History was made yesterday in Abuja as Nigerian Air Force produced the first female military pilot in the sub-region, when Flying Officer Blessing Liman and 29 others joined the list of military officers at a well attended ceremony hosted by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar.
The training programme that included attending several courses, both within and outside the country, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Egypt. Those that were winged yesterday included 14 JET Flag Officers, 8 Transport Flying Officers, and 8 Helicopter Flying Officers.
The history making officer, Blessing Liman, an indigene of Kaduna state, was born on 13 March, 1984 in Zangon Kataf and enlisted in the Nigerian Air Force in July 2011. She was commissioned on 9th December, 2011. Her outstanding performance helped her in attaining the historical height.
The leadership of the National Council for Nigerian Society (NCNS), the Presidential Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Mrs. Sarah Jubril and the Minister of State for Defense, Mrs. Olusola Obada led other women in celebrating the young female flying officer.
In her speech, she disclosed her awareness of the enormous responsibility on her shoulder as a record maker, but was optimistic that God would help her to live up to the expectation of the society and the Nigeria Air Force. According to her,“ I am going to work, with prayers, dedication and hard work, I know I will succeed.”???
In his speech, the Chief of Air Staff said the occasion “symbolizes our efforts towards ensuring mission oriented force development to meet the requirements of all operational engagements. To meet our pilot-production target as enumerated in our 10-Year Strategic Plan, we embarked on various initiatives including the novel idea of enlisting qualified pilots from the civil sector.”