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The two youngest Nigerian pilots awarded and recognized in Africa and beyond are Daniel Adeyileka and Favour Odozor.
Daniel Adeyileka
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority named Daniel Adeyileka as the youngest pilot in Nigeria in 2014 .
19 year old Daniel who is the youngest of the two, was born in Newcastle, England in 1995,he attended primary and secondary school in Scotland before coming back to Nigeria, where he enrolled at Avicenna International School, Ikeja, and later obtained his A-Levels at Greenville School, GRA.
He then went to Delta Flight School, Texas, at the age of 17, where he got his International General Certificate of Secondary Education and Private Pilot License (PPL). Brilliant Daniel is currently a first officer.
Read Daniel’s words about his challenges in an interview with Linda Ikeji;
The challenge basically was when I was sent to Amsterdam for my Type Rating, it was really the toughest period I cant lie to you because it was not an easy task. I actually thought I was going to fail because I was the weakest in the class at the beginning but I came top of the class at the end. I kept telling my self “I can do it.” God really saw me through. The exercise lasted for one month. The challenge basically was when I was sent to Amsterdam for my Type Rating, it was really the toughest period I cant lie to you because it was not an easy task. I actually thought I was going to fail because I was the weakest in the class at the beginning but I came top of the class at the end. I kept telling my self “I can do it.” God really saw me through. The exercise lasted for one month.
Favour Odozor,20-year-old Nigerian emerged as the youngest with the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) in both Nigeria and South Africa.
Mr. Odozor who graduated alongside 15 other trained pilots at the Afrika Union Aviation Academy (AUAA), Mafikeng, South Africa on Saturday was described as the new hope of the African aviation industry.
Capt. Allan Roebuck, Director of AUAA, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Johannesburg that Mr. Odozor completed all the 37 flying procedures in record time.
Favour Odozor (right) with colleagues in training
The AUAA director noted that it requires a lot of hard work, focus, punctuality and discipline to be trained as a commercial pilot.
“It is not enough to be academically sound to be a good pilot. It requires focus, punctuality, and discipline to get the commercial licence and certificate.
“It has been a long road for the group of qualified pilots to obtain their licences. With the award of certificate, they can fly commercial planes,’’ Mr. Roebuck said.
Favour said he had always dreamt of becoming a pilot.
“Flying a plane has been my childhood dream, and I am happy today that I’m a licensed commercial pilot at the age of 20.
“I never expected myself to be the youngest Nigerian to get the commercial pilot licence, not to talk about in an advanced country like South Africa. I was just pursuing my childhood dream of being a pilot.
“But I thank God that I have now made history, as a record licensed commercial pilot in both Nigeria and South Africa,’’ Favour said.
Favour Ozor has equaled the record set by Ed Gardner, a Briton, who obtained his commercial pilot licence at the age of 20 in 2008.
Before heading for South Africa for training, the Nigerian attended Uchenna Secondary School in Owerri, the Imo State capital, graduating in 2009.
The young men as so far broken record or can you beat that? They are both achievers..
You might not be as opportune as they are, but i tell you, with the little resources available to you alongside with determination and hard work ,you can bring out the best in you and be a record breaker in your own unique way.
