Nigeria’s first female military pilot

Posted by admin Femi Fani-Kayode, Headlines Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Blessing Liman, a 25-year old lady from Kaduna State, recently made history when she became Nigeria’s first female military pilot. She was commissioned by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) into the elite corps of fighter-pilots alongside 126 men with whom she completed the Direct Short Service Course 20/2011 Cadets of 325 Ground Training Group at the NAF Base, Kaduna.

Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Mohammed Dikko Umar, at the ceremony, rightly described Liman’s success as “a very laudable achievement for Nigeria.” Her notable achievement came 31 years after another lady, Chinyere Onyemucheya, became Nigeria’s first female commercial airline pilot in 1980.

There are many lessons to learn from Liman, who was commissioned as a Flying Officer 1, equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army. Her emergence as a military pilot is a fulfillment of a childhood dream to be a pilot. Reports indicate that she pursued her dream tenaciously after passing out from Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna, in 2001, by enrolling at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, where she qualified as a pilot earlier in the year. She immediately enrolled for Direct Short Service Course and passed out successfully. The message from the fulfillment of a life-long dream by this audacious lady from Zangon Kataf Local Government Area is that with focus, commitment and tenacity of purpose, it is possible for people to achieve their ambitions in life.

Her inspiring story is one that should encourage women to discountenance gender limitations and freely explore their interests and talents with a view to achieving whatever they set minds on in life. As Liman counselled at the commissioning ceremony: “…all females have equal opportunity … in whatever adventure they choose…”
It is instructive that Flying Officer Liman’s success story is a product of the new Federal Government policy on production of female combatants to give impetus to gender equality in the nation, and also give women opportunity to contribute their quota to national development in whatever field they may choose. Among the gains of this policy is the recent admission of 63 female cadets into the regular combatant training programme of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.

We congratulate Liman on this commendable accomplishment. It is worthy of celebration because it has shattered yet another of the restrictions on our womenfolk. Her achievement is, undoubtedly, a result of her unwavering commitment to attainment of her objective in the very challenging and highly disciplined environment of a military institution. We commend her example to all Nigerian women. They should continue to strive to break the glass ceiling limiting their participation in every sphere of national life.
The Federal Government deserves commendation for the policy of inclusion it introduced for the benefit of women aspiring to combatant positions in the military. So also, the Nigerian Air Force authorities that properly interpreted and executed the policy.

For Liman, her successful commissioning as a combatant pilot should be seen as a challenge. She has to prove her mettle and make her mark in her chosen profession. She bears on her shoulders the responsibility of convincing the military authorities that her commissioning is justified. This is necessary to pave way for more women in combatant positions in the military.

We wish Flying Officer Liman a successful military career. Her role as a trailblazing fighter pilot holds her out as a role model to all young Nigerian women. It is an assignment she must discharge with all sense of responsibility.

-Sunwp_posts