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Civil Aviation in Nigeria is a child of very humble beginnings, a spin-off of the British Colonial rule. But above all else, it is a product of a mere accident of history dating back to 1925 in the unlikeliest of places - the ancient, walled city of Kano.
Through the fortune of history, the turbaned city of Kano State would go on to play a very crucial role in Nigeria's aviation history. In 1925, the Northern city of Kano was gripped by a tense stand-off between its residents and the British colonial government officials.
The British government at the time was maintaining an active Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Khartoum, Sudan. On sensing the trouble in Kano, London swiftly signaled the commanding officer of the Khartoum RAF Squadron, instructing him to fly to the Northern Nigerian city and report on the situation.
Flying a Bristol fighter, the pilot made a breathtaking, but safe landing on the horse race course in Kano, thus going down in history as the first recorded aviation activity in Nigeria. Without air routes, maps or radio communications the flight was regarded as "a particularly hazardous operation". Subsequent flights would originate from Egypt where the RAF also had a base. The landings in Kano were always spectacular and usually caused a gathering of large crowds.
The earliest known commercial aviation activity in Nigeria is credited to a certain Mr. Carpenter. Historians also posit that he frequently undertook high-risk flights between Kano and Lagos, using the rail tracks as his guide. In the early 1930s, an enterprising pilot carried a few fare-paying passengers in a sea-plane between Lagos and Warri. A combination of these spectacular flights and activities of the RAF in Nigeria soon made it expedient for the creation of aerodromes and landing grounds.
Consequently, landing grounds where inspected in Maiduguri, Oshogbo, Lagos, Minna, Kano and Kaduna. In 1935, the Imperial Airways later known as the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), commenced operations with flights from London to Nigeria.
In the early days, a 1 hour flight from Kano to Lagos usually took one whole day, considering the early technology of the planes and their frequent refueling stops.
As aviation activities grew, the need for more aerodromes became necessary to handle the increasing aviation enterprise. By the end of 1940 Lagos had been converted into a strategic base from where aircraft were being ferried to Middle East and India as part of the war effort.
By May 1946, the King of England issued and edict establishing the West African Air Transport Authority (WAATA) as well as the formation of the West African Airways Corporation (WAAC).
On attaining independence in 1957 Ghana pulled out of the airline company, and in August 1958 the Nigerian government in partnership with BOAC and Elder Dempster lines formed the West African Airways Corporation (Nigeria) limited which later became Nigeria Airways.
As we travel the Road to 50, let us remember our long tortuous journey we have taken to get to where we are today.
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Source: Federal Aviation Authority Nigeria (FAAN).
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