Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno has announced plans to sponsor some youths for degree programmes at Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management (IBUAM).

Mr Zulum made the announcement when the founder of the university, Isaac Balami and the institution’s management team paid a visit to the governor on Thursday in Maiduguri.

The governor, however, directed the ministry of education, in collaboration with the state scholarship board to start the process for selecting indigent youths for the sponsorship of degree programmes in high-value disciplines at the private institution.

According to him, the selection process will prioritise indigent youths who demonstrate academic potential but lack the financial means to pursue such expensive courses.

“On our part, as the government of Borno State, we will do everything possible to support this university within our reach.

“I want to most sincerely thank you for the offers you have given to the government and people of Borno State for the training of a sizable number of aircraft planners and aircraft technicians.

“Deliberately, I invited the Commissioner for Education and the Executive Secretary of the Scholarship Board; they will liaise with you to see how candidates will be sent to your university.

“The Commissioner for Education and your team will identify the most vulnerable in the population who can benefit from this scheme: those who cannot afford, nor can their parents, to undertake those aeronautics courses.

“I don’t want anyone close to the governor, the deputy governor or the commissioner to be selected. Purely on merit! Mind you, I have to vet the list after the selection process,” he said.

Earlier in his address, Mr Balami, also a trained aircraft engineer, expressed appreciation to Borno government, which made him become an aircraft engineer by giving him the scholarship to study at the right time.

He announced that his institution would also provide free training to 54 Borno indigenes in Aircraft Planning and Aircraft Technology as a payback in appreciation of what he has done for him. 

Mr Balami said the gesture was an act of giving back to society, inspired by a scholarship he received years ago from the Borno government, which paved the way for his own career in aeronautics.

He said that two people from each of the 27 local governments in Borno would be trained as aircraft planners and aircraft technicians, making the total of 54 persons.

Mr Balami said that the establishment of the institution was a deliberate response to the skill gaps in Nigeria’s aviation industry, adding that Borno would continue to have more opportunities to train its sons and daughters in the institution to bridge the gaps.

He said that the IBUAM’s students would not only graduate with a degree but with international certification in aircraft maintenance, simulation, avionics and aeronautical operations.

Mr Balami said that every student at IBUAM would spend every holiday and break in the hangar, flying, repairing engines, working on landing gear, and gaining real experience in the industry.

He said that IBUAM students were expected to work anywhere in the world unsupervised upon graduation.

(NAN)