By Victor Gotevbe

Flying an airplane is fun. Getting paid to do it is even better. For some people, it’s the perfect job: an office that travels, a view that’s constantly changing and challenges that are exhilarating.  A young Nigerian who takes a multimillion dollar machine, casually flies it off the ground and then safely returns it, fascinates people.

They wonder what it’s like to be responsible for hundreds of lives or goods worth millions. When passengers peek inside a cockpit, they are amazed. In this edition, Youthful Vibes hosts Musa Sulaiman,one of the youngest pilots in Nigeria who is 22 years and from Zamfara State.

Background

I was born 22 years ago, precisely, March 10, 1989 in Zamfara State. I grew up in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara. I attended Army Primary School in Gusau, Zamfara and had my Secondary school in Malumfashi in Katsina State. I am from a large polygamous family.

The love and unity amongst us in my family is amazing and worth emulating. I have a father who has been a great inspiration and has worked tirelessly to see that all his children have good education, having served as Principal of several schools. We are all in different professions;Medicine, Information Technology, Nursing etc

Musa (left) and instructor about to fly

My dream career

It may interest to know that I got my inspiration of becoming a pilot from movies. One that I can quickly recall is TOP GUN, where Tom Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete Maverick” Mitchell, a young Naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrierUSS Enterprise. However, my father wanted my immediate younger brother to become a pilot but he ended up pursuing Medicine.

After I finished my secondary school, I gained admission into Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto to study Bio-Chemistry. I almost completed my accreditation when I got the news of my admission into Aviatour Flight Incorporation in the Far East Asia. All that is required of you from the Institute is your secondary school leaving certificate irrespective of whether you have a science, arts or commercial background.

You just need your brain and commitment to learn. But for you to acquire a Private Pilot License, you must be a minimum of 17 years old. At age 18, you can get a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and at 21 you can possess an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL).

It is an expensive field of study but my dad has been always been working towards my dream of becoming a pilot that I am today. The tuition varies on what aircraft you train with. I am aware there are two schools that train pilots in Nigeria Zaria and Ilorin. They are located at Zaria and Ilorin. Anyway, it took me one and half years to become  a pilot.

In this profession, your level of academic qualification does not matter . Even if you are a professor, you will still have to go to the ground school to learn how to become a pilot. Still, a Captain changing an aircraft, for example, from Boeing 737 Classic to Boeing 767, will have to go for training again.

Training is on going. You don’t stop training and these training programmes can last for a month and above. We are looking at a lot of money here. After six months, you will have to train even on the same aircraft for recurrency in view of emerging technologies.

Every profession has its politics. From the little I know, it is tough for a pilot with a CPL to get a job without a God father. Hence, I didn’t need that. I had to go for further training called Type Rating. This is also not a guarantee. You also have the challenge of securing a job  because some of the airlines in Nigeria have preference for experience and foreign pilots even if we are better of.

The foreign pilots sometimes embark on six months leave and the airlines are responsible for their feeding, accommodation and other allowances independent of their salaries and other fringe benefits.

The case is not the same for Nigerian Pilots. They only bother about your salary and allowances. I strongly advocate that young pilots with low experience are given the opportunity as they can be groomed to become better pilots.

How can you get superior experience without first getting some basic experience? After my CPL, I returned home to convert my foreign license to Nigerian license. What should have taken normally a month or two, took me and my colleagues (Abubakar Isah Abubakar (Baffa), Murtala Gadama and Abdullahi Ahmed) up to 7 months to do.

So, we all suffered same delay. Once we are employed, over time, we will change the face of the Aviation Industry and simultaneously improve the economy of this country.

Solo Experience

I was assigned to so many instructors. My best instructor was Captain Alan-Kho. We had scheduled flights because they have so many aircrafts and you have to fly every day as practice makes perfect. My first flying experience was a nightmare. Wow! I thought I was going to die. It was a day I had a spinning training. I had to close my eyes as I remembered the admonition from my instructor for us to pray that day though I found out he was teasing me. Thank God I made it alive.

SULAIMAN

One way we were taught to overcome fear is to have first solo; flying alone. There are airways indicating which way to go with the aid of Visual. There are basically two types of flight, namely Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules. InVFR training, you use landmarks just like the way you drive your car. Nonetheless, for the IFR, it is zero visibility. As a matter of fact, you only use VFR when you want to land.

Flying is interesting. The aircrafts are so sophisticated like the jet engines. The moment you put your flight data into your Flight Management System (FMS), you are as good as flying. It is just auto piloting. You sit down, relax and enjoy your flight.

Next big plan

I have a type rating B737 300/400/5000 while I am looking forward to being hired by one of the local airlines here. I prefer flying in Nigeria because this is my home base. I am proudly Nigerian.  In the last two years, I have been on the move, constantly encouraging youths I come across to get into the profession.

I see lots of potentials but money is no doubt a huge challenge. I believe Government and philanthropists can help other youths who may not be as lucky as I am. I could not get a scholarship from Zamfara State even though I applied for one. I still thank God for my dad who is my hero. He has always been there for me. I love him and I respect him a lot.

Advice

Honestly, they were times when I felt like asking myself why I got into this profession in view of the rigorous training and finance involved but I never gave up . I would like to assist some other young people financially in no distant time.  If you have the intention of being a pilot, try to go to your State scholarship board. You might just be fortunate.

You need to have the enthusiasm and some set skills. Develop yourself personally through frequent trainings as you read good books and attend educative seminars. No matter the challenges, you have to keep your head high and trust in God. Someday you will succeed. I am available on Facebook for enquiries.