the UK and the US who are already on ground. There is nothing that stops Nigeria from building aircraft. We can start with four-seater and eight-seater aircraft and grow from there.”
He said the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. P. O. Jemitola, a Professor of Aerospace Engineering from England, would lead the academic team guiding the project, noting that Jemitola had previously designed, assembled, flown and landed an aircraft in Kaduna State.
Balami explained that beyond academic training, the initiative aligns with the university’s long-term vision of contributing to Nigeria’s security architecture through the production of locally designed aircraft for surveillance and related operations.
“The vision is to solve security problems. We want to produce aircraft that will help with surveillance, support Amotekun, support the police, the Navy, and also help monitor critical national assets like oil and gas pipelines,” he said.
He described the institution as a research-driven university focused on practical solutions, innovation and national development through aeronautics and management education.
Balami further noted that the university was established to address persistent challenges in Nigeria’s aviation industry, particularly the short lifespan of many local airlines, which he attributed to weak leadership, governance gaps and inadequate manpower development.
According to him, the university offers training in aerospace engineering, mechatronics, systems engineering, electrical engineering, aircraft design and related fields, adding that the National Universities Commission has approved 11 academic programmes for the institution, with five to commence in the first phase.
He said students would undergo intensive hands-on training, logging up to 2,000 practical hours in workshops and hangars, alongside academic instruction, and graduate with type courses on fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
“At 21, our graduates should be able to work or supervise anywhere in the world. We are working towards restoring the era when Nigeria exported aviation manpower globally,” he said.
Balami disclosed that the Borno State Government had already keyed into the initiative by sponsoring 54 indigenes to study at the university, while other students were privately sponsored. He added that the institution expects students from other African countries, as well as from Europe, in subsequent sessions.
Officials of the Borno State Government, led by the Executive Secretary of the state’s Scholarship Board, Dr Bala Isa, recently toured the Oshodi campus and the university’s 7 Star Global hangar.
Speaking after the tour, Isa expressed satisfaction with the facilities, describing them as adequate for delivering quality education in aeronautics and management.
“If a school can get accreditation from the NUC, it means it has met the required standards. We believe our students will acquire quality knowledge here,” he said.
The university, licensed in 2025, is expected to hold its matriculation ceremony for the maiden set of students in March.
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